Evaluate upgrades

[quixotic_elixer]

Just discovered this site and am loving the wealth of information on it. I'm planning to upgrade my old computer with a new cpu/mobo/ram and transferig the rest of my older parts if possible.

core i3 530
MSI H55-G43 LGA 1156
A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

with my older 430w thermaltake purepower and xfx geforce 6800GS.

How would you guys rate this upgrade? Or would you suggest another mobo, or upgrade in PSU?

I'd appreciate any input if possible, thanks!

 

[hunter315]

What are you going to be using this system for and whats your budget for the upgrade? If its a lower budget build you are probably better off going with AMD instead.

Be aware that you will need to reinstall your OS if you move your hard drive over to the new build, very rarely will the system work properly after moving to a new motherboard without reinstalling the OS>

 

[quixotic_elixer]

I plan on using the system for intermediate gaming and not much else. I like the idea of a core i3 because of its power consumption and heat output, but Ideally I'd like to keep those three components under $400, but probably willing to spend around $650 cdn with a new PSU + used GPU.

I will most likely just get another hdd too for the new system, although I just recently installed win7 on this system which runs quite slow.

On the issue about reinstalling OS, I have my current computer partitioned with OS on C: while any other program I've installed going into another partition (D. What I am curious about is whether these programs will continue to work if I do a fresh installation into C:?

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

My opinion on this issue, dump the i3, I personally think you could be looking at an AMD setup with a tri core or even quad core setup that will be at least as good or better than the i3, you are talking 115 for a low end i3.

For 75 bucks you can pick up an AMD tri core, with the extra you could pick up a motherboard, and play it right, you may be able to grab a new video card.

For 137 you could grab this....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.436269

Figure 100 for your memory, so you are at say 250. That still leaves you room to grab a power supply for 50 bucks, and maybe add a little more and get an ATI 5750 video card or something like that.

Just some ideas....