$500 upgrade options

[src1425]

Current system, built 5 years ago with a couple of upgrades:

Athlon 64 X2 4800+
Zalman CNPS7000B-CU
DFI LANPARTY UT N-F4 Ultra D
Radeon HD 4850 1GB
OCZ Platinum DDR 400 1GB x4
WD Velociraptor 150GB
Hitachi Deskstar 250GB
OCZ Modstream 520W
Win XP

Thought I was going to be able to do a substantial rebuild, but it will have to be more incremental. What's my best option to give me a boost for general productivity and moderate gaming, with a $500 max:

965BE
Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 ($339 combo with 965BE at Newegg)
G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ ($109)
Total: $448

OR, for a less expensive option to wait a year and see what happens with Sandy Bridge and Bulldozer:

Intel x-25M 80GB ($195 special at Newegg)
Win 7 Professional Upgrade ($175)
Total: $370

I realize the SSD won't help with gaming, but it should help make the system peppy enough to get through another year or so.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Reincus]

I would get a CPU/MB/memory upgrade.

Do you have a Fry's or Microcenter close by, that combo you listed is on the pricey side.

SSDs will get much cheaper now that Intel is making 25nm NAND flash, so wait a few months on that.

 

[Celeryman]

Look here: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...bit-1-Pack-OEM

That should get you Windows 7 Pro for around $130.

 

[HumblePie]

You have a decent enough system really. Although upgrades are always nice 🙂 You can always sell of previous items in your build for cash.

CPU = $40 + $10 for heatsink if they pay shipping
Mobo = $50
Memory = $20-25 per stick
Video = $70

If you sell off all these parts with the prices I suggested, you'll get around $250 after any paypal fees and shipping costs. That bumps up your spending pool to about $750. With this, you can certainly upgrade to a really decent system. As far as what to upgrade to, the first question that needs to be answered is if you live near a Fry's or Microcenter.

 

[src1425]

Thanks all!

Yes, I do have a MicroCenter nearby, but, other than a few specials, such as the i7-930 for $200, their prices don't seem any better than Newegg (and the tax I have to pay at MicroCenter normally outweighs any shipping I have to pay for Newegg). Hadn't considered selling parts on Ebay - didn't think anyone would be interested. Might be worth looking into!

As you can tell, I tend to keep my systems for a while, so I'm leaning towards an AM3 board in the hope I can use it for Bulldozer down the road. Or, if I can get by for another year or so there should be some interesting options.