How low in price can I go without it being "cheap"

[shawne]

I know this has been asked a billion times, but I am building a system and want to be as frugal as I can possibly be. I like playing games but I don't play many. Only games I really play on my current rig is blizzard games. And I play poker online and use my computer for school.

So I want to upgrade, my rig is old going on 4 years. I custom built it but haven't kept up with the current trends since really 2005. So I am looking to keep my Antec 300 case, I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse. I have a power supply that's 450. It's fairly new but I could get another.

Any suggestions? I feel so rusty and am not sure if I should just buy one out right or start building my own again and catch up on the current trends to be in the know. If you guys could give me ideas within the 550 - 650 price range that would be great. I only will play blizzard games, maybe eve online, no fps or anything cpu extensive like that, but I don't want the graphics on the games I do play now to look bad.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dirtmountain]

At your price range you're probably looking at an AMD CPU. Check out these recent articles here at Tom's.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2439.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-ii-x3,2452.html
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3663

Use this Bench tool to compare any CPUs you may be interested in for your uses.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=2

Trial build using the AthlonIIx4 620 and a 785G AM3 motherboard with DDR3 RAM and a 5770 graphic card. $520 with about $8 shipping to me and would be fine with your existing case/PSU.

CPU/mobo combo - $179
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.276969

RAM - 2x2 GB DDR3 1333 mushkin 7-7-7-20 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146868

GPU - 5770 $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

HD - Samsung F3 500GB SATA $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

burner - Liteon SATA $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334

You could go with a more powerful CPU and still easily stay within budget and/or go with a cheaper GPU like a 4770 or 4850.

I didn't include an operating system - windows7 home premium 64bit is about $100, if you're a student you can get it cheaper. If you plan on overclocking you'll need a cooler. Check www.frostytech.com for reviews.

 

[4745454b]

Blizzard isn't in the habit of making graphic cutting edge games. A basic to midrange CPU, 4GBs of ram, and a mid range GPU should be all you'd need. Something like the AthlonII 620, or the dual core 550 should be fine. Toss in 4GBs of DDR2/3 ram and the 5750(?) and you should set. I'm a bit warry of suggesting the video card because not all 450W PSU are created equal. The 5750 should be ok even on a weaker PSU. If you have something like the Corsair 450, then feel free to step up to the 4870 or something similar. For the motherboard I'd look to the 790 chipset, and the 750 southbridge.

Hope that helps.

 

[shawne]

Thanks for the info guys, I will probably upgrade my PSU to 600w ? I am sure that would be fine. I'd rather have more than less.

 

[4745454b]

If your getting the 4670, odds are your current 450W is fine. Without knowing what CPU/GPU your going to get as well as what PSU you currently have we can't say for sure whether you need the upgrade or not.

 

[shawne]

Ok here's my list, and let me know if I can find better parts for a better price, or is this fine?

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103724

I have my own case Antec 300
and a 1TB seagate sata drive that'll use, w/ Windows 7 home premium 32 bit.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You don't want to put a 6GB kit in that motherboard. The 6GB kits are designed for the Intel LGA 1366 chips that have a triple channel RAM controller. You'll want a 4GB kit like this.

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail $89.99

Keep in mind that you'll need a 64-bit OS to fully use 4GB of RAM.

 

[shawne]

Ok thanks! So when I do my install of vista into the 1tb hdd, I bought the upgrade for 32 bit, do I have to now purch a 64 bit version? Will that memory you listed work w/ the mobo I listed? It says DDR3 1333 and the mobo says ddr3 1600, does this matter?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The upgrade version should have come with both 32-bit and 64-bit disks. The problem is that you can't upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit.

You mentioned school work as one use of the computer. Are you a college student? Like dirtmountain said, college students can get Windows 7 for $30.

www.win741.com

Yes, the RAM I listed will work just fine with the motherboard. The RAM speed ratings on motherboards don't mean much. They're just the maximum speed the manufacturer has rated them to run. Anything at or below that speed will be fine.

 

[shawne]

One other question, if I paid full price for the windows 7 upgrade as a student, is there anyway to get reimbursed at the price for the discount? And is that a decent mobo or would you suggest a better one?