Purchasing a cpu, motherboard and video card - what's a good budget for a little brother gamer?

[gaidensensei]

Before, I was thinking of getting him a Sempron 3100+ or A64 2800+, Abit Kv8-max3 , and whatever videocard I can get for what's left, probably a Geforce4 or something in the FX series.

I bought the Kv8-max3 for $50 but I'm deciding to go resell it and get something else for more bang for the buck.

I have around a $150-200 budget to get him a system, all he does is just plays games on pc, that's it. I doubt he'd be into heavy pc demanding games like Doom3, halflife 2.

I don't mind buying a used system, as long as they still come preferrably not overclocked and kept in good condition.

I personally run a:
Athlon 64 3000+ 754
Asus K8VSE-Deluxe
512x2 of Kingston Valueram
Radeon 9800pro

I like how much my system can handle, but I can't simply afford another.

Thanks for all who help.

 

[nick1985]

$200 for a CPU, Mobo, and video card for even a mediocre gaming system simply isnt enough.

 

[3chordcharlie]

You might as well keep the motherboard. But if you can sell it for close to waht you paid, you could go nforce2/tbred-b (overclocked 1700+, ideally)/9200 and stay close to your budget.

This system won't have nearly the longevity of a S754 setup though.

 

[ts3433]

Forget what I said. Follow the recommendation below.

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: nick1985
$200 for a CPU, Mobo, and video card for even a mediocre gaming system simply isnt enough.

Yes it is, especially if you're willing to go for used parts.

You can easily spend under $100 for a socket A sempron and mobo. That leaves you $100 to drop on a Radeon 9600 pro. You could probably do even better than that, but that's just a quick example. You don't need an Athlon 64 and a 6600GT for a mediocre gaming system. That will play anything just fine for his little brother. Even HL2 and Doom 3 would run fine on low detail, but he won't be playing that, so no need to worry about it.

 

[andy nowotny]

A64 2800+ and DFI Lanparty NF3 250BG

 

[gaidensensei]

Originally posted by: Avalon

Originally posted by: nick1985
$200 for a CPU, Mobo, and video card for even a mediocre gaming system simply isnt enough.

Yes it is, especially if you're willing to go for used parts.

You can easily spend under $100 for a socket A sempron and mobo. That leaves you $100 to drop on a Radeon 9600 pro. You could probably do even better than that, but that's just a quick example. You don't need an Athlon 64 and a 6600GT for a mediocre gaming system. That will play anything just fine for his little brother. Even HL2 and Doom 3 would run fine on low detail, but he won't be playing that, so no need to worry about it.

:thumbsup:
exactly the situation I'm in and trying to figure out the best deal I can get for