Upgrading old computer for less than $500

[schrollbach]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Next Month BUDGET RANGE: $500 MAX

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, disk drive, hard drive, case, power supply (Ultra 500W from about 2 years ago), videocard

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: tigerdirect, newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: none

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Want a PC where I can play games, talk to friends on skype, have Firefox running in the background (maybe on a separate monitor)


My current system is starting to crap out on my pretty bad. I want to be able to have a game running, be able to alt tab and go check something on firefox and go back to the game rather quickly.

 

[psycho sykes]

What are the specs of the computer you are upgrading?!
Or is it from scratch!!

 

[jitpublisher]

Here allow me to condense what you just said into 1 short sentence that means exactly the same thing.

"I want to buy something for $500 that is better than what I have, and will work with all the stuff I do have."

Okay............we would love to make some suggestions, but like he^ said, we kinda need to know exactly what you have right now.... in a little more detail please.

 

[brown63]

Here you go

i5 + P55 + 4GB DDR3

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/17576

 

[schrollbach]

Currently I have a:

Socket 939 motherboard
amd athlon x2 3200...i belive (old socket 939)
2 gb ddr ram
9800gt
500w power supply from ultra
300gb sata hdd
old dvd burner

sorry i can't be super exact but that's what i have to work with right now

 

[psycho sykes]

Well, I don't think there's an upgrade for socket 939 now.
And the 9800GT would be enough till you're going to upgrade the whole system.
Try saving some money for now and repost here when you are ready for a whole new system / Also you might want to take a look at http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/271189-31-system-gaming-hdtv
See my first posted build or the second one by Ctrl+F 'ing "#197" (w/o quotes) then reply.

Medo

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-P55M-D2 Combo Price: $299.98 | $279.98 $20 off w/ code 3DAYCPU20 Free Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 Socket 1156/ Intel P55/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ A&GbE/ MATX Motherboard
Intel Core i5 Processor i5-750 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1156 CPU, Retail

*Pair up the mobo/cpu combo above with any of these RAM/vid card combo's below.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.256305 Combo Discount: -$15.00 Combo Price: $184.98 $10.00 Mail-In Rebate Card Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $174.98 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
MSI N250GTS-2D512-OCv2 GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Total: $464.96 | $454.96 w/mail in rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.256276 Combo Discount: -$15.00 Combo Price: $199.98 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
SAPPHIRE 279L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Total: $479.97

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.256275 Combo Discount: -$15.00 Combo Price: $209.98 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Total: $489.97