hddvd

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I am going to be building a gaming computer soon and i need some advice on the best performance i can get for my money. All i need is a new video card (i currently have a x1900xt 256mb), some new RAM (2GB or more), a motherboard, and a new CPU. I have a 20 inch monitor and i game at 1680x1050. If anyone can help me out that would be great.
 

emp

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Keep the video card for the time being, you won't get a substantial performance increase for the money that you spend.

Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134488

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050&Tp k=GA-P35-DS3R

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

(Af ter sunday it'll retail at around $270)
 

TSIMonster

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You already have a hard drive, optical drive, case, and PSU, right? If so, keep the video card, it is still a good performer.

Processor: e6420 $186
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016
Cooler: ACFreezer7 $22
http://www.ewiz.com
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35 (like above) $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050&Tp
RA M: 2x1GB Super Talent PC6400 $81
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609226

Total: $419

You could go the quad route if the prices drop the way they are suppose to. Me, I would just overclock the e6420 and be done.
 

scryer_360

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I do not know if a quad core is the best for this build, in all seriousness if he is on a budget I do not think its going to benefit him. Plus, when will we be seeing games that take advantage of 4 threads? Probably not for a while.

I do agree, though, that he needs to keep the graphics card he has. Nothing short of a 8800GTS will really give a performance increase over that. Now all you (the OP) said you needed was RAM, motherboard, and processor right? What about the hard-drive, and the case? If your current hard drive is 5 years old or around there, I'd recommend replacing it too (all a hard-drive is really meant to last is 5 years). Also, do you have the power supply?

So with that in mind I'll recommend a setup that includes a HDD and case, but the RAM, processor and motherboard will still work otherwise. Another question is how overclocking adverse you are: if you can overclock you will save money (but will lose stability if you do not be careful). So hence there will be two builds I recommend: one for overclocking and one for not.

1st build: Cheap Overclock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813141004
Mothe rboard: XFX 650i Ultra - $99.99 ($79.99 w/ rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115014
CPU: Intel E4400, soon to be $113

http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835200025
CPU Cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z2-EX 92mm 2 Ball PWM - $39.99 (you get $10 off this for buying it with the processor right now)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820227078
RAM: OCZ Gold Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) at DDR2 667 (PC2 5400): $89.99 (C4 latency and a 1:1 ratio at a 333FSB will give you a 3.33 gigahertz processor and really quick ram, you do not want to attempt 400 FSB on a $500 budget, so DDR2-800 ram is not going to be worth it here).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817812002
mushki n 550200 ATX12V 550W Power Supply: $69.99 (will support up to an 8800GTS later)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822145132
Hitach i Deskstar 250GB Hard Drive: $59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811156053
Raidma x ATX case: $20.99 (an expensive case would only really be needed for dual graphics cards, and your budget is simply not open to dual graphics cards)

Total price: $508.99, with $30 in rebates available to you.

Now if you are doing a non-overclock build, I recommend the same components with two adjustments: no CPU fan, and instead of the E4400 we can use the E6550. That processor will debut at $163 and push 2.33 gigahertz to start. You may want to swap out the RAM I recommended (although that will still work) for something DDR2-800, like what Emp recommended. The reason is that the E6550 will run with only RAM as slow as DDR2-667, which is what the OCZ is. So the RAM I recommended in the overclock will be running right at its recommended speed from the git-go.

So you may even look at some cheaper RAM in order to save the difference between the first processor setup and this new one. Its about a $15 difference, so it should not be to hard to beat.