PoBoy Upgrade, is this a good deal/can I afford it?

[rabidpeach]

Hello,

I am poor. My current computer functions well, however I had recently purchased an android stick computer for living room use: Media renderer and video games.

Because the stick was a Chinese piece of carp, it broke after 3 weeks. I would like to play video games in the living room (sunk cost of ps3 controllers) and be confident that when friends come over, we aren't going to have hardware issues spoil the night, so I'm thinking, I'll upgrade my main rig and move what's left over to the living room.

Current system:
Athlon 7750 (2x3.1GHZ)
4 GB ddr2 800mhz ram corsair xls
Multiple HDD: 2x ssd 64 gb, 1x500gb, 1x275gb.
1xRadeon 5830
Onboard Video and sound.

New system:
Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Budget Range: ~$200 after rebates and after shipping.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: This kit would be used mostly for my office computer. I am learning openCL and do web programming and will do light gaming.

my old system will move to the living room for games and such, minus the 5830 and the nice corsair 750 psu ofcourse.

Are you buying a monitor:No


Parts to Upgrade: CPU, MOBO, RAM, case. Will reuse Corsair 750 PSU in new PC, while living room (just gigabyte onboard video and the 7750 processor) will get the crappy 450psu in the kit below.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7834740&CatId=332


Do you need to buy OS: NO

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ANY

Location: Tempe AZ

Parts Preferences: No ghetto ram (is a-data "ghetto"?)

Overclocking: Maybe ( I've only messed with multipliers and am uneasy about any front side bus (or HT) frequency changes.)

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution:1680x1050

Additional Comments: So essentially, I will use that kit to slightly upgrade my main pc and make available a stripped down pc for living room use.

Is this a good deal? Should I consider this an "upgrade" to my PC or is the 7750 too close to the athlon 450 to make any difference (the ram will upgrade to 8gb of 1333 ram)

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: replace android stick in living room with something capable and reliable. Have extra core for feeding the 5830 when it's folding or doing computations for me as i learn opencl.

I am so far only considering the kit above,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7834740&CatId=332

are there better kits? should I just wait until I don't consider myself poor and get nicer things?

Thank you so much for your help. I don't want this to be an impulse buy. I like computers and haven't built one for awhile, so this whetted my appetite, but practically speaking, i am poor, so perhaps electronics isn't the best thing to spend on... ?

thanks you very much for your insights,
Alex

 

[smorizio]

What I would do now is build the base of cheap gaming rig.i would wait for black Friday sales and pick up a cheap pre built for your work pc. Or look to best buys..dell..hp for there refurnished and close outs. On the gaming pc one of the new amd apu or fx chips with the newer dir-x 11 gpu built in would work. Use one of the Ssd as cache drive to the 500g hard drive you have. Micro center and new egg do have good combo deals.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1291148
Whole pc for 199.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1242864

 

[rabidpeach]

thanks for your reply, smorizio.

I feel that since both options are similarly priced (your pre-built, and my combo) that the combo wins out because work rig gets extra ram and faster processor. original computer has onboard video too.

My main dilemma is, can i say i am "upgrading" my work computer, extra core and extra ram, or am i simply paying 200+ to replace an android stick? will i notice speedup with athlon 2 450 vs athlon 7750?

 

[smorizio]

I don't want see you waste your money. With games the CPU and gpu play a big part on how well the system works. I look at toms hardware builder series and look at there low end builds. Your better off on any build to start with the newest mb and CPU you can afford. Then toss in a good gpu latter.
If not your just going to bottle neck the system.