Mobo, CPU, Memory Upgrade -- $200-$300

[teammccalla]

My plan is to buy a new motherboard, CP and memory set to spruce up my office computer performance. Comments??

Here is what I have:

XP SP3
10K Raptor HD
Zalman 600W power supply
Good case with plenty of ventilation

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week

BUDGET RANGE: (e.g.: 200-300) No mail in rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Microsoft Office, Quickbooks, Internet, multitasking

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Case, Power supply, DVD, HDD, graphics card

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg or TigerDirect

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: No
OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2048 x 1152

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Live near Frys and Micro Center if you happen to know of local deal

 

[MadAdmiral]

This is really as cheap as you can get.

CPU/Mobo: X3 440 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $210
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $120

Total: $330 w/ a $15 rebate

 

[calinkula]

This is really as cheap as you can get.

CPU/Mobo: X3 440 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $210
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $120

Total: $330 w/ a $15 rebate

I would tend to disagree with this statement.

It depends on the features you need on the mobo, but I would have to say an $80 mobo will do everything you need. A nice AM3 785G north bridge motherboard will cost about $80.

Slower RAM would save you some $$ and you wouldn't even notice the difference. That would free up enough cash to get a quad core CPU at least.

 

[dndhatcher]

You can get an Athlon II x3 435 and Gigabyte 770TA-UD3 for $160.
You can get ram for $100-$105.

I hope your old graphics card is PCIE. If its AGP you are probably going to have to buy a new one or get a motherboard with onboard graphics.

 

[guanyu210379]

Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H could be a good option, it has onboard graphic.
If you don't have any PCI-e graphic cards.

 

[batuchka]