Partial Upgrade Necessary

[gallen89]

Hey ya'll,

So, I have had a little meltdown (literally) in my pc, and rather than throw good money after bad, I am upgrading my pc. I'm using some of my old parts, but I am looking for some advice on some of the new parts.


1) What is your budget?
Maximum $450

2) Are there any brands/resellers that you prefer or any you really don't like?
GPU: Powercolor, Sparkle

3) What tasks will you be performing with the Desktop?
Gaming; Browsing; Statistical Modeling; Videos; Word Processing

4) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yes. The new Star Wars MMO and BattleField 3 when they come out, and then a lot of older games and simulation games, etc. Not very many super high end graphics games

5) Do you mind buying parts online without seeing them in person?
Preferable

6) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS X, Linux, etc.
Windows 7 (I own a copy already)

7) How much hard drive space is needed?
I own the hard drives already (1 200 gb, one 500 gb)

8) What size desktop would you like?([COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]All [/FONT][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]in [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]one[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR], compact, large)
I own the case already (Xigmatek)

9) Does the case need to be stylish?
Nope

10) What resolution will the screen run at? One or Two screens?
This is a little bit more difficult. I own a 20 in. monitor, but I am moving into a studio and not buying cable, so I'd also like to be able to hook my pc up to my 32 in Dynex LCD TV.

11) Do you need any particular [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]hardware[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]?(Ports, HDD slots, double DVD drives, etc.)
CD/DVD Burner

12) How would you rate your technical skills?
I am a knowledgeable amateur. I have been assembling, disassembling and fixing computers for the last 5-6 years.

13) Have you ever built a desktop before?
Yes, a dozen times or so, but often with hodgepodge parts

14) Do you need wireless connectivity?
No

15) When are you going to be building this?
Within the next few days.

16) Have you considered a pre-built desktop? Or even a notebook?
Not in consideration, because I have many of the parts I needs already

17) Are you going to overclock?
Maybe, haven't quite decided yet.

Other
I am upgrading because my 8800GS melted, and in the process melted the sole pci-e [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]connector[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] in my Gigabyte P35-DS3L motherboard. It is a dead end socket, and most of my parts are old anyways, so I have decided that I just want to upgrade, and I will sell my old parts. However, my budget isn't real high, so I am looking at the following parts:

Mainboard
MSI 970A-G45 AM3+ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130608)

CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103808)

RAM
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148347)

GPU
I am a little torn here. I bought a GTX 260 with the hopes of eventually upgrading my system to the new [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]Core [/FONT][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]i5's[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] and sli'ing the card, but then the motherboard started to crap out. I cannot afford a motherboard that supports SLI, so I have a friend who has said he will buy the 260 for $85 from me, which I would then put towards buying a 6670. I am thinking I could crossfire that, which would give me better resolution on my large tv. Also, if I did that, I know I would need a bridge of some sort, but I'm not quite sure, as I have never built a two card system.

XFX HD-667X-ZHF3 Radeon HD 6670 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150545)

PSU
APEVIA [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]JAVA[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] ATX-JV650W 650W ATX12V / EPS12V (This part is already owned, works great, and I am planning on keeping it.


This build rounds out to $463, but with instant and mail in rebates and some promo codes I have it runs about $423 including shipping. I am open to suggestions and evaluation. Any help is appreciated. Thanks everyone.

 

[philosofool]

I'll let others chime in on the CPU. My gut always says "Intel" these days, and, at your price, i3 2100, but I don't know enough about BF3 to know whether the quad-core will make an important difference.

I'd get a 6770 instead of a 6670. That looks like a $10 upgrade, and a pretty good one.

 

[gallen89]

I'll consider the 6770. Because I was planning on crossfiring, and for brand preferences, it comes out to a total of between $50-60 in difference, but it may be worth it, I'm just on a real tight budget. I might be able to pull a little bit tighter and upgrade to two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150541

As for the processor, I would go Intel in a heart beat, but every time I priced it out I couldn't get exactly what I wanted for the same price (the combo on the AMD system comes out to $194).

 

[Ken g6]

As far as Intel vs. AMD, first look at this benchmark. Next, consider (strongly) that you can overclock your AMD, but you can't overclock Intel in this price range.

On the other hand, put together a 6.5% faster i3 with the cheapest possible motherboard, and that comes to $190.

I'm really unsure what's best for you. It probably comes down to whether you use games that can use 4 or more cores.

 

[Blue Shift]

Remember that the Radeon HD 6770 is basically just a rebadged 5770. Those two parts are powerful enough to run most modern games at high settings at 1680x1050, and many console ports or older games at 1920x1080. You may be able to find a used 5770 for the price of a 6670.

 

[mfenn]

So if I am understanding your post correctly, you need CPU, mobo, RAM, and GPU for $450. Let's see what I can do:

i3 2100 + P8H67-M LX combo $199
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $45
6870 $150 AR
Total: $394

Not sure how you were coming out over $400 with the other parts, unless I've missed something major.

 

[BoomerD]

Hey ya'll,

So, I have had a little meltdown (literally) in my pc, and rather than throw good money after bad, I am upgrading my pc. I'm using some of my old parts, but I am looking for some advice on some of the new parts.


1) What is your budget?
Maximum $450

<snip>
PSU
APEVIA [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]JAVA[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] ATX-JV650W 650W ATX12V / EPS12V (This part is already owned, works great, and I am planning on keeping it.


This build rounds out to $463, but with instant and mail in rebates and some promo codes I have it runs about $423 including shipping. I am open to suggestions and evaluation. Any help is appreciated. Thanks everyone.

I will highly recommend taking that Apevia (aspire) power supply and throwing it as far as possible...preferably under the wheels of a large truck.

Apevia/Aspire power supplies are rated as among the worst in the business...Yours is probably made by either Youngyear or Wintech...NOT quality manufacturers.

Your build should be fine with 450-500 watts as long as you don't run X-fire/Sli with two cards.

Any brand built on a Seasonic chassis will be fine.

I'm always amazed how many people try to scrimp on the power supply. It's essentially the heart of any computer system...and a cheap one, such as you have, can die a quick death...and take out many of your other components with it.

do yourself and your computer a favor...spend an extra $50 and replace the power supply with a good one.

XFX
SeaSonic
Corsair
Antec

All are good, reliable brands.