Upgrade or Newbuild and sell parts?

[Scroggs1984]

Current System Specifications:
Tower: One old PoS
Mobo: MSI G41M-P35 LGA 775 Intel G41 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
Video: ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series
Optical: HP DVD Writer 1040d ATA
HDD: Maxtor 6L200S0 & WDC WD2000JD-00GBB0
Memory: 2x 2gig DDR2
PSU: Coolmax 500w
Operating System: Windows 7 Prof
Monitor: Hannspree LCD HD @ 1920x1080

Battlefield3 is gonna be my main time spent on this comp so i want to enjoy every minute of it. I want a nice gaming rig that will be upgradable in the future.
A new mid-tower case is a must and was looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147047 or if there is a tower similar that will fit
my Mobo now. I don't mind spending up to $600 because i wouldnt need a Harddrive, Optical, and a PSU(maybe).

Any responses would help a ton. Thanks.

 

[kiezz]

well i would agree hdd and optical drive should be fine .. the psu well depending on the graphics card you get

this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=asus+m4a89gtd+pro&x=19&y=34 $130

this cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 $130

this ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145262&Tpk=cmx8gx3m4a1333c9 $75

i think the integrated onboard sound on the mobo is good enough and it has integrated ATI radeon hd4290 graphics but personally i would upgrade that .With that you have $265 out of the $600 i pretty much think you can pick a decent psu and graphics card with that the mobo is crossfireX ready so easy enough to upgrade at a later date

 

[kiezz]

oh btw one bit of advice i have this mobo and i got a sapphire radeon hd5670 1gb gddr5 graphics card ... its good and all and if i crossfireX should be pretty cool but id recommend trying to find a low profile graphics card as this one the cooling fan sticks out over one of the pci slots

 

[Emerald]

you current MOBO requires DDR3 memory which you could use with the new CPU and MOBO

for about $340 you can get a i5-2500k+MOBO

or for about $230 you could get a AMD Phenom II X4+MOBO

if you want to add 8GB of DDR3 1600 memory you are looking at about $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

you would also profit from a new video card which however will also require a new PSU

a good 650W PSU will cost about $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815010

and another $70 for a mid range Video card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934

 

[Scroggs1984]

Loving the advice guys. How do these look?

Tower: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147047 $89.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103921 $104.99

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644 $209.99

Video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505 $159.99

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314&cm_sp=Pers_StoreMostWishedMore-_-20-231-314_3_TWsh-_-1_17___ $59.99

PSU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018&cm_sp=Pers_StoreMostWishedMore-_-17-341-018_5_TWsh-_-1_32___ $89.99


Total: $714.94

What can we do to lower this price without down grading alot?

 

[Emerald]

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815010

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 it has a L3 cache

 

[kiezz]

Well I read a review on www.motherboards.org that says the asus m4a89gtd pro performs the sane as the crosshair IV and its cheaper price also emeralds RAM looks good

 

[geofelt]

Let me offer a better solution at the same price:

cpu 2500K $220. $180 if you can walk in to a microcenter. There is nothing better today, particularly with a mild OC.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

ram 8gb 2x4gb g.skil. $45 Speed is irrelevant for sandy bridge, and heat spreaders are not needed:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

Z68 Asus M-ATX motherboard $140 Z68 lets you add a small ssd cache for your hard drive later.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131786

Case, Silverstone TJ08B-E M-ATX case. $99. You may have to search for one. I just did, and it has superb cooling, can handle any graphics card, and great cable management:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163182

PSU. XFX 650W. It has more amps than the 700w ocz(53 vs. 46) bronze certified, and is cheaper. It is strong enough to power a GTX580:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014

The graphics card is the real engine of gaming. If you have the budget, spend more here.
The 6850 you listed is good. An equivalent Nvidia card is the GTX460 which goes for $125.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591

By the way, you might be interested in this article on sub $200 gaming cpu's:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859.html

 

[Scroggs1984]

Ok.. Thanks alot for all the help guys... I have lowered my cost alot.

Tower: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147047 $89.99

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631 $129.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1jzq5ka8incex $134.99

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=olzwbunhaqdj $60.99

Video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150516 $169.99

Total: $585.95

My dad had a 700w PSU laying around so gonna use it. This look good to everyone?

 

[kiezz]

Nice ... Easily upgradable for the future and the mobo is user friendly for overclocking