Upgrading rig to play newer games

[fakero]

INTRODUCTION

So my current rig is 4+ years old and is struggling to play new games like Age of Conan. I'm looking to upgrade it with fairly low budget parts so that it is capable of running whatever I throw it at, doesn't have to be on particularly high settings. My hardware experience is pretty limited, so sorry in advance if I ask some really stupid questions.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Moderate Gaming / Design Software (i.e. Adobe CS3)

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Around $400 total which covers cpu, mobo, ram and video card.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA, newegg.com

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

AMD and ATI

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

APEVIA ATX-AS500W-BL 500W ATX12V Power Supply
Antec Performance Plus PLUSVIEW1000AMG Metallic Gray 1.0mm SECC Server Computer Case
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3200822AS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Read arstechnica's Budget Box guide, which is what I'm basing my hardware picks on.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Haven't had much experience with overclocking in the past, would be willing to look into it to get better performance.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Planning on buying parts this week to build over the weekend.

NEED ADVICE ON THESE PARTS

Mobo ASUS M2A-VM HDMI AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Seems like a decent mobo for the price, my primary concerns here are only 1 PCI Express slot (no SLI/CrossFire support obviously) and support for only up to DDR2 800. Am I getting good value here or am I limiting my options too much here, in terms of not being able to buy faster ram and a second video card in the future?

CPU Arstechnica recommends this one AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor but newegg has it listed as a deactivated item. So for the replacement I found AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor.

Looks like a faster processor for less money or am I overlooking something here? Not sure if Brisbane in the name means anything different?

RAM<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122"> G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop
Memory</a>

Haven't heard of this memory brand before but it seems to have very positive user feedback on newegg. Also I seem to have found very similar faster ram and for the same price: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory . The PC2 6400 has lower voltage 1.8V - 1.9V, as opposed to the PC2 8000's 2.0V - 2.1V. Is lower voltage favorable here, hence the same price point?

Video SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Same concern as listed above: Nice card CrossFire ready, but with the mobo I chose I cant buy a 2nd one later. Is being able to run 2 of these cards at once a huge performance gain as opposed to just 1?

Overall, I'm looking for feedback on my selection and suggestions for possible alternatives within the price range. Thanks in advance.

 

[jellyrole]

This is a link to a review comparing your card vs it in crossfire:
http://www.hi-techreviews.com/...rossfire-review_6.html

Also, this motherboard is only $15 more and it supports the Phenom Quad-Core series of CPUs and has the ability of Crossfire. It seems to be a decent budget board for the average gamer, and it's not going to leave you behind CPU/GPU wise with those abilities to upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813130172

 

[Blain]

"The PC2 6400 has lower voltage 1.8V - 1.9V, as opposed to the PC2 8000's 2.0V - 2.1V. Is lower voltage favorable here, hence the same price point?"
Yes, I'd get the lower volted DDR2. The JEDEC standard is 1.8v
Unless you're going to slam your rig hard with some high OCing, the PC2-6400 is plenty.

 

[fakero]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll have to go with a full ATX mobo, like the one jellyrole linked because my case doesn't seem to have the proper mounts for micro ATX.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: fakero
Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll have to go with a full ATX mobo, like the one jellyrole linked because my case doesn't seem to have the proper mounts for micro ATX.

Should not be a problem with the mounting holes - may want to check again.

X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz AM2 65W Black Edition: $82

ASUS M3A-H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX $108

I didn't verify your ram choice with the mobo - 4gb G.SKILL: $85

Second hard drive: $60


Start with the IGP on the mobo. If you don't have a HSF you will have to purchase one for that X2 5000+ BE. Upping the cpu multi to 14x will give you 2.8GHz running your ram at spec 800MHz. The second HDD will help improve performance in CS3.

I'd hold off on the video card (if you decide you need one) for a few months. An HD3850 is around $100 AR these days and hopefully will fall even lower. Nice OC'er, too.