Need to upgrade old setup need suggestions

jason612

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Systems about ~3 years old

CPU - Intel Xeon 3040 Conroe 1.86GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
MB - ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU - Silverstone 560W
GPU - ATI RADEON VGA SAPPHIRE 100176L X1950PRO
RAM - 2 gigs corsair i think

so I really just want to upgrade the cpu and gpu and buy 2 more gigs of ram
i need to upgrade because I can't keep up with the new games coming out
mainly want to run sc2 with no problems preferably all mid to high settings
right now i can only run it with all low setting and even then it chops when it gets messy
also dont want to spend too much money

I was thinking of buying
Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor LINK
No idea what is the best graphics card for the buck
Overall I'm looking to spend no more than $250 but can the wolfdale fit into my mobo?
 
I think the main problem here is that you're trying to play games with non-gaming hardware. I would highly recommend saving a little more money before upgrading.

The problem is that the LGA 775 socket is a dead socket. I wouldn't sink any more money into it. Also, I wouldn't spend more money for DDR2 RAM, as it's also going extinct.

If you had about $100 more, you could start considering a rebuild. For example, with $360, you could get:

CPU/GPU: X3 440 and HD 5770 $210 after rebate
Mobo: ASRock 770 Extreme3 $75
RAM: GeIL 2x2 GB 1333 mhz CAS Latency 9 $77. Could drop this to a 2x1 GB set to save about $30.
 

jason612

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I do have more money, when i ment no more than $250 i really just meant I wanted to spend as little as possible, sorry for the confusion

if i spend the 360 on a new mobo ram and cpu/gpu, would a complete new build be worth it? if i get a new build i still would prefer not to spend more than 500 but would that be enough to have a good gaming pc? obviously dont need top of the line performance but i just want smooth game play preferably on max settings for most games or mid/high settings

and would that setup run sc2 very well?
 

jason612

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also, saw this image on another thread from batuchka, would this setup be good to run sc2 or similar games on all or close to all high settings?

Untitled-2083.jpg
 
$500 for everything is going to get you basically the same specs. You've already got a good PSU, and I'm assuming the case, HDD and optical are still alright. That only leaves the CPU, board, RAM and GPU left.

That setup would run StarCraft just fine, especially if you overclock and unlock the CPU.

If you wanted to spend more like $500, you could easily upgrade the CPU to an X4 955 and possibly through in a GTX 460 for a little more graphics muscle.

EDIT: batchka's good at putting together the cheapest build, but that one would be weaker than the one I posted.
 

jason612

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ah so your saying the $360 upgrade would, performance wise, be better than the 460 new setup right? if u had to choose spending jsut alittle more to upgrade either the cpu or gpu, which would provide the most benefit? or would having to choose just one be negligible boost to justify the extra money spent?
 

jason612

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should i want a better cpu/gpu than the ones you suggested, how much would it run me? an extra 100? 150?

what if i got a better cpu/gpu bundle for the 460 combo? (on a side note, does a micro atx mobo in a atx mid make a difference? if i go for a micro atx mobo id rather just get a smaller case because i like the space save or would a better gpu not fit)

the only reason im mentioning the 460 combo is because if im replacing the mobo cpu and gpu, i might as well just buy a new system and give my dad the computer i have now to replace his older than i care to admit dell hes using haha
 
The next step up for the GPU is about $100 (GTX 460). However, you will need to spend more on the board to be able to support adding a second one (AMD doesn't natively support nVidia's SLI), so it's really more like $150 for either the GTX 460 or HD 5850.

The next step up for the CPU from the X3 440 is generally considered the X4 955, which is around $100 more. There are others in between them (like the X4 630/635), but the X3 can equal them for less money.

The better CPU/GPU combo is the X3/5770 one I posted above.

Micro ATX doesn't really affect much, but everything becomes more cramped. I typically avoid mATX boards simply because they don't have as many features. Most of them eliminate the second PCIe 2.0 slot needed for Crossfire/SLI.
 
Throw out #3 and 4. Those GPUs aren't that good. #5 and 6 are gone because the X4 965 is just a factory overclocked 955.

After that, #2 would be best.

That board isn't a good one. It's an AM2+ board, which means you're locked into older tech. Also, Biostar isn't a great brand for quality.
 
Hard to say. They're both good CPUs, but the X4 955 is pretty much considered AMD's top of the line for gaming. I guess it really comes down to how often you want to upgrade the CPU. If you think you'd want an upgrade within the next 3 years, the X3 would be just fine. If you want to wait longer than that, the 955 would be better.
 

jason612

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yep swapped the caviar for the F3 500 GB, no good case combos unfortunately.

waiting to pull the trigger unless i can configure a cheap mATX build i set up in this thread i made: link
pretty back and forth between form factor and price