Upgrading components...500 to spend!

[Morphx2]

Hiya,

I wish to upgrade my motherboard/RAM/processor/video card from what I have now. Currently I have a 6800 vanilla (with unlocked pipes), AMD 64 3000+, and 1 gig of RAM.


I want to have a budget of around 500 dollars to replace those parts. Any idea on what is good now? I havn't been much into the hardware scene since I last upgraded..probably 2-3 years ago.

I was looking at sharky extreme and they mentioned this for a budget setup

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (2.8 GHz) Retail - $176
Motherboard: Biostar TForce 570 SLI AM2 - $90
Memory: Corsair XMS2 DDR2-667 2x1-GB- $67
Video Card: GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (PCIe) - $185

Total is 518. So it is close to 500.

What do you all think? I do not plan to SLI at all in the future, but I do want to be able to play games at 1680x1050 like my monitor resolution and have it good enough for the future.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[tigersty1e]

I"m not sure about your other components, but I would spend 100-150 for a DX9 card now and then upgrade later.

 

[imported_flounder]

Is your 6800 pci-e? If so I would save the money for now and hold off until you can afford something like an 8800 GTS 320mb. The difference is appreciable, but if not the 8600 is a good choice.

 

[mruffin75]

Originally posted by: tigersty1e
I"m not sure about your other components, but I would spend 100-150 for a DX9 card now and then upgrade later.

That's not very good advice.. $150 for a D9 card when you can get a DX10 card now for $35 more? What's $35?? Now if it was a $100 difference or so sure..

The above setup sounds fine..

 

[jpeyton]

I like this option better for gaming at 1680x1050 (especially in the future):

Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 - $85

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - $19.50

Gigabyte P965-DS3 - $95

Corsair ValueSelect 2GB DDR2 667 - $60

PNY GeForce 8800GTS 320MB - $270

Total: $529.50 plus shipping/tax.

Since the default FSB of the CPU is 200MHz, overclock the FSB to 333MHz (maybe bump the CPU VCore a little), and you're running at 3GHz while keeping the memory speeds at stock DDR2 667 (333MHz).

A Core 2 Duo/8800GTS setup will kick the snot out of an Athlon X2/8600GTS.

 

[Morphx2]

hmmm. I like the idea of a 8800 in there. I always bought AMD because they used to be better...but I guess times are changing! is that ewiz site a good place? oh, my 6800 is AGP for that guy who asked. ill check out reviews of the processor and mobo later..right now I'm at doctor about to get an MRI for my knee.

thanks again so far!

 

[Morphx2]

oops I did it again!

 

[Morphx2]

oops, made a mistake

 

[jpeyton]

Triple-post 3 minutes after the original?

 

[Puffnstuff]

3rd time's a charm eh?

 

[Morphx2]

Whoooooooops!

Sorry, I was on my Treo in the doctor's office. The first time it worked fine, then I tried to edit the post and it went to hell

 

[Morphx2]

So Jp, is that ewiz site a good place to by things; usually I use newegg.

I have an antec sonta 450 watt power supply; that should be able to cut it, correct?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Morphx2
So Jp, is that ewiz site a good place to by things; usually I use newegg.

I have an antec sonta 450 watt power supply; that should be able to cut it, correct?

Yes, I've ordered from them many times without a problem, and they have nearly a 9 rating on Reseller Ratings (very good rating).

An Antec 450W PSU should power everything fine.

 

[Morphx2]

The gigabyte only has 1 IDE port...how do I hook up my 2 harddrives and DVD-drive? :-

I think I need a different motherboard..any ideas?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Morphx2
The gigabyte only has 1 IDE port...how do I hook up my 2 harddrives and DVD-drive? :-

I think I need a different motherboard..any ideas?

A motherboard is a central component for your computer. I'd rather pick a quality motherboard and choose my components around it than the other way around.

Just get a SATA DVDRW or HDD.

 

[Morphx2]

Right, but that would be spending more money than I would like too...choices choices.

 

[jpeyton]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141004

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082

Those might work for you. You'll end up paying more regardless.

 

[Morphx2]

Hmm yeah. I see what you mean. I do love MSI (used 2 MSI boards in the past), so I might just get the MSI board because I am used to them (if that makes any sense).

I will check out some SATA harddrives too and then do some pro/con for each of em.

Thanks a lot for your help so far, much appreciated.