How to upgrade this system?

[Guest]

How can I upgrade this PC a bit. I have a $700 budget. I would have more but I want 150 at least for my monitor because my current one is a 15" pos. I was thinking along the lines of the gfx card/mobo or something. Thoughts anyone? Current cost is listed at the end.


LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail : $100
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail : $80
Total: $180, combo - $30 - mail in $25 = $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.314450


GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail : $80, -$10 mail in = $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128392


OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1333LV4GK - Retail : $90
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail : $100
Total: $190, combo -$15 - mail in -$10 = $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.313927


Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive : $55 (single platter drive)
Rosewill Gift - Retail :$40 (free, external docking bay)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.311005


SAPPHIRE 100283-2L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail : $165
AMD Gift Battleforge Game Coupon - Retail Free with purchase!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.320603


Total: $622.94, w/mail in $567.94
Total Saved: $187, w/mail in $242


If you can spare the extra money Id up for the AMD 955 BE (with C3 stepping), same combo as above just different processor and about $50-60 more than what is there now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.3139

 

[dndhatcher]

You wont get much better on that budget. I would add a good CPU cooler like the Coolermaster Hyper 212 and OC the Athlon to 3GHz or more if you can to boost performance. You could save a few dollars dropping to an Athlon II x3 435 if what you want is gaming performance. The 4th core wont help with very many games so a faster 3 core will be better.

 

[Onus]

The links are all broken.
The particular OCZ PSU in your combo is not 80+ certified. I would not buy one, but it should be fine if you are less concerned about efficiency. For a single HD5770 I'd probably choose a 500W Antec Earthwatts or 550W Antec Truepower New. If you think you might want to Crossfire a pair of them, I'd get 650W (either line). The Truepower New is 80+ bronze.

 

[rockyjohn]

If you keep that mobo, which only handles on video card, then I would downgrade PSU to about 500w - money spent for something larger will be wasted. If you want to allow opportunity to crossfire later, then upgrade mobo to 790 version such as this one:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $100 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128398