Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

$500 to rebuild dead system. Advice?

Last response: in Systems
Share

My last build appears to have pooped the bed after 3 years or so. At first I thought it was the PSU, but nope. I now think it's the motherboard, but I could use a new build anyway, so here we go. Here's a link to my thread on my current system woes if you'd like to chime in with some suggestions on that too. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tom...

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $400-600


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Moderate gaming (Civ V, LOTRO, Some shooters), Photo Processing, Internet


Parts Not Required: PSU (Corsair HX650), Monitor, Hard Drives, Optical Drives, Keyboard, Mouse, Case


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: I lean towards Intel, but would consider a compelling AMD argument


Overclocking: Probably not, but never say never


SLI or Crossfire: Probably not, but never say never


Monitor Resolution: N/A


Additional Comments: Not looking for expensive "early adopter" stuff. I like things that are in that "sweet spot" with proven reliability and performance.

More about : 500 rebuild dead system advice

Register or log in to remove

for $600 you can build an entire new system from AMD with a 4 core processor(either a 640 or 955), 4 GB of RAM, a 1 tb hard drive, and a single mid-range graphics card (GTX 460 768/1GB, HD 6850/6870) in a decent case with a 500-600W PSU.

what's the old system's specs?

My old system is listed in my signature. The E4500 is rated at 2.2, but was lightly overclocked. If you look at my post here, you'll see I don't need the case, the hard drive or the PSU.
Related ressources
Ask the community

Agreed, but if OPs on a budget, he can save a bunch by sticking with 32bit. @OP:Any chance you can get a x64 copy?

Anyways, here are my recommendations.

AMD Build:
ASUS AM3 EVO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$93 after MIR

Phenom II X4 955 BE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$140

GSkill Ripjaws 2*2GB DDR3 1600: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$80

Total:
$313 after MIR

Intel Build:

i5 750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$200

ASUS Sabertooth: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$130 after MIR

GSkill Ripjaws 2*2GB DDR3 1600: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$80

Total: $410

Go with the Intel if you want both CrossFire and SLI. Else get the AMD.

If going with AMD/Intel and CrossFire: ATI 6850/6870 or 5770/5850

If going with Intel and SLI: GTX460

ok, GPU, CPU, Memory, motherboard, and a Win 7 64Bit only:


Athlon II x3 445 and 4 GB DDR3-1333 RAM: $124.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Windows 7 OEM version and AS Rock 880G Motherboard: $139.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Sapphire HD 6850: $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$444.95

shipping: (9.02)
total: $453.97

you could add an AS Rock Extreme 3 870 at a cost increase of $50 (no combo w/ windows and $89.99) which has 16x single or 8x/8x dual PCIe16 slots, leaving expansion room for a second HD5850

Or keep this and add a $135 80 GB SSD for a boot/apps drive.

knotknut said:
Budget: $400.00-$600.00

Intel Core i5-760: $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3: $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460: $179.99 w/rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total: $579.96

+1, except he needs win7

Below are the parts of a new build that I did for a neighbor that had a very old dell that died. I used their old OS Win XP 32-bit, optical drives, hard drive and even their old floppy for the build. They were tickled to death about how fast and responsive the new build was compared to their old Dell. And the price too. Their old comp only had one stick of 256k memory. I just charged them for the parts, no labor. It was fairly easy to set up and bump the memory up to it's advertised speed. All parts were purchased thru Newegg.

It all depends on what "you" want for "your" build.

CASE ROSEWILL|CHALLENGER RT $44.99

MB GIGABYTE|GA-MA785GM-US2H RT $79.99

PSU CM|RS500-PCARA3-US 500W RT $39.99

CPU AMD|ATH II X2 260 3.2G AM3 RT $71.99

MEM 2Gx2|GSK F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK R $99.99

Shadow703793 said:
Quote:
The 32bit Windows7 Key should work for the same version in 64bit.

No it wont. I have tried this. It will not allow you to activate.


That stinks. It sure would be nice if it did.

Shadow703793 said:
Quote:
The 32bit Windows7 Key should work for the same version in 64bit.

No it wont. I have tried this. It will not allow you to activate.


why in msdn site they give you same key for both versions ! ! ! :whistle: 

knotknut said:
Budget: $400.00-$600.00

Intel Core i5-760: $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3: $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460: $179.99 w/rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total: $579.96


I like this, but how about swapping in this motherboard instead of the Gigabyte? It seems like a better board to me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Shadow703793 said:
Quote:
The 32bit Windows7 Key should work for the same version in 64bit.

No it wont. I have tried this. It will not allow you to activate.



My version is Ultimate..It came with both 32bit and 64bit..same Key to activate either.

knotknut said:
Yes...Really.

This might be exclusive to Ultimate.

Found this in the forums:

Best answer from geofelt
1) The oem package will have a oem key inside.

2) All windows-7 dvd's are exactly the same, either 32 bit or 64 bit. The key you use to activate is what determines how you install, and what version of windows is installed.

In your case, if you can borrow a 64 bit windows dvd, you can use it to reinstall, using the original key that was given to you. See if you can't download a legitimate ISO so that you have a dvd to use. A dvd has some repair and recovery features that you may find useful.

The oem package you bought will serve this purpose, but you will have a extra activation key that will be unused.


So, since I have a retail version of Windows 7, do you think I could reinstall it as the 64 bit version using the same code I used when I installed it as 32 bit?

If you have, lets say Retail Windows7 Home Premimum 32bit
You might be able to activate Retail Windows7 Home Preminum 64bit with your Key.
Retail~Retail
OEM~OEM
Premimum~Premimum
Pro~Pro
etc...etc

You might be giuded to activate over the phone.
If so, call. You aren't doing anything illegal.

Just tell them you are rebuilding your machine and trying to re-activate windows.
Thats all you need to tell them..

Edit: You will have to find a 64bit version of your windows and use you Key. That shouldnt be that hard.

Info: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7inst...

Okay, so here's the build I'm considering:

Intel Core i5-760: $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115067

ASRock P55 EXTREME4 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard: $144.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231277

GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460: $179.99 w/rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125333

Total: $633.96

Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Systems categories
!