Upgrade! AMD 3800+ Radeon 4850

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leatherface7

Member
Aug 5, 2009
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So I just built a new Rig, but have decided to upgrade my old one slightly just for gaming (for friends or whatever). From US, I'll likely buy from newegg or tigerdirect. Looking for whatever will help my system the most. Budget is flexible, but I'd like to just spend around $200, though can spend more. Only trying to play SC2 on here (which it plays fine now on low settings). Run it at 1650x1080. Running on XP sp2. Ummm..with that being said, here are my current specs.

mobo http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=177

CPU = AMD Atholon 64 x2 3800+
Memory = DDR 2x 1 gig PC3200(200Mhz)
GPU = Radeon HD 4850 512MB
HD = Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM
PSU = PurePower 500w

Hope thats enough info! :) Thanks in advance.
 
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Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
Upgrade your CPU.
I'm running SC2 at medium/high at 1920x1200 on an HD4850 and a Core 2 based proc at ~3.33GHz (dual core).

I had an X2 4200+ before I upgraded, and the CPU was definitely holding me back in a lot of games (this was ~18 months ago, well before SC2), so an upgrade to something in the ~3GHz Core 2 range, or the Pentium 9650 (Core i based processor), or a newer AMD processor like the Phenom II X2 or Athlon II X4 with 4GB or so of RAM should be enough to play SC2 at high settings at 1680x1050 with your current GPU.

So basically 4GB RAM and a new mobo for either:
*3+GHz Core 2 (if you want an obsolete system but you might find some super cheap options on Ebay)
*Pentium G9650 (for a socket 1156 system on the cheap with a possible upgrade path. Maybe an i3 would just squeeze into the budget)
*Athlon II X4 (if you think 4 cores would be useful and for something which can be upgraded again in the future)
*Phenom II X2 (if you don't need 4 cores and want a little extra performance and an upgrade path)
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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www.mfenn.com
Definitely the CPU as Lonyo said.

This combo gets you an Athlon II X3 440 and an OK (not great) Biostar Mobo for $120. Throw in 4GB of DDR2 for $76, and you'll be sitting pretty with the rig for quite a while.
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
I'm guessing he doesn't want to buy a new mobo. If you can find one cheap, try and find an Opteron 180 or Athlon FX-60. Both overclock well. Problem is they still command a premium on eBay.
 
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leatherface7

Member
Aug 5, 2009
90
0
61
mfenn said:
Definitely the CPU as Lonyo said.

This combo gets you an Athlon II X3 440 and an OK (not great) Biostar Mobo for $120. Throw in 4GB of DDR2 for $76, and you'll be sitting pretty with the rig for quite a while.
Click to expand...


Not a bad combo, thanks for the links. I don't mind upgrading any parts at all so this might work. I'll look into it more tomorrow when i'm at work =p. Any other suggestions? Would be nice to keep this computer alive for a while longer haha :) Thanks guys, always a ton of help!
 
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leatherface7

Member
Aug 5, 2009
90
0
61
leatherface7 said:
Not a bad combo, thanks for the links. I don't mind upgrading any parts at all so this might work. I'll look into it more tomorrow when i'm at work =p. Any other suggestions? Would be nice to keep this computer alive for a while longer haha :) Thanks guys, always a ton of help!
Click to expand...


Ok, finally able to check things out, and this combo looks pretty good. Fits exactly in my budget and hopefully the CPU and RAM will fix my shitty bottleneck somewhat.

Any other suggestions before I purchase? Would increasing my budget by $50-100 be worthwhile at all or not really considering what I want this Rig to do?

Thanks guys!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
leatherface7 said:
Ok, finally able to check things out, and this combo looks pretty good. Fits exactly in my budget and hopefully the CPU and RAM will fix my shitty bottleneck somewhat.

Any other suggestions before I purchase? Would increasing my budget by $50-100 be worthwhile at all or not really considering what I want this Rig to do?

Thanks guys!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Really, the only thing you would want to do after that combo I linked would be to up the GPU, because any more money spent on the platform is really just going to give you marginal increases over the Athlon II. Upgrading makes sense for a primary machine, but I can't see the value in upgrading to a Phenom II or whatever for an occasional-use machine. I would just say to save your money because you're not going to be getting something appreciably better than a 4850 for less than $100.
 
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leatherface7

Member
Aug 5, 2009
90
0
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mfenn said:
DDR2 has been pretty much figured out by now, so that's not a big deal IMHO. There are plenty of 4GB kits around $80 if the OP wants to be absolutely safe.
Click to expand...

I'm just looking for the most efficient spending of funds, with compatibility obviously not being an issue =p, if it may be..then I guess I'll look into it!
 
KGB

KGB

Diamond Member
May 11, 2000
3,042
0
0
If I had a nickle for every thread where the RAM/MB combination had compatibility issues, ...
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
KGBMAN said:
If I had a nickle for every thread where the RAM/MB combination had compatibility issues, ...
Click to expand...

404 OCZ DDR3 not found. :D

But seriously OP, the Biostar QVL is quite old. In fact, none of the 2GB listed modules are even purchasable (at a reasonable price) on Newegg. Like I said, it is an OK (not great) motherboard.
 
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leatherface7

Member
Aug 5, 2009
90
0
61
mfenn said:
404 OCZ DDR3 not found. :D

But seriously OP, the Biostar QVL is quite old. In fact, none of the 2GB listed modules are even purchasable (at a reasonable price) on Newegg. Like I said, it is an OK (not great) motherboard.
Click to expand...

If it will suffice, I will purchase this weekend; but if there is something you would rather recommend that is a good deal, let me know!

As this computer is getting old and I do want to prolong its life, I certainly don't want to hastle with it again after this time =p
 
KGB

KGB

Diamond Member
May 11, 2000
3,042
0
0
mfenn said:
404 OCZ DDR3 not found. :D

But seriously OP, the Biostar QVL is quite old. In fact, none of the 2GB listed modules are even purchasable (at a reasonable price) on Newegg. Like I said, it is an OK (not great) motherboard.
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying.
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
leatherface7 said:
If it will suffice, I will purchase this weekend; but if there is something you would rather recommend that is a good deal, let me know!

As this computer is getting old and I do want to prolong its life, I certainly don't want to hastle with it again after this time =p
Click to expand...

I would say to just go for it. PQI is a good brand for memory, and the combo is a pretty decent deal! The Newegg reviews for the motherboard seem to show people using use a wide variety of memory with it.
 
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