xX StitcH

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I know this is nothing extraordinary, but I want to know how decent it is...

-AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (2.6GHz)

-4GB DDR2-800

-Radeon HD4830 512MB (OC'd to 690/1190 from 575/900)

-MSI Motherboard & Case (complete crap I know)

-PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W PSU

-WD Caviar 80GB SATA Drive (boot drive)

-WD 320GB IDE Drive (data drive)

-Arctic Cooling Feezer 64 Pro

-LG 22x DVD+/-R DVD Burner (SATA)
 
If you want a budget AMD gaming rig:

x2 7750BE + Biostar TA790GX A2+ (combo)
2 x 2PC8500 GSkill
LG 22X DVDRW SATA
Samsung 500GB Spinpoint
Cooler Master 534
PCPC 500
HD4850
This would give better frames for the $$ IMO, all from the Egg
 

xX StitcH

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I already have this built. I started with a budget build for just basic computing and decided to upgrade to a moderate gaming machine. Looking back I would have done things different but hats done is done. It's not that bad, is it?
 
I'm not sure what you want from us, TBH. It's quite a decent build, sure.

It won't play Crysis properly at 1920x1200, but then neither will my PC which cost $3K in 2007. It will play most games pretty well on the typical 22" monitor.

If you're trying to sell it and want us to estimate what it's worth, I'd say $300. That's by adding the parts I'd still buy these days (GPU, PSU, RAM, DVD) and adding a bit for the others.

If you want us to suggest upgrades, I'd start with a WD6401AALS hard disk. If the MB supports Crossfire and the main reason for the PC is gaming, then add a second HD 4830.
 

xX StitcH

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That is more or less what I wanted to know. I have not had time to mess around with it as I had to RMA the memory because one stick was DOA.

Eventually I will have to get a new mobo and case. My current mobo is micro-ATX so it only has 1 PCI-E sot. How do you go about putting cards in crossfire? Is that what that thing on the top is for? Would a 500W PSU support two 4830's in crossfire?
 
You buy a MB with Crossfire support (GA-EP45-UD3P seems to be very good, and P5Q Pro not bad either).

You insert the cards. Use the Crossfire bridge that is supposed to come with the cards.

Finally, you mess around with the settings in Catalyst. I own an nVidia card myself these days so I'd better let somebody else go into details here.

I think the PC Power & Cooling 500W can handle HD 4830 Crossfire. It has the two PCI-E connectors you need. Recommendations are 550W+, but there are lots of PSUs marked 550W that don't deliver as much as the 35A of the Silencer 500W. It would push the PSU a bit too close to the max for my taste but it would work.
 

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This is going to sound stupid but what do you do with the monitor? Only plug it in to one of the cards I would guess, and it just uses the other card for the extra power...

My card did not come with a crossfire bridge :(

Also, the mobo you listed is an intel. I have an AMD CPU. I'll probably end up buying an Anten Three Hundred and a 790gx mobo...

With my current specs, is anything really being bottlenecked, or is everything pretty even?
 
Yes you plug in only one card to the monitor.

I think you can buy a Crossfire bridge separately. Some newegg reviewers mentioned buying it on eBay.

For Crossfire on an AMD platform, I'd normally recommend something based on the 790FX chipset because those do Crossfire at full 16x+16x. The K9A2 Platinum for example is pretty good. The 790gx drops to 8x+8x, but it's still just fine for HD 4830 or even HD 4870 cards. I guess either way is good.

Your CPU/GPU/RAM combination is very well balanced, no problems there. Your hard disks on the other hand are considerably slower than the recent 640GB disks. For gaming it's OK, IMO. For work or editing videos, you should get a newer disk.