Real Budget Build

Well since u on AM2 and i am thinking on something less than 1280 x 1024

1. Have a look at HD 4850 Sapphire $95 free ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It trades blows with GTS 250

2. Get CL 4 DDR2 800 RAMs?

3. OCZ Mod 500 $60 before $20 MIR with free ship for PSU?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

So is the HD 4850 alot better than the 9800 gtx? I,ve never owned a ATI card always gone with Geforce type

I think the 4850 and 9800gtx are about the same performance. I don't know about the OCZ PSU, but i actually have that ultra listed before and it's not bad, 38 amps on the 12v+ rail, and a lifetime warranty I think. I'm happy with it for the money.

Well the card you picked out is a 9800GT not GTX and ya HD 4850 is about 9800GTX+/GTS 250 country

Yes,sorry I meant 9800 "GT", But I did find this XFX 9800 GT, what u think of this one?,if u look at the same one at TigerDirect it has a video,that says to me yeah im in that boat.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


here is the one from TigerDirect, with Tech Video + the newegg card is a bit cheaper.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Oh can U let me know about the CPU/Heatsink i picked out,above. It's not too much for that cpu?

the 4850 is better and as any overclocker will tell you ,you cant ever have enough cooling

But is ATI 4850 reliable, Ive had Nvidia cards and all have performed well with good online driver updates also,a friend of mine has an ATI card and says he's had trouble with ATI's drivers updates.I mean dont get me wrong that ATI 4850 is tempting,looks like a good card.

Its just hard to choose a nice card when your on a limited budget.
I just wanna play some game without troubles,lol

ati was a bit bad with drivers in the past but all companies do but ati is much better these days since amd took them over and besides the new ati drivers will be amd optmised

Here is some better Ram, it is CAS4 and it voltage setting is 1.8v to 1.9v which is the stock setting for your Mobo.
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B - Retail $64.99

You also should look at this Graphic Card, same price as the one you are looking at but it is a GT200 card.
MSI N250GTS-2D512-OCv2 GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $109.99 ($89.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*

Now with that Mobo you know you can do SLI, so I would suggest this PSU that way if you do want to SLI you can.
ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR625AWT 625W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE $129.99 ($79.99 after $50.00 Mail-In Rebate Card) Free Shipping*

I like that card very nice price is great too,the PSU is nice also but doesn't fit into my budget price range, same with the memory very nice not on price, if i only had a bit more in the budget id go for it.

so now its between the XFX 9800GT , HD 4850 ATI, MSI GeForce GTS 250 ,all these cards have a good price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

What choice would yall take?

Here is what the case i'm gonna use looks like.but the one i have may be an older model which was given to me bout more than 10 yrs ago, im planning on repainting it black maybe add a side window.

http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/c4/e3/d8/21100838-25...


and here is what the ASUS mobo looks like.

http://www.testfreaks.com/motherboards/asus-m2n-sli/

I already knew what the Mobo look like, but thank you anyway. Here is another Ram you should look at that is CAS4 and the voltage needed to run it is 1.8v to 1.9v. As I mention before your and most Mobo's stock voltage for ram ia between 1.8v to 1.9v and the less you have to raise that voltage will benefit your mobo life-span.
G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBHK - Retail $59.99

Here is another PSU from Corsair that you should look at that is better then your choice.
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC - Retail $89.99 ($59.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Thank You, I really like that G.Skill memory,and also that Corsair PSU very nice too, only thing is that Ultra has lifetime warranty,if that makes a difference,but i do like both of your choices, i will be making my purchases this month,so i got some money jugglin to do lol.

Oh any thoughts on the cpu fan/heatsink ,is it too much,or the cooler the better? 29.00 bucks isn't bad though

Ok, I'm down to 3 cards,need some help on which one to choose, I will be on the ASUS motherboard above and the AMD Black Edition 64 X2 cpu, I will be using 4 gig memory, and I will buy a 500-maybe 600w psu.

here are the cards of choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


and that ASUS M2N-SLI, will it have any problems if its 1.0 instead of the 2.0 express, and if I happen to choose the 4850 card,will it have any problems since the mobo is nVidia nForce sli 560 sli? and for the time being I will be on a 19'' monitor.

I am leaning towards that 4850, its a tough choice, your advice would be greatly appreciated.

The XFX Radeon HD 4850 is the best of the two cards you have to choose from. But here are two cards you did not consider that might give the HD 4850 a run for the money.

BFG Tech BFGEGTS2501024E GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $139.99 ($119.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)

MSI N250GTS-2D512-OCv2 GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $119.99 ($109.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*

POWERCOLOR AX4850 1GBD3-PH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $119.99 ($104.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Have fun deciding.  

Ok, I'm starting to have second thoughts on the xfx 4850,but I'm confused will the 4850 have any problems with this M2N-SLI style motherboard, is this mobo made more for Geforce cards, I just don't want to buy the 4850 then have to send it back,just wanna make sure the xfx 4850 will absolutly work on this board before I buy. but I'll go with the xfx 9800 gtx+ if it comapares better,and i will be on a 19" monitor.


First choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Second Choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


This is what is changing my mind on the other 2 cards above,maybe I should go with the xfx 9800 gt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hol5ea8FDE&feature=chan...

The ATI 4850 will not have any problems on your Mobo as a single card.

A single 9800 GTX+ will be slightly beat by the 4850, but when in SLI it will shine. Also you need to read this article on NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250: A Rebadged 9800 GTX+ for the reason I in my post suggested the GTS 250 graphic card.

Hope this cleared the air.  

Here is my options:

Option 1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Grand Total: $212.96 (had to go with this RAM 2 x 1gb instead of 2 x 2gb, to stay closer to my budget which is around $200.00 - no more than $240.00)


Option 2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

next 2 items same as above
Grand Total: $241.00

I just don't wanna go overkill on video cards for this build since this mobo and cpu combo is out dating as we speak, and I'll still need my cpu Fan/Heatsink but ill have to wait on that, and I'm really more towards Option 1, cus its closer to my budget limit.

this maybe my last submission,Don't wanna become a pest lol, + I need to make a choice soon,Too much research. So... some quick thoughts on my choices if you would please. I appreciate everyone's advice, everyone has been great help,Thank You all.

On a 17" monitor, you don't need anything more than a 4850 512. Only reasons I don't recommend the GTS 250 is because of the higher price, and the 4850 is the one Tom's recommends for the price point.

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W 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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBHK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total is $220.96 shipped minus $20 MIR.