Mobo and processor for under 200

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motorcitymadman

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Jul 7, 2009
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need some advice guys, only thing i use my computer for is world of warcraft. I have a 3.2 pentium 4, on a msi 945gcm478 motherboard. I'm looking to replace these 2 items but I'm on a tight budget. everything else will be carried over from my old pc, 4 gb of ddr2 800mhz ram, nvidia 9800gt, audigy 2 soundcard. so i'm not concerned with onboard audio or video, only thing I really need is onboard lan.
 
A little more info on your current hardware would be nice. Will a full size ATX motherboard fit in your current case? Here's a few options to consider:

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072 $69.99

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380&Tpk=ga-ep43-ud3l $79.99

Total = $149.98

You could use a little of the leftover budget to pick up a nice cooler and easily overclock the E5200 to 3.6GHz - 3.8GHz.

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029&Tpk=xigmatek%20dark $39.98

Here's a couple AMD options, but they would be overkill for a WOW only build:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

ASUS M2A74-AM AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131391

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211673 $168.99 (CPU + motherboard combo)


AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131381

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211670 $188.99 - $10 MIR (CPU + motherboard combo)
 
$200 can buy you an excellent mb and RAM

Assuming you are in the US then the best deals are AMD based .

The amd 720 x3 BE is $119 with free shipping from
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131381

OR if you have a smaller m-atx case then
ASUS M2A74-AM AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $60


The first mb is the preferred option
The triple core AMD is substantially more powerful than a pentium 4 despite being clocked a little slower . It will also run a lot cooler and hopefully quieter.

You will probably have to re-install windows from scratch after making back ups of all your files .
 
yeah full size case, sorry should have mentioned that, only bought the msi board cause i was trying to squeeze some more life out of the pentium 4
 


I was sooooo tempted to include that option , but I counted [ using both fingers ] and $210 is not less than $200
I double checked
 

LOL

I was tempted to include a couple combos that were just over $200 also, but decided against it. Even the E5200 and GA-EP43-UD3L would be plenty for a strictly WOW machine, especially if the CPU was overclocked.
 



OK you win . That is a fantastic deal .

Id still consider the 720 rig though . It has more than enough power and the mb is better
 
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