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~$150 Upgrade (CPU, mobo, RAM)

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - ~$150 Upgrade (CPU, mobo, RAM)

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Hi everyone!

As the title states, I'd like to upgrade my CPU, motherboard, and RAM for about $150. I don't want to go much above $150, and if it could go down a few bucks, that would be great. My current specs are as follows:

Athlon 64 3700+ (socket 939)
DFI nForce 4 motherboard
2GB DDR400
Radeon HD 2600XT
250GB SATA hard drive
430W Thermaltake PSU (19A on the +12V)

I am partial to AMD, but I'd buy Intel if the price is right. Overclocking would be nice, but is not essential. I bought my DFI board for all the overclocking options in the BIOS, but never really used them.

I've been looking at this combo on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.243938

It's a Zotac GeForce 8200 motherboard with an Athlon II 245 for $111, with a $20 MIR, bringing it down to $91. That, along with 4GB of DDR2, would bring the total to about $140.

In terms of RAM, I was thinking about either this OCZ Reaper for $50:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227267

Or this Corsair XMS for $54:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184

Or this Crucial Ballistix for $54:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148212

Any opinions?

------------------------------ DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+ @ 2.25GHz (11 x 205)
2GB G.Skill DDR400 @410
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
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Bump

------------------------------ DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+ @ 2.25GHz (11 x 205)
2GB G.Skill DDR400 @410
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
Reply to angry_ducky

It looks like a nice very inexpensive upgrade although I am not familiar with the Zotac brand,Looking at the few reviews of it there it seems all right though,I would choose less expensive memory though.
Maybe something like this to save a few more extra bucks.I've purchased this memory before and it works well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820211188

Reply to jj463rd

I'm not a fan of the nvidia chipsets, you can have this cpu+mb combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.242550 at 103.98$ after mir and this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231207 at 49.99$ mir, total at abit above 150$

Reply to Daggs

Daggs wrote :

I'm not a fan of the nvidia chipsets, you can have this cpu+mb combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.242550 at 103.98$ after mir and this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231207 at 49.99$ mir, total at abit above 150$



I was about to post the link to that combo asking how it looked; then I clicked on your link, and realized it was the same one! I like that the motherboard has 4 DIMM slots, and that it's a full ATX board. How does this Corsair RAM look?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145241

It's DDR2 800; 1.8V, and $40 after a $20 MIR, with free shipping. That motherboard/CPU combo and that RAM, after MIRs and $7 for shipping, would bring the total to $151.

------------------------------ DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+ @ 2.25GHz (11 x 205)
2GB G.Skill DDR400 @410
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
Reply to angry_ducky

Bump.

------------------------------ DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+ @ 2.25GHz (11 x 205)
2GB G.Skill DDR400 @410
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
Reply to angry_ducky
------------------------------ DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+ @ 2.25GHz (11 x 205)
2GB G.Skill DDR400 @410
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
Reply to angry_ducky
------------------------------ "To better understand why you need a personal computer, let's take a look at the pathetic mess you call your life."
Reply to badge

badge wrote :

How about this 'on a strict budget' build Outlaw6669 listed for someone the other day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813186167

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231098

Even add in a GPU. Or buy a 4 GB DDR2 kit in it's place.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121274



At stock speeds, how does the E5200 compare with the Athlon II X@ 245? I read a review of the X2 250 the other day, which showed it beating the E5200 at stock speeds, and I don't plan on overclocking much, if at all. I'm also kind of partial to AMD. I don't need a new GPU, as my HD 2600 plays all my games well, and I want 4GB of RAM.

I'd been thinking about the Sempron 140 for a while, as some people have been able to unlock theirs. However, I don't want to be stuck with a single-core CPU if it doesn't unlock, so I think I'll stick with the 245.

------------------------------ DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+ @ 2.25GHz (11 x 205)
2GB G.Skill DDR400 @410
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
Reply to angry_ducky
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