$330 Sempron 2.7ghz budget build with plans to upgrade

[noollig]

I am putting together a cheap system for simple web surfing and playing WoW with the Lich King expansion. I know this build isn't anything great now, but I want a system that I'll be able to upgrade to get it up to par. I have a 19 inch monitor, keyboard and mouse already and am shooting for an end price of around $300.

This build has the Sempron 2.7ghz proc that is pretty much a Regor die with a core disabled. If I don't run any other programs I think I can OC it enough to get playable framerates and am wondering if the second core is unlockable. I want to wait until the new Athlon II X4 and Phenom II X4 965 chips come out and see if there's a price drop in some of the other chips like the 720 BE and the quad cores. I do plan to upgrade later and don't want to waste money on a processor I plan to replace in a few months anyway. However, I would like to stick to a mobo that I won't have to replace any time soon.

This build only includes the integrated graphics for now but I can pick up something like a HD 4670 or HD 4850 in two or three weeks.

Here's what I've got so far:
AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103698

500gb 7200rpm WD Caviar Blue HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

LG DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136144

XCLIO case and 500W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.233817

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.237079

Total = $313.93

Do you think this will be good enough to run WoW-wotlk for now and can still be upgraded to a decent gaming system later on? Any suggestions on how to improve the build without getting to extravagant? I want to stick with a mobo that I won't have to replace for a while. I haven't found a lot of info on the 2.7ghz Sempron so far. Any advice/opinions are very much appreciated. I want to make the order by August 14th.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Drop to 2 gb of ram, get a better chip.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231121

At least grab this for a processor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688

Not sure about xclio on the PSU. It may be ok though, but I'll let some of the other folks comment on that.

As far as 2 gb of ram will it work? Once you get a decent video card in, you'll be fine till you upgrade. I'm running Vista on an Athlon x2 5200+, 2 gb of ram, and a 9600gt. It still runs my games decently for now.

 

[megamanx00]

It's a 45nm CPU so it's possible that it has a second core that you can enable but, you need a proper board to do so like the Gigabyte MA790X-UDP4. Anyway never count on unlocking cores. They are often disabled for a reason so getting the extra core to work is blind luck. That said it's worth it to spend the extra $21 on the AMD Athlon II X2 240

 

[megamanx00]

Oh yeah, as for the PSU XCLIO is known for their GreatPower, and StablePower series, but I don't know anything about their GoodPower series. should be ok for a 4850. I think it would be worth it to pay an extra $15 to get the same case with the XCLIO StablePower PSU combo instead. If you want to know how PSUs compare then research PSU tiers

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

 

[noollig]

It's a 45nm CPU so it's possible that it has a second core that you can enable but, you need a proper board to do so like the Gigabyte MA790X-UDP4. Anyway never count on unlocking cores. They are often disabled for a reason so getting the extra core to work is blind luck. That said it's worth it to spend the extra $21 on the AMD Athlon II X2 240

I agree that the Athlon II X2 240 is better and am not worried about whether or not I unlock any cores. I'd really just like to save the $21 for now if I can and put it toward a Phenom II X4 550 BE in a couple months. AMD is also about to release the Athlon II X4 and Phenom II X4 965 BE and when those come out I'd like to see if they might be what I want to pick up or if the prices of the other chips drop at all.

 

[noollig]

I think the idea of dropping on stick of RAM is a good idea to save some cash. I could use the money to upgrade the processor but would rather spend it on the PSU, Case, or Mobo since those are things I don't plan on replacing in the next 3 months. I could pick up an Athlon II now but I think i'd just end up replacing it with a quad-core before long anyway.

 

[noollig]

Ok, well I went with the Sempron 140 and a GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H for the proc/mobo in my final stages. It was worth it!

I disabled cool'n'quiet in bios and enabled ACC and now I have an Athlon II X2 4400 (at least that's how it's recognized), which is friggin' awesome for only $40!

I ended up changing a few things in my build too. i upgraded the cpu to a corsair 650w just to be safe and a couple other things but I am definitely happy that I stuck with the sempron 140. This cpu will fit my needs for a few months, then I plan to upgrade to a Phenom II X4.

I plan to overclock this puppy and see what I can get, i'll keep everyone updated.

 

[noollig]

I OC'd to 3ghz easily without any problems and a temp that doesn't go past 37c with the stock cooler on the Sempron 140. I'm leaving it at this because it fits my needs just fine, but it could probably go higher especially with a better heatsink/fan.