$400 Upgrade

[DKlein]

UPDATE - Bought

Looking to upgrade my old computer to play ArmA2 (bench mark), maybe STALKER:CoP for the next few months (will be selling everything but the case afterward).

Current specs:
Old 20" CRT 4:3 1600x1200 (fuzzy, better at 1280x1024, acceptable for now)
Lian-Li ATX case (fine for now)
Abit NF7-s r2 w/SoundStorm
Athlon XP-m 2600
BFG GeForce 6800GT 256MB
Kingston VRAM 2x512MB DDR333
Seagate 7200 80GB (fine for now)
Antec 450W (+3.3V @ 28A, +5V @ 40A, +5VSB @ 2A, +12V @ 20A, -5V @ 0.5A, -12V @ 0.8A)

(Yes, I played ArmA and SoC on that somehow). It was a great build for its time, but that time has long passed.

Current upgrade plan:
ECS GF8200A ATX +
AMD Athlon II X4 630
$144

BFG GTS250 1GB (24hr sale -$10 right now)
$135

2x Kingston VRAM 2GB DDR2 800 Cas-6
$88


Questions:

1. Comments? Better manufacturers/models/deals?
2. Do I need a new PSU?
3. Is the ECS motherboard a good choice? I'm not up to date on anything...
4. Sound card? The onboard isn't going to be as good as the one I'm used to (SS was awesome). Don't need anything amazing, but I want good 3D gaming sound. $30 Audigy card okay?
5. Expected resale value in 2 months on the new parts, %age-wise?

 

[alienpredatover]

With a $400 budget I would go for:

CPU: Intel Core i3-530 (2.93GHz) - $120
GPU: ATI 4850 512mb - $100
Board: ASRock H55M Pro - $100

DDR buy 2Gb and add later

 

[DKlein]

Thanks for the reply. I certainly have the money to build a $5K computer right now - means isn't what's holding me back, so "upgrading later" isn't an option, as it would be much later if I did upgrade. The budget exists for a reason; RAM needs to be included.

The game is very processor- and VRAM-intensive. The Athlon II needs to be improved on. I'm not sure there's much of a difference between the 4850 and 250. I guess saving $30 and getting the Powercolor 4850 would be sensible given the tight budget, and that could be put into a nicer CPU, which is necessary.

I think for the CPU, then, I'd go with a Phenom instead of the i3 simply because I can't find an 1156 board for anything less than $80, which is silly to spend on this budget. That said, why would I spend $100 on a motherboard for a low/mid-range, temporary, tight-budget build? What am I getting for the extra $35 compared to an ASR $65 AM3, for instance?

 

[alienpredatover]

Ok... I'll try to show you my point of view which isnt right or wrong, just mine. My main goal is to game the best and pay the less... so I buy computers from time to time, often, every 3 years. I spend $250 in each of those computers and I think its more profitable to do that every 3 years than to spend $500 each 6 years (the performance of a $500 system today doesnt double the performance of a $250 system)
I dont upgrade nothing (I found out its worthless cause then you CPU will bottleneck your graphics card, or instead of AGP you'll have PCIe,etc,etc,etc)
So I try to get the most of that budget without upgrades in mind.

GPU
ATI4850 - $100 - awsome 1680*1050 gaming and the best graphics card you can buy for $100
ATI5750 - $130 - same price as the GF250GTS but faster
ATI5770 - $160 - the faster of those 4

If you cant get over 1680*1050 the 4850 will do the job, and for $130 the 5750 is the best choice.

CPU
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=118&p2=105&c=1
Generally the i3 is better and consumes way less...


Motherboard

Yes I agree with you, its expensive, but don't see that as expensive, just think, I have $9999 to spend and I want to get the most out of it


This article is perfectly for you. Just pick the things you need that match your budget.
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3739

 

[z0mghii]

I usually stay away from ECS motherboards, my family and friends all had some sort of problem with them. Personally, i like Gigabyte, they have some pretty decent cheap motherboards, good overclocker, and long durability.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...656&cm_re=phenom_2_925-_-19-103-656-_-Product
mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131619
ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220468
gpu:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102824

Total- $396

1. Comments? Better manufacturers/models/deals?
2. Do I need a new PSU?
3. Is the ECS motherboard a good choice? I'm not up to date on anything...
4. Sound card? The onboard isn't going to be as good as the one I'm used to (SS was awesome). Don't need anything amazing, but I want good 3D gaming sound. $30 Audigy card okay?

1. look at my build
2. yes, does that need to be factored in the build?
3. no
4. onboard sound is excellent now, no need for a sound card unless you are an audiophile

 

[DKlein]

Sorry for the late response, but I've been busy.

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-656-_-Product
mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131619
ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220468
gpu:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102824

Total- $396

1. look at my build
2. yes, does that need to be factored in the build?
3. no
4. onboard sound is excellent now, no need for a sound card unless you are an audiophile

Thank you for the help, it's much appreciated

Are newer onboard APUs capable of EAX-type environmental sound? I've tried playing games on my laptop, which has an onboard APU (Conexant HD Audio), and it's just not the same at all: I lose so much of the immersion from very 2D-sounding audio compared to the SoundStorm.

I've decided to pop up the price tag to $450, and I'll take $20 of that and put it to the 4860 since 1GB VRAM is a must. The problem is, I don't think $30 is going to get me the PSU...

What are my needs for a PSU then? Is this 550W Cooler Master okay? Or could I get by with this 550W Coolmax? I wouldn't break the budget with the latter.

Oh, I've never dealt with micro-ATX boards before. Is that going to be compatible with my tower? I suppose this ASRock 770 board would be an acceptable, cheaper substitute?

 

[DKlein]

every 3 years. I spend $250 in each of those computers and I think its more profitable to do that every 3 years than to spend $500 each 6 years (the performance of a $500 system today doesnt double the performance of a $250 system).

Well, it's only for 3 months, so long-term use isn't an issue, period. As stated in the OP, everything's getting resold in 3mo. Going on a long trip...

If you cant get over 1680*1050 the 4850 will do the job, and for $130 the 5750 is the best choice.

Monitor is 1280x1024. Yes, it's a CRT. Yes, that's sort of stupid to still have one. No, I don't care Bright side: 25% fewer pixels should equal 33% better performance, no?

Thank you for the help anyway.

 

[DKlein]

Just found a BFG GTS 250 1GB for $110 at a local Fry's. Think I'll take that one.

Is 4GB necessary here with a 1GB video card? The $25-30 I can save dropping to 3GB is really going to help me stay under $450 if I need a new PSU. Also, I'm running XP 32bit, which means a lot of the extra 1GB is going to waste. Cost:benefit isn't looking good for 4GB. Edit: need dual channel, so it will be a 2GB and 1GB pair of sticks.

 

[DKlein]

Ended up going with this (s/h included):

BFG GTS 250 1GB - $126 (-$20 from Frys, +$10 tax, +$6 gas)
AMD Phenom II x4 925 - $140 (Newegg)
ASRock 770 board - $63 (Newegg, $3 s/h)
2x2GB OCZ GE 1333 cas-9 - $90 (-$10 Newegg)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W - $40 (-$25, free ship Newegg)
_____________

$449

Guess I kept to my "under $450" budget, eh?