Your Mission, should you decide to accept it

[mackmack]

I currently have an Athlon 64 3500, X800 pro, Abit AV8 mobo, and 2 gigs ram.

I have been having problems with this system, I think its the video card.. and I wanted to replace/upgrade. Well, the AV8 is a socket 939 so I am caught in a tough spot.. I dont want to invest in an overpriced AGP card... just to scrap it in a year or two.



This was an Alienware pre-built Aurora system(before dell bought them)... so the case is good... and I got a newer 550 watt power supply. also have a spare 350 gig hard drive, and some spare ram.

My question, and your mission... is what MOBO, CPU, and Video Card can I get for $600 that will feel like a substantial upgrade over what I have now, while also allowing me to upgrade piece meal in the future. I only play Team Fortress 2 and the upcoming Left 4 dead, so nothing that needs to run far cry or anything, but I'd like to see a decent to moderate performance boost and run vista. I'm trying to not only get some good bang for the buck but balance any potential bottlenecks.

Is it possible? with a budget of $600? If so, help me out and point me in the right direction. Or let me know if I should just keep the current system I have and have it repaired as its not worth the money and effort that $600 will buy me at this point. Thanks guy.

 

[quantumsheep]

Try an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, Gigabyte P35 DS3R motherboard and an ATI HD3870 or nVidia 8800GT. The CPU should be about $150-$200 at MOST (You can get one for $70, something like an E2160/2180, and it'll fly when it's been overclocked). The motherboard will be about $120 and the GPU about $200.

That should come to a total of $520 at most. If you want to spend a little more you can upgrade the CPU to a Core 2 Quad (Q6600 probably) and that system should keep you going for a good year or two!

 

[Mando1351]

MOBO and CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538877&CatId=1599
Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2900232&CatId=1558

Total 459.00

Try those great performance at a good price and gives you room to upgrade CPU and Video card down the line and your looking at probably 2-3 yrs with the current set up I just gave you and for about 125 dollars more you can even go to a quad core cpu with a better mobo

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3601833&Sku=MCM-680ILT-Q6600B

 

[quantumsheep]

MOBO and CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538877&CatId=1599
Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2900232&CatId=1558

Total 459.00

I have to ask why you're suggesting the 8800GTS 320 to this guy? It's now an outdated card that is priced higher than it should be. The 8800GT 512 is much faster than the GTS 320 and at a similar price point.

 

[mlaporta]

Just make sure the mobo will fit in the case and will work with the power supply you have.

 

[Onus]

Quantumsheep's first suggestions are good. You say you're looking for something that feels like an obvious upgrade to your current system. That's actually pretty easy, even without overclocking.
An e2180 CPU and an 8600GTS or 2600XT will be an incredible difference, and still far from the best available today.

 

[mlaporta]

Which one better fits his budget and is the best way to go:

SAPPHIRE 100218L Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Video Card

SAPPHIRE 100203L Radeon HD 2400PRO 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Video Card

 

[timaahhh]

If you are not interested in overclocking

Gigabyte P31 Mobo 70 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128077

MSI 8800 GT 512 MB 205 Bucks
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814127324

Core 2 Duo E6750 $190
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819115029

This is only $465 u will prolly need 2 gigs of DDR2 which will run about 80 bucks for some decent memory. And u can go up or down on the processor or on the mobo if you wanna overclock spend an extra 40 bucks.

 

[mlaporta]

Thats a close call if he goes close to $190 for a cpu then maybe he should go for the e8400 for $30 more $220...

 

[mlaporta]

Stick with this mobo you can't go wrong with it and it will afford you many options: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L

 

[mackmack]

Hey guys, I was thinking on settling for this config.. dont think this set up was mentioned by any one person yet on here and I wanted to make sure I wasn't making a mistake before I pulled the trigger.

[all from newegg, but I can get the Wolfdale for 20 bucks cheaper at another site]

GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128084
$79.99

XFX PVT88PYHF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$229.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
$239.99

Subtotal: $549.97


Anything you think I should upgrade or downgrade?

Someone asked about my power supply...it is only 6 months old, its 550w.. reputable company..so no problems there.

thanks again.

 

[jalpaugh1978]

if you are planning on using the memory from your 939 board it will not work on your new board. 939 boards are DDR and the board you're looking to get is DDR2. Don't worry though, you can get 2 gigs of DDR2 memory for under $50 shipped at New Egg. I would suggest taking a look at this G-skill...great price and great performance, IMO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

or maybe this Crucial memory...great price after mail-in-rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

either way this will put right at your budget

 

[mlaporta]

Stick with this mobo you can't go wrong with it and it will afford you many options: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L