How would this build be?

[alkemyst]

My dad's video card died. He was already looking to update his HD because it's 5.5 years old now.

He has a P4 3.2 Prescott 540. His PSU is 430W (truly rated)

I was thinking of:
GIGABYTE GA-MA78LM-S2H $49.99 +2.99 shipping ($10 rebate)
AMD Athlon II X2 255 $67.99 or the Athlon x3 440 $74.99 both free shipping
Ram 4gb 1066 95.99 free ship
4850 109.99 1.99 shipping (or 5770 for $30 more)
1TB Caviar Blue $69.99 Free ship

Any other bang for buck ideas? His case is an Inwin X710 with the 430W PSU that was bundled. He plays some games (Far Cry and the like) at 1280x1024. He may go to 1680x1024 one day.

Just the HD and Video card is about half the upgrade.

Å

 

[xxxFrogg]

I don't really see anything wrong with what you have. You can see what other people think, but if he might play games I'd stick with a tri core or better. I'd probly try to find a quad if i could afford it. Another thing you could look into is seeing if that mother board would support unlocking a processor. If it would, you could buy a dual or tri and 'possibly' unlock it to a quad. Its a simple bios setting that sometimes requires a little effort on your part.

 

[maniac5999]

Another question: RAM is stupidly expensive right now, does he already have DDR2 RAM? If he does, I'd suggest re-using it, instead of spending 25% of your total buget on new RAM.

 

[alkemyst]

it's only TWINX XMS2 PC2-6400/800. I think for any AM3 chip he needs 1066.

 

[maniac5999]

it's only TWINX XMS2 PC2-6400/800. I think for any AM3 chip he needs 1066.

Nope, and the difference between DDR2 800 and 1066 is relatively minor.

 

[alkemyst]

Can the Gigabyte 870, 880, and 890's take DDR2 800 and boot with a x3 440 or x4?

Don't see the memory listed at all there.

 

[maniac5999]

Can the Gigabyte 870, 880, and 890's take DDR2 800 and boot with a x3 440 or x4?

Don't see the memory listed at all there.

Woah, Woah. You said you were using a 760/sb710 board before. it lists right on newegg that that board uses DDR2 800 ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0GA-MA78LM-S2H

And NO, AMD 8 series chipsets are AM3, which is DDR3 ONLY. AM3 CPUs fit in AM2 and AM2+ boards, but AM2 CPUs don't fit in AM3 Boards. (The difference between AM2 and AM3 boards is that AM2 uses DDR2 and AM3 uses DDR3)

 

[alkemyst]

decided to pick up USB 3.0 and SATA 6 so on to 790x boards. Worked out the final build today...

CPU/Motherboard
MSI 870A-G54 + x4 955 $239.98 free
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.397502

Ram
4gb GeIL 4GB PC3 10660 109.99 $2.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144264

Video
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB $174.99 free ($10.00 MIR + 15 instant code EMCYTYZ39)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ech-_-14102868

Harddrive
Spinpoint F3 1TB $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W $89.99 free ($20 + $10 instant code EMCYSNV26)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

 

[fire400]

i say hit the forums.