Hey everyone,

I've lurked for a while, and I hope that my post falls within published guidelines and acceptable use parameters.

I have an old system (circa 2001) that consists of an Athlon MP (Palomino core) 1800+, 1 GB of DDR RAM, an FX 5500, and 160 GB of HDD space. I play mainly older games, but I have an unopened copy of F.E.A.R. Gold and Half-Life 2 (w/ Episode One) that could really use playing.

I was wondering if you could suggest an upgrade/new build (I'd have to replace the whole thing except for the case, monitor, hard disks, and input devices) for around $400.

So far, I've come up with:

Motherboard: BIOSTAR NF520-A2 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (49.99)
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813138077

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+ 2.0GHz (65.99)

RAM: WINTEC AMPO 4 x 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model 3AMD2800-512M1-R - Retail ($87.96)

GPU/Video Card: PNY Verto GeForce 7900 GS ($119.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814133186

PSU: FSP Group (Fortron Source) ATX400-PA ATX12V 400W Power Supply 110-127/220-240V UL, CSA, TUV, NEMKO, CB & FCC - OEM ($36.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817104952

Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - Retail ($35.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106057

This comes out to a total of around $460 after shipping. How does it sound?

Thanks much!

video card looks pretty strong.
for the RAM- i dont understand why you chose 4 dimms instead of 2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231098. theres 2gb (2x1) by g.skill of ddr2800 for 79.99 shipped.

the power supply is a good brand but look closely at the specs- NO pci-e power connector. although, the card does come with the adaptor to turn the required pci-e power into two molex connectors, but that will take up a bunch of power cords and be a hassle. also, that power supply has only ONE sata power connector. which will be used up immediately for your sata cd drive, leaving no room for sata hard drives in the future.

the cpu choice is good, as you seem to be on a strict budget. you could opt for an intel e2140, for 75.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116037, if you are into overclocking. if not, then stick with the athlon.

btw- do not forget to sell your old cpu and board when you do upgrade. i have sold an athlon xp 1800 and board for $53, and an xp 2600 and board for 77 on ebay. recoup some of your costs!

Thanks.

I will switch out the RAM and the PSU.

The RAM to your recommended, and the PSU to this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817104953

Go for it, sounds good. You could get a x1950pro for about the same cost and it's a tad better than the 7900gs. Just an option to consider. Right now the x1950pro's are alittle harder to find, but on newegg they are the same cost as the 7900gs's, you just have to wait on a MIR to get the same cost .