New Gaming System to replace junker

[lossbot]

I've been gaming on this (crap) for a while:

AMD Athlon64 3200+ (s939) @ stock
ASUS A8V-E Deluxe Mobo
8600 GT video card
2GB of DDR1 memory (mismatched)
500w Ultra Modular PSU

... needless to say I need to UPGRADE

I have two questions:

1. What kind of performance upgrade and I looking at in a $500 budget system? Mid-range ~$1000 system?
2. How new is AM3? How much better is it than AM2? Should I look into it when I upgrade?

Thanks dudes (/girls? )

 

[Why_Me]

I've been gaming on this (crap) for a while:

AMD Athlon64 3200+ (s939) @ stock
ASUS A8V-E Deluxe Mobo
8600 GT video card
2GB of DDR1 memory (mismatched)
500w Ultra Modular PSU

... needless to say I need to UPGRADE

I have two questions:

1. What kind of performance upgrade and I looking at in a $500 budget system? Mid-range ~$1000 system?
2. How new is AM3? How much better is it than AM2? Should I look into it when I upgrade?

Thanks dudes (/girls? )

With those specs...just about anything would be an upgrade. You can have a really decent gaming rig for under $800 and that includes the O/S. Infact I will do a copy paste job here from another build to give you an idea.

btw, that cpu will easily overclock to an 3.5GHz @ 1333 FSB. Some of the extreme hot rodders push it past 4.0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152 $59.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $69.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380 $79.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - Product of preference with 2 Oz Copper PCB & DualBIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 $119.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233026 $26.99
XIGMATEK nepartak - s983 92mm HYPRO Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019 $8.49
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $44.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320 $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $22.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102810 $164.99 ($149.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

Total: $780.38 (not including shipping and rebates)

 

[gkay09]

For a $500 config, u can play at say 1680X1050 at medium to low settings...

For a $1000 config, can play at say 1900X1200 at high(such as HL2 and games released tat time) to medium(most of the current games) to low(crisis sory crysis) settings...and at 1680X1050 at High to very High settings...

 

[xthekidx]

AM3 is not a really big upgrade from AM2+, the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is very little, and its much more expensive.

I'm confused on your budget...how much can you spend? ~$1000?

 

[lossbot]

I forgot to mention, I play on a 27" monitor and prefer native resolution (1900x1200).

Budget, while I wouldn't MIND spending $2k on a new system, I'd prefer to keep it around $1000-1250. I also only really plan to play Diablo 3/Starcraft 2 and older Blizzard games, but if a new competitive shooter came out (the next CS) I'd want to be able to play that very smoothly.

 

[gkay09]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2146.html

Topic:
System Builder Marathon: $1,250 Mid-Range PC : System Components List

Take a look at tis article it will give u some idea...

 

[lossbot]

btw, that cpu will easily overclock to an 3.5GHz @ 1333 FSB. Some of the extreme hot rodders push it past 4.0

Do you mean my 3200?

 

[xthekidx]

No he meant the E7400.

For the size of your monitor, you should be looking at a fairly high powered card, I would say the 4870x2. Look at something like this:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=14822027
That comes to $1360 With shipping. You get $60 back for MIR, so total comes to $1300. The CPU and GPU are available in a combo for $30 off. Overclock to about 3.6 or so.

 

[Why_Me]

Here's a build to consider. The vid card uses very little wattage , and produces very little heat compared to other vid cards in it's class. The case has great airflow/cooling, and that psu is modular. The cpu is a bargain. Give that cpu a very mild overclock and bump it up to 3.6GHz @ 1600 FSB (9 x 400).

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/16/nvidia-zotac-geforce-gtx-285-1gb/1 <--- Here's some test results on that gtx 285 vid card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152 $59.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $69.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372 $98.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail / Product of preference with 2 Oz Copper PCB & DualBIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 $164.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233026 $26.99
XIGMATEK nepartak - s983 92mm HYPRO Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019 $8.49
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133256 $349.99 ($329.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
PNY VCGGTX285XPB GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $44.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $22.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $1,034.38 (not including shipping and rebates)

 

[computersss]

here is an I7 build that will cost you with shipping 1593-55 mail in rebates=1538$

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319


CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail (this is cheaper than the PC Power &cooling)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006


ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail (this would allow you to overclock to about 3.5 GHZ or more

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail (better than the gtx 285 and a little weaker than the gtx 295)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.161275

IMO this will be the best build you can get in this range because this will be future proof and you will be able to make many upgrades

 

[Why_Me]

Nice build "computersss" I can see where he could save a few dollars on this build with a few minor changes if money was an issue but he still wanted an i7 build. Mobo, case, psu, and heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152 $59.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 $94.99 ($69.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 $209.99 ($194.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

 

[Extreme Gamer]

Nice build "computersss" I can see where he could save a few dollars on this build with a few minor changes if money was an issue but he still wanted an i7 build. Mobo, case, psu, and heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152 $59.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 $94.99 ($69.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 $209.99 ($194.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

but the RC-690 will be better because it has better cooling,wider space so it will be good for the huge 4870X2 and the cooler master V8 cooler

the corsair 650Tx is only 16 dollars cheaper than the 750 so i would get the 750

the gigabyte mobo has only 4 slots for the memory and the asus p6t has 6 slots also the asus p6t will allow him to overclock to 3.5 or maybe even to 4.0

i can't say that this Ximatek isn't good but the cooler master and the Thermalright 1366 are the top of the line so the cooler master V8 will allow him to overclock more

 

[computersss]

but the RC-690 will be better because it has better cooling,wider space so it will be good for the huge 4870X2 and the cooler master V8 cooler

the corsair 650Tx is only 16 dollars cheaper than the 750 so i would get the 750

the gigabyte mobo has only 4 slots for the memory and the asus p6t has 6 slots also the asus p6t will allow him to overclock to 3.5 or maybe even to 4.0

i can't say that this Ximatek isn't good but the cooler master and the Thermalright 1366 are the top of the line so the cooler master V8 will allow him to overclock more

+1 to Extreme Gamer

 

[Why_Me]

but the RC-690 will be better because it has better cooling,wider space so it will be good for the huge 4870X2 and the cooler master V8 cooler

the corsair 650Tx is only 16 dollars cheaper than the 750 so i would get the 750

the gigabyte mobo has only 4 slots for the memory and the asus p6t has 6 slots also the asus p6t will allow him to overclock to 3.5 or maybe even to 4.0

i can't say that this Ximatek isn't good but the cooler master and the Thermalright 1366 are the top of the line so the cooler master V8 will allow him to overclock more

Agreed, about the case. The 590 might even be a bit short for that card. As far as overclocking goes, were not even sure if he is going to o/c.