[Solved] Mobo and cpu for 500$ gaming rig

Read my thread list in my signature. I have a bargain build that is very similar to your build. I think you could just import the CPU & MOBO in my build into your's and you'll be all set.

You want to stick with an AM3 build at this price and gives you a better upgrade path.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 3 Months+ (you tell me, when are there good price drops on these parts?) BUDGET RANGE: $500-550

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (the game ill run the most is Oblivion and the Guild Wars series...and possibly Aion or Fallout 3), Homebrew 3d animation, game programming, surfing the internet, watching movies)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, compact/dvd drives,

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.

PARTS PREFERENCES: ATI. The best. I am using a Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1 - Retail monitor.

OVERCLOCKING: I've never done it before, so I want to get the best I can out of stock...but heck yes I will oc if I can do it that it will minimally impact the life of my PC. I plan on crossfire as a possible upgrade in the Future...also it is very important I can maker major upgrades in the future...

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680 x 1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I care about gaming performance for the mentioned games...oblivion, kotor 1 and 2, wow, fallout 3, etc.
And I will be using this PC long into the future, so I need to be able to upgrade it for years to come.
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This was reccommended to me:


Now my question is, should I crossfire 2 512 4930s, or just buy a single 4870 1gb or better.

Hard Drive:
the closest thing to the shiny velociraptor I want.
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319
$75

Memory:
2 of these~
Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2/2G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820104072
$51.98 (wierd, its cheaper then a 4gb pack, I plan on getting two more of these in the future)

Case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119077
$49.99

PSU:
Picked this cause PCI E cables and room for crossfire upgrade and good rating...
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341017
$49.99 after $25 rebate.

GPU:
(2) HIS H483QS512P Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161267
$160.00 after $40 rebate.

or
a 4850/70
$154.00

IF NECCASSARY FOR OC'ing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835207006
$13.99+


CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.237632
combo

MOBO: Foxconn A76ML-K AM3 Ready / AM2+ / AM2 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.237632
$140.00 combo (30$ off)


I AM BASING THIS BUILD ON MY BUDGET...so COMBOS ARE AWESOME!

thats a much nicer mother board... I will change that...

should I buy two 4830s and crossfire them, or a single 4850.

I will be playing mostly older games (kotor, oblivion, etc) so i figured even a 4830 would suffice for max details, and all newer games support crossfire...so why not? I really don't care about the in between games that don't support it...if I have to run them off of a single card it should still be good...
what do you think though?

I'm not a big fan of overclocking...and correct me if I am wrong, but isn't a stock 545 just as powerful as a e5200 stock, and can overclock almost as well?
wouldn't 2 4830s run better than a single 4770?

what do you mean about customizing your case?

thanks for all the help AMDThunder. But why the heck am i still being told to get an e5200 instead? I thought that a better mobo (unlike what the e5200s use) would be better for the future...and I don't really wanna fry my cpu. Sure it looks good overclocked...but sometimes newer is better. Right>?

I guess this is it then...

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319
$75

Memory:
2 of these~
Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2/2G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820104072
$51.98

Case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119152
$59.99

PSU:
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341017
$49.99 after $25 rebate.

GPU:
POWERCOLOR AX4850 1GBD3-PH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131163
$104.99 after $10 rebate

Heatsink:
Sunbeam
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835207006
$13.99

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.237632
combo

MOBO:
Foxconn A76ML-K AM3 Ready / AM2+ / AM2 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.237632
$140.00 combo (30$ off)

or

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649
$119.00

MOBO: (some very very) bad reviews 4/5
ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131381
$69.99 woth $10 rebate.

I AM BASING THIS BUILD ON MY BUDGET...so COMBOS ARE AWESOME!

(price raise due to new case)
TOTAL X2 with combo with rebates: $496.00
Without rebates: $531.00

TOTAL WITH X3 without combos with rebates: $546.00
witout rebates: $591.00

Okay. I was just thinking about that switch actually...I know 4850s take more power and oc less...but at stock they are more powerful, and my 600W can cover the extra power...

The reason I am looking at the X2 is the extra power per core...and its less expensive.

Oh and I am getting a 590 case instead. It's actually the same price with shipping.

Do I really need 4ghz to use 1066 ram? what was fullmetall talking about? 1066 only costs a little more...and i'm willing to breach 525ish.. ^
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