Around $300 Cpu,motherboard,ram,gpu only

[d2000]

Light gaming, General Use
Minimum lag in most common apps, minimum lag in games with decent-max settings, Some future proof(be able to upgrade in 1 year)

Games:Sims3, SC2, Diablo3,CS Source, DOD Source, Possibly L4D, and Possibly COD series.

Upgrading from a AMD Althon 64 3000+, Asus deluxe Sli ready Motherboard(Fried), 1GB DDR1, Geforce 7950 GT OC
Power Supply: Cooler Master 450w Real Power RS-450-ACLY
Monitor : Currently old Standard CRT 19" Possible upgrade to 20-22" LCD in the future
Operating System : XP 32-bit Media Center and Possibly Win7 64-bit home pre.
*Only looking to include into the budget: CPU,Motherboard,Ram, and Video card
*Overclock when I can get a Cooler but will keep stock(or slight overclock) until i can afford one.


AMD build option #1
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770

Total: $319.96
With the Motherboard, I will be able to upgrade to a Phenom cpu later but I don't have the money to go straight for it now.

AMD Option #2
Remove the 4850 and use the Geforce 7950 GT OC and Replace the Althon 64 X2 7750 with a AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

Total: about $300, (cleared newegg cart)

I don't know how long/well the Geforce 7950 will hold up because I won't be able to get a card for a while. And also the LCD monitor is going to have to come first.

Intel build

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072 [/url]

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380 [/url]

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770

Total: $299.96

Only thing I can say is lack of Crossfire support on this board and somewhat low end chipset. Able to upgrade to Quad core later. I don't know how well this board will be able to overclock.

Please I want to know if there might be a better option. This system is going to have to hold for a year or two before any cpu, video card upgrades happen.

 

[Titanium_512]

Hi

For that allround computer the Intel version would be enough (not future proof though), you could OC the procesor to 3.2 with ease just by upping the FSB to 1333Mhz, and that would be it. the Radeon would serve you well, but the CPU has only 2 mb cache and this degrades overall performance.

I would go with AMD option #1. I would save some extra cash and get a Phenom II X2 550 BE processor (you might be able to unlock a core or two and get a full X4 processor). I konow its 40$ extra but its better than swaping the graphics card for an X3 720 processor. Your current Graphics card 7950GT is ok but in this case you would be more future proof with a ATI 4850.

I would even go as far as advise you to go with an AM3 system but as you pointed out you would need SLI/CrossFire support and my sugested mobo does not.

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146736
MoBo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

And with your ATI 4850 you're at around 315$ but you have only 2 gigs of ram (no dual channel though windows 32 bit support only 3.2 gigs anyway. Another 36$ and you've got 4Gb) but you are in the AM3 segment with DDR3, although as I said the Mobo is not SLI/Crossfire.

If I find a better option I'll post it


Best regards.

 

[xthekidx]

I think the Intel build is your best option. The E5200 overclocks very well and can reach 4ghz with a decent air cooler, which will more than make up for the lack of cache size. Until then, just use the stock cooler and 3.2ghz is easily done. The Wolfdale core is more efficient than the AMD cores, so even if you had them running at the same speed in ghz, the Intel chip is going to be faster every time.

You are on a tight budget, so forget about crossfire, you can't afford a MB that supports it. Just get the 4850 right now, by the time its not playing the games you want (your choices aren't that strenuous on the GPU) then it will be much smarter to just buy a new GPU than go crossfire. That MB you are looking at is a good basic board, it will do what you need it to.

 

[Titanium_512]

Just read the whole thing again.

I missed the part with your PSU. For that AMD build you'd be on the edge. 4850 consumes around 150W alone and by unlocking the cores on that potential Phenom II X2 550, you would definitely be required to upgrade your PSU.

That Intel system would suffice for a few years with your described usage.


Sorry for my previous misleading reply

Best regards

 

[xaira]

i would go with build 1, you can eventually cf, and u can even upgrade to a quad wen more paper comes, or forget the 4850 for now, get the 710 cpu $99

and saveup for the 4850, wen i upgraded, it was from a sempron 3000 also, i went to a 4400+, the difference was sooo much more than i thaught it would be, if u go to a 710 ull be more than satisfied

 

[xthekidx]

Just read the whole thing again.

I missed the part with your PSU. For that AMD build you'd be on the edge. 4850 consumes around 150W alone and by unlocking the cores on that potential Phenom II X2 550, you would definitely be required to upgrade your PSU.

That Intel system would suffice for a few years with your described usage.


Sorry for my previous misleading reply

Best regards

I just reread too. If that PSU is as old as the rest of the components, then you need to replace it as well, it will not hold up well with a 4850. I think in this case I would go with the 7950GT for now and get a decent PSU, then up grade the GPU when you can afford it again (but still going the intel route).

 

[blitzburgh39]

look at my member configuration. got everything for 300. with a case. no gpu