Upgrading on $250 Budget.

[OldAMD]

Hello everyone. I have a computer that's 7 years old and would like to upgrade the motherboard, ram, video card and processor. I was wondering if the parts listed are good choices for my strict $250 budget. If not, what can you recommend? Please note that I have to/want to use AMD:

$50--BIOSTAR VA4653NH51-B Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

$59--AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor

$130 (RAM AND MOTHERBOARD COMBO)

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

ECS IC780M-A2 (V1.0A) AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

TOTAL: $239

-----

According to a website that saw (I forgot the name of the website), it says that my 350 watt PSU has sufficient power.

I'm still using my old Western Digital 5400 RPM 80 gig hard drive, DVD and CD-RW drives, Old ATX computer case.

Thank you in advance.

 

[SHANEMARINES]

Hello everyone. I have a computer that's 7 years old and would like to upgrade the motherboard, ram, video card and processor. I was wondering if the parts listed are good choices for my strict $250 budget. If not, what can you recommend? Please note that I have to/want to use AMD:

$50--BIOSTAR VA4653NH51-B Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

$59--AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor

$130 (RAM AND MOTHERBOARD COMBO)

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

ECS IC780M-A2 (V1.0A) AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

TOTAL: $239

-----

According to a website that saw (I forgot the name of the website), it says that my 350 watt PSU has sufficient power.

I'm still using my old Western Digital 5400 RPM 80 gig hard drive, DVD and CD-RW drives, Old ATX computer case.

Thank you in advance.

Are you using newegg.com? If so you would like to buy parts from there to get the best price and the best trust.

http://www.newegg.com/

^ that website is really nice and I've bought alot of parts from them.

Micro ATX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130254 $69.99

ATX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398R $69.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231134 $64.99

Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102843 $59.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681 $64.99


The grand total is: $259.96 sorry 9.96 over but some items I selected where of free shipping hope that helps.

 

[Proximon]

I think I might be able to improve on ShaneMarines build a bit, but it would help to have some more info.

Not all PSUs deliver their rated power, and those that do will gradually loose power to capacitor aging. We should know what PSU this is so that we know if it's safe to keep using it.

Next, are you gaming? If not then you can save even more by using the integrated graphics on an AMD motherboard.


Here's a combo deal on that CPU and a 4650:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345873

Here's an ASRock 785G board, that would work well with or without a GPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157168

 

[SHANEMARINES]

I think I might be able to improve on ShaneMarines build a bit, but it would help to have some more info.

Not all PSUs deliver their rated power, and those that do will gradually loose power to capacitor aging. We should know what PSU this is so that we know if it's safe to keep using it.

Next, are you gaming? If not then you can save even more by using the integrated graphics on an AMD motherboard.


Here's a combo deal on that CPU and a 4650:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345873

Here's an ASRock 785G board, that would work well with or without a GPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157168

Nice catch on that deal.

 

[OldAMD]

I think I might be able to improve on ShaneMarines build a bit, but it would help to have some more info.

Not all PSUs deliver their rated power, and those that do will gradually loose power to capacitor aging. We should know what PSU this is so that we know if it's safe to keep using it.

Next, are you gaming? If not then you can save even more by using the integrated graphics on an AMD motherboard.


Here's a combo deal on that CPU and a 4650:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345873

Here's an ASRock 785G board, that would work well with or without a GPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157168

Yes, this will be for gaming, business, music production use.

For the ASRock, can that brand be trusted? Can you put a Mini ATX board in an ATX case? As for PSU, I have a sparkle 350w power supply. I used to have a PowMax 400watt but it caught on fire.

 

[OldAMD]

Are you using newegg.com? If so you would like to buy parts from there to get the best price and the best trust.

http://www.newegg.com/

^ that website is really nice and I've bought alot of parts from them.

Micro ATX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130254 $69.99

ATX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398R $69.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231134 $64.99

Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102843 $59.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681 $64.99


The grand total is: $259.96 sorry 9.96 over but some items I selected where of free shipping hope that helps.

thank, that looks like a better deal. BTW, I've been in the Navy for 9 years. I'm definitely a lifer.

 

[Proximon]

Yes to both. ASRock is a subsidiary of ASUS... They do tend to be a bit cheaper but a recent survey of builders here indicated that it tends to be one of the longer-lived boards.

I do not value them as highly as ASUS or Gigabyte, but I consider them better than ECS for sure. Similar to MSI.

Unless your case is very strange indeed, it will accommodate mATX boards just fine.

You might want to consider a single 2GB stick of RAM... this will make upgrading to 4 much easier, especially if you stick with a good brand such as Kingston or Corsair or G.skill.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134751

And don't worry about RAM heatspreaders, they are mostly for show on lower speed DDR3... they actually hinder cooling a recent study showed.

 

[SHANEMARINES]

thank, that looks like a better deal. BTW, I've been in the Navy for 9 years. I'm definitely a lifer.

Thanks man I really hope I helped you out. I try to find good brands and prices and just all around great hardware.

 

[batuchka]

 

[SHANEMARINES]

I'm going to consider this thread done and move on I really hoped the people on tomshardware helped you out OldAMD.

 

[OldAMD]

Best answer selected by OldAMD.

 

[SHANEMARINES]

Best answer selected by OldAMD.

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nThank you for selecting me BEST ANSWER I really appreciate it!