Opinions on new upgrades (Motherboard/CPU/RAM)

[WVSteelers22]

I'm looking to upgrade my aging AMD Athlon 64 3200+ system, but I need some suggestions.

Uses for the computer include:
1) Some gaming, but nothing to serious (Thus I'm delaying upgrading my video card)
2) Lite video work. Mostly home videos, etc.
3) Basic daily use.
4) Dual boot Windows 7 RC and Ubuntu 9.04

So really I'm just the average user

I'm reusing my case (Micro-ATX tower), hard-drive (320GB STAT), DVD Burner (IDE), video card (nVidia 7600GT PCI-x16), and hopefully my PSU (350W 18amps on 12V+)
Budget ~$250

With that said, here is what I'm looking at getting:
Motherboard (Gigabyte AMD 780G)
CPU (AMD Athlon X2 7850 BE)
RAM (OCZ 4GB (2GB x 2))
If needed PSU (Corsair 400W)

Good, bad, decent, or what the hell are you think?

 

[messerchmidt]

I would go intel, it will be faster.

pentium dual core e5200, a micro atx G/p45 board like the GA-EG45M-DS2H , the ocz ddr2 is ok

your current psu should do.


I would buy an aftermarket cooler like the freezer7 pro for the cpu if you want to overclock.

If you do go amd. Get the triple core + biostar board that lets you unlock the 4th core (do research do you buy the right one)

 

[dokk2]

I read a recent article here on Tom's ,I think,, that said that Gigabyte was also fixing their mobo's so they would also unlock AMD cpu's..
Yeah I too have the 7850be which I am planning on putting into a Gigabyte mobo soon and I have been looking at the GMA-709FX-UD5P,as I think that it will give the most for the least as in upgrade-ability as it is supposed to support all current am2,am2+ and am3 cpu's although I have read on The Egg that there is a problem at the moment with am3 cpu's,did not notice the date of the posts tho..

 

[pous]

If you could spare an extra $50 and put your budget at 300 you could get something like this:

DFI am3 motherboard 790gx ~ 140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136068

AMD Phenom II x2 550 BE 3.1ghz ~ 103
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680

G.Skill 4gb DDR3 1333 ~ 58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253

Personally I think this is the better option, it's slightly more expensive, but will ensure you have an upgrade path for later on.

 

[WVSteelers22]

Thanks all for your suggestions.

Pous: I've been doing a little research and looking at some benchmarks over the past couple days.
I do believe that I will not be going with the AMD Athlon X2 7850 BE chip. Instead, I'm stuck between the AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE and the AMD Athlon II X2 250. For me, I don't see a huge difference between the two considering my requirements. The only problem I'm seeing is finding a reasonable priced motherboard that supports the Athlon II. I have found a Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-UD2H and it supports AM3 CPUs, but does not state Athlon II X2 series.

I'll continue to look at benchmarks, etc over the weekend and make a purchase on Monday.
Again, thanks for the help all.