$300-350 System Build (Board/Processor/Memory)

Way back in the end of 2005 you guys helped me figure out a new PC build and the machine turned out just great, now with very limited resources I would like to do a new build.

I may only be able to do $300-350 to replace the Processor, Motherboard, and some Memory., and retain the other components.

So what is going to be the best combo of price and performance for those 3 components? I would like to hear some suggestions.

This is primarily a gaming machine.


The Current Build is this:

Athon 64 4000+ 2.41 Ghz (San Diego Core)
Asus A8N SLI Premium Motherboard
4GB Corsair PC3200 DDR2 400 (3-3-3-8)
Windows XP Professional SP3 (32 Bit)

Seasonic S12 600W Power Supply
Thermaltake Tsunami Dream Case
eVGA Nvidia 8800GT 512MB Graphics Card
Maxtor 500GB Hard Disk
Seagate 250GB Hard Disk
2x Pioneer DVR-110DBK DVD Rewriters
Creative Soundblaster XFi Extreme Music
Viewsonic VP930b Flat Panel Display (1280x1024)
Logitech G5 Laser Gaming Mouse
Saitek Gaming Keyboard
Logitech Freedom 2.4 Cordless Wingman Joystick
Logitech X530 5.1 Speaker System

The Athlon 64 4000+ has been an Awesome Processor :-)

Thanks

Rich W

If you could swing about $375, you could get an i5 CPU, otherwise you could go with a AMD Phenom II X4;

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215

MSI P55-CD53 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813130240

Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.245507 ($304.98)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231275 ($79.99 + Free Shipping)

Total: $384.97

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103674

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128392

Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.272101 ($243.99)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231275 ($79.99 + Free Shipping)

Total: $323.98

The i5 system will perform better, both systems OC very well, the AMD system is cheaper, If you can swing the i5 system, go with it, otherwise the AMD components will still be great.

Not with that resolution.