Need to upgrade for under $300 (gaming)

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
I

insomnia81

Distinguished
Nov 4, 2008
5
0
18,510
I plan on buying everything from newegg within the next month. I know $300 isn't a lot to work with, especially when it comes to gaming, but its all I can afford right now.

I need:

Motherboard
Ram
CPU
Vid card
possibly a new PSU

What do you guys think of these to start?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130378


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122



As for the Mobo, I'm still not sure yet. Any suggestions? Should I go with the parts I have picked or go with something else?
 
X

xcess

Distinguished
Oct 15, 2008
37
0
18,530
300 and u need all that just assuming ,mobo 90$, cpu90$,ram umm50$,video card 100$ ,psu 80$ =over 300, if all u neede was the cpu mobo/psu and video card maybe but idk,
 
M

megamanx00

Splendid
Sep 3, 2008
8,216
2
31,465
Do not waste money on a 9500GT. Go with a Radeon 4670, or a 3850 if you can find that cheaper. There is a pretty decent combo deal to use that 5200 and this 790GX board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138130

for $152.99

Or you could combo with this 770 based board for $115.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138106

That ram you chose is $49.99 so that's $202.98 so far if we go with the 790GX board. As for the GPU this Radeon 4670 is $80.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127383

And this should be fine if your PSU is at least 400W with 17A on the 12v. If your PSU is rated less than that, and it isn't an Antec Earth Watts, then you should get a decent PSU and buy a better GPU latter, or get the 770 combo and get this PSU.

Antec Basiq BP500UB 500W $40.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371019

Personally I think getting the 790GX board and a decent PSU is the better option. Even though you will have to use the onboard graphics for a while you can save up some money and add a better GPU latter. Upgrade your CPU to a phenom latter on and the SB750 in that board will allow you to overclock it a little further. Also getting a better PSU now gives you more options in the future and if you choose wisely you can use it in your future builds.
 
I

insomnia81

Distinguished
Nov 4, 2008
5
0
18,510
Awesome info. Thanks guys. I'm glad I decided to post here first. Lots of good info. I'll let you know what I end up going with
 
lunyone

lunyone

Splendid
Feb 22, 2006
6,517
0
26,960
Here you go:
CPU/Mobo combo - $137 Has 2.7 gHz CPU (AMD) and decent mobo with lots of features.
4th combo from the top!! Biostar TForce T8200 mobo and CPU.
BIOSTAR TForce TF8200 A2+ AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Other mobo to consider is the Biostar 790gx based mobo. It's $17 more, so don't know if you have the $ for it, but it's something to consider. It's the 3rd combo down from the top on my previous paragraph.
BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

PSU - $35 shipped!! Use promo code "EMCBBAEAB" for the $25 discount!! PSU has 30A on the 12v rails and is >80% efficient too!!
Antec earthwatts EA430 430W ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

GPU - $80 - $10 MIR!!! Has plenty of cooling and is probably the best your going to get in this price range!!
HIS Hightech H467QS512P Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Hexus review of the 4670. Not the best, but definately no slouch for the $$

Memory - $37 - $25 MIR = $12!!! In this price range I think your going to have to start off with 2 gb's of DDR2 800mHz.
OCZ SLI-Ready 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Total w/shipping - $301.32 - $35 MIR's = $266.32!!!! Now you can upgrade the mobo (I mentioned this above) and still be under the $300 limit (after MIR's). It's up to you, but that is about as good as your going to get, unless you drop down on the mobo a bit, which I wouldn't recommend doing.
 
mbbs20

mbbs20

Distinguished
Aug 4, 2008
117
0
18,680
u can get a decent system....

