If you had 400 to spend on MB, Chip, Ram...

[tibbs55]

I am going to upgrade my MB, Proc, and ram and need ideas on what to get. I want to spend around 400 dollars. I am not limited by PS because I have a antec truepower 430. So what type of setup would you get or would you wait for a paticular setup? Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Wingznut]

$249 = P4-2.53ghz (GoogleGear)
~$99 = EPoX EP-4G4A (mWave)
~$60 = 256mb PC2700 DDR (AT FS/FT)
--------
~$410 = Total (I know I went over by $10... But man, this system would SCREAM!)


And then upgrade to 512mb when you can afford another ~$60

 

[First]

If you absolutely must spend $400 on a CPU, RAM, and M/B, then definitely go with what Wingz listed. However, I'd suggest you save over $100 and get the following system:

CPU: Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8GHz) and HSF $150 shipped
RAM: 256MB DDR333 CL2.5 Kingston $65 shipped
M/B: ASUS A7N266-V $84 shipped

Total: $299

You get a damn solid motherboard (ASUS) and chipset (based off NVIDIA's nForce chipset, which comes with high quality sound, LAN, USB 2.0, and GeForce2 video if you need it). You'll get some good RAM too (we use this type of RAM in most of our motherboard reviews actually). Since I don't know exactly what you want this system for, I can't say this for sure, but chances are you'll almost never notice the difference in CPU performance between the Athlon XP 2200+ and the 2.53GHz P4 Northwood. Unless you put great faith in the oh so reliable Sysmark 2002 (yes, that's sarcasm), chances are you'll be fine with this CPU.

 

[beach2nd]

Wingznut,

Which store is FS/FT? I'd like to buy the memory but don't know of that online store. Also are you sure that the 4G4A can handle PC2700 DDR?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: beach2nd1
Wingznut,

Which store is FS/FT? I'd like to buy the memory but don't know of that online store. Also are you sure that the 4G4A can handle PC2700 DDR?

the for sale/for trade forum here at AT.