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Help me decide on what to do please

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I currently have an older computer I built ( e3400 Intel wolfdale cpu, Asus p5641-mlx2/gb ) with 2gb's of 667 ddr2 ram). Now obviously this isn't a gaming machine, but I would like play some of the newer games. MY budget is $300, I was looking on newegg and I was able to get an a8-3850, 8 gb's of 1600 ddr3 ram, and a fairly cheap motherboard under $300. I'm not a fanatic gamer, I have a ps3 and am pretty happy with the graphics on it. The questions I have are: how well will this system perform? Would my $300 be better used somewhere else? I've seen people playing with the a-3850 online and it seems to do okay, the only thing I'm not sure on is on the future, I know a motherboard like the AM3+ will be supported for awhile but I'm not sure on the FM1.

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Well first of all you'll need a good dedicated video card, I recommand a GTX 460 non-ti.
Of course you may not be able to play games on the highest res\graphics but you'll get a good perf. Now, verify that all your components are compatible. You CANNOT put your CPU on a AM3+ mobo because your CPU is an intel socket LGA 775, so you need a MOBO with asocket 775. Watch the dimensions of the mobo so that it can fit your old case and get some other advise, as I'm not a pro ^.^

Good luck and btw if you're going to Overclock, buy a new cooler, don't use the stock one.

I appreciate you taking the time to reply, but you didn't really answer my questions. I am aware that my intel cpu will not be compatible on an AMD motherboard, I never stated it would. I'm not trying to be rude as I stated i do appreciate your time but please read the questions I put otherwise your not helping me. Thanks.
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you would be better off with a phenom 955 (much faster CPU) and dedicated vid card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $65 after rebate
Thats much better than an A8 with onboard graphics, but still not enough for 1080p res gaming.

I will say go with the a8-3850. I don't see the point in buying an older chip cause the clock speed is higher. Maybe down the road add a dedicated gpu and crossfire it. I would oc the 3850 a little and you could do this with the stock heatsink. As for the first guys post.. What the hell is he talking about. If he doesn't know what he is talking about why don't he shut up and not post things that make no sense at all. Good luck with your upgrade.

christop said:
I will say go with the a8-3850. I don't see the point in buying an older chip cause the clock speed is higher. Maybe down the road add a dedicated gpu and crossfire it. I would oc the 3850 a little and you could do this with the stock heatsink. As for the first guys post.. What the hell is he talking about. If he doesn't know what he is talking about why don't he shut up and not post things that make no sense at all. Good luck with your upgrade.

the 3850 is an older chip in new packaging, its an athlon II x4 with a gpu bolted to it. phenom beats it into the ground for less $$
Homebuilt system Authority

You will see by far the most improvement in gaming with a graphics card. Without a good card, a better processor will only be bottlenecked. Your present dual-core is fast enough for jazz, and the only game I know of that uses more than two cores anyhow is Crysis 2. For $230 after rebate you can have a GTX 560 at Newegg, which will pwn most games. You will probably need more power, Scotty, if you get that---it calls for 500W. You should be able to get an adequate PSU for around $50.

You aren't in consoles anymore, Dorothy. You have to throw some silicon at your PC games to get them to run good. Console games are stripped down so as not to tax the inferior hardware. A dedicated graphics card is a must for a satisfactory PC gaming experience as regards frame rates and resolution, and you might even come to appreciate the beautiful visuals you can achieve on a PC as opposed to a console.

I went to Microcenter and they had some great deals heres what I ended up with:


XFX 6770 1gb ddr5 $119.(with $30 Mail rebate)

Phenom X2 560 Black edition $88

Power connector for video card $5

Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P AM3+ $10 (It was a special with the Phenom)

4gb 1333mhz ram $20

Total=261.83 with taxes

I installed Deus Ex human revolution and it is running at 1080p pretty much everything maxed and it looks incredible!!!!

I currently have a 450w PSU you think that's something I should upgrade in the future I believe the brand it Raidmax. I have overclocked anything yet. Thanks again.

"and the only game I know of that uses more than two cores anyhow is Crysis 2" most games now use more than 2 cores and any new ones to be release would be more likely to use more than 2 cores. I can speak from experience a dual core at 3.2ghz is not enough for many modern games.
Homebuilt system Authority

iam2thecrowe said:
"and the only game I know of that uses more than two cores anyhow is Crysis 2" most games now use more than 2 cores and any new ones to be release would be more likely to use more than 2 cores. I can speak from experience a dual core at 3.2ghz is not enough for many modern games.


You speak with straight tongue. I've done some reading since I posted that nonsense. GTA is one. But the difference is between 50 fps and 80 fps with a good card, I think, so no real difference. It's still the card that matters by far the most. You need to max out card first, or any deficiency in the CPU won't show, and even then it won't hobble the game.

Petrofsky said:
You speak with straight tongue. I've done some reading since I posted that nonsense. GTA is one. But the difference is between 50 fps and 80 fps with a good card, I think, so no real difference. It's still the card that matters by far the most. You need to max out card first, or any deficiency in the CPU won't show, and even then it won't hobble the game.


I was able to unlock my CPU so now It's a phenom x4 B60 I believe
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