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012
$49.99
($19.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate


Kingston 2 gb (2x1 gb) ddr2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134488
$27.99

GIGABYTE GA-EG31M-S2 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128338
$52.99

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116052
$69.99

EDIT:I chaged the 4670 with the more powerfull 9600 gt

EVGA 512-P3-N861-TR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130393
$97.99
($77.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate )

so the total now is = $298.95 - $50 MIR = $248.95 after rebate...offcourse ull have to add shipping and I am not sure if there are any taxes for your state...

u can overclock the cpu on that mobo to 3.0ghz easily with stock cooling and the video card is pretty decent for the money as well..u can expect probably med quality in crysis and high to very high graphics on 12xx resolution on most other games like COD 4
 
lunyone

lunyone

Splendid
Feb 22, 2006
6,517
0
26,960

Not a bad build either. Both PSU's have their advantages.
* The OCZ has 27A on the 12v rails and the Antec has 30A on the 12v rails (Advantage: Antec)
* OCZ has 1 x 6+2pin PCI-e power connector and the Antec has 1 x 6 pin connector (Advantage: OCZ)
* Antec is $35 w/o waiting for rebate (Advantage: Antec)
* Both have 3 yr. warranties (Advantage: Customer!!)

Your memory is CAS6!!! The one I selected is Cas4!!! Much faster (4-4-4-15). The only ding on my selection is that it's at 2.1v and yours is at 1.8v. Not a big deal in the scheme of things.

The CPU you selected is 2.0 gHz and will need to come up to about 2.4-2.5 gHz to meet/exceed the 2.7 gHz AMD chip. Not usually a big deal on Intel chips, just will need to keep that in mind (OC to 2.4-2.5 gHz).

Your Intel mobo only supports 4 SATA drives, the 2 mobo's I listed above support 6 SATA AND also support RAID functions!!
Also your mobo has only 2 RAM slots (support up to 4 gb's) and both of mine have 4 RAM slots (16 gb's total!!)
Your onboard GPU is Intel GMA 3100 (yuk!!), I suggested the nVidia 8300 or the AMD 3300 GPU, which are leaps above the Intel GMA 3100!!

Now these comments are just nit picking, but you can see the bigger differences in the mobo's between an AMD mobo and an Intel mobo, when the prices are similar. You can go either way, but I thought I'd point out some of the major differences in the builds.
 
mbbs20

mbbs20

Distinguished
Aug 4, 2008
117
0
18,680



I agree with all u have mentioned really...but i was choosing the cheapest quality components, but u r right your memory choice is definetly better...both PSUs in my opinion are the same relatively...but the big difference is the cpu and mobo...u see although 5200 x2 is plenty fast but a 2180 at 3.2ghz is around 90-95% of the intel extreme X6xxx processor..I have my e2160 at 3.1ghz since its enough for me and it is pretty decent...needless to say that proc will be even better at 3.4-3.6ghz whcih is very doabale as i had mentioned before and at that speed the 5200x2 even overclocked to 3.2ghz doesnt match....

as far as the mobo is concerned by all means the OP can get the 790gx i love that chipset but i dont think he would be using either of the integrated graphics so what is the problem with the intel one?...

yeah 6 sata, 16gb and raid are all good but i doubt the OP would be using 6 drives or more then 4 gb memory realistically and raid on a 300 dollar budget....i dont think so :D...none the less i still like your build a lot :sol:


PS. u can add this cooler if u have some change left..its very good for the price and should be enough to reach 3.6ghz on that cpu

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
$26.99

EDIT:
I have changed the video card selection for a 9600gt..in my view a gaming comp needs a more powerful video card..so if u want u can ditch the cpu cooler and still the stock cooler would suffice a 3.0ghz overclock
 
lunyone

lunyone

Splendid
Feb 22, 2006
6,517
0
26,960
I agree that you can OC the e2180 pretty easily, but most people don't even OC, so I was just pointing out that the AMD build wouldn't need an OC to be a bit better. Don't get me wrong, I'd buy the Intel chip, but I could OC the chip and not worry much about it. The OP might not want to OC, so in my mind, if that is what the OP wants to do, the AMD build is better. Now there is a slim chance that the AMD mobo "might" accept the next gen AM3 CPU chips. Not sure yet, but I know the Intel s775 is dead, so there are those arguements that one could use.
I'd still stick with the 4670, it's better than the 9600gt. It's between the 9600gt and the 9800gt.
 
M

megamanx00

Splendid
Sep 3, 2008
8,216
2
31,465
Yeah, if AM3 chips can't be accepted by my AM2+ board I'm gonna be pretty PO'd :D. Looks like the new 45nm Phenoms are going to come out in the middle of the month and they will be AM2+ parts for now so we'll see how that goes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom