I have this motherboard, which only has AGP: Biostar P4M800 Pro-M6. It says it has a LGA775 socket. What's the best processor I can get for it? I can't pay more than $200. I need something that won't bottleneck a Radeon HD 3850.

On Biostar's website it says the C2D 6400 is the maximum the board will support.

If it could handle the 45mn wolfdales i'd say get a 7200. Roadrunners had some great overclocks with it .

would any of those 2 bottleneck the 3850? that's my main worry here.

They shouldn't. however even my E8400 bottlenecks my gfx cards slightly. Everytime i go for a higher overclock i get that bit more out of it. But, to be honest the E6400 @ 2.13 shouldn't bottleneck it.

BTW what cpu do you have atm?

A intel pentium 4 631 3000Mhz (15 x 200), dual core. I haven't bought the 3850 yet but I get the feeling my current processor won't be enough.

Ah ok if you've not bought yet i seriously suggest a new mobo and cpu then getting the pci 9600GT instead. I'm a ATI fan, but bang for buck atm is on the 512 9600GT .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116052

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813127034

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 813136038R

Can even do some overclocking with this pair .

you see the problem is that I don't have more than $400 to spend. Unless you can add a decent card and power unit to the list without going over that. I'd love to build a modern computer from scratch but I can't find a combo that costs less. I can re use my 1GB DDR2 RAM, 80GB hard drive and CD drive.

Sorted.....

CPU.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116052

Mobo... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

Gfx... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150278

PSU... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371006

Total= $359.96 with a $55 mail in rebate = $304.96 total

or if you wanted remove the 256 GT and get a superclocked 512 instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143126

New total $409.96 with $55 dollar rebate = $354.96

woah.. that's awesome. thanks a lot.

no probs nothing i like more than to eat sweet 'n sour pork balls while looking at hardware .

wait a min is there a difference between the power unit in your list and my current one? It's a Soltech Atx Switch 450w. If no I could just keep it and use the money to go with the superclocked card on your list.

I'm unsure on that brand name so don't know how well it'll hold out against a 512Mb 9600GT superclocked. If it's older than two years i'd definitely say get a new one. The Antec Earthwatts is a high quality PSU so i can be happy saying it'll handle it.

Maybe another member has heard of the Soltech PSU's. I'm in the UK so we get different brand names etc... gets a little confusing sometimes .

no problem i'll check back tomorrow. bye

righto most likely someone else will have added an input by then so your be in for a nippy new rig anyhow .

Well done. +1

Well done. +2

Only other recommendation is the OCZ StealthExtreme 600 watt powersupply. To me it is a no brainer, $15 more after rebate. Stellar reviews. Solid base.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341010
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/451/10
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews [...] watt_psu/5

I have pretty much the same system, and really couldn't be happier. Get that '2180 up to 3.2 GHz, and you will be flying! In fact, if doing it over again, I would have gone with the 9600GT.

Good luck!

...P.S...

You could even go cheaper with another 9600.

Closed_deal's recommended BFG is certainly a solid unit. But there are some other solid brands on the 'Egg such as ASUS and EVGA that are ~$20 less.

With gear like the 2180 and todays graphics cards, it is a great time to upgrade!