help me spend my christmas money

[Z3RO]

ok so im looking at this mobo and processor

 

mobo

 

processor

 

im basically looking for a processor upgrade from my sempron 3000+. i don't want to go pcie yet because i just got my radeon x1600 pro 512 and i dont have the funds for a new video card.

 

im looking to keep it around $150 for both. 200 max.

[akaM2]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813138038 mobo

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819103733 proc

 

179 all together or so, plus the 3800x2 will blow the Pentium D out of the water.

[Z3RO]

that would be nice but would also require me to get different ram. ive got a gig of 184pin ddr ram and it would be another 100 or so more for 240pin ddr2 ram.

[Cujo]

honestly, it's not even worth the upgrade. what is your sempron? is it socket a or 754 or what?

 

that cpu and mobo is crap and i wouldn't buy it no matter what sempron i had.

 

with that money, i'd rather get an am2 cpu with an am2 motherboard and use the onboard video and save for a pci-express vid card.

[Z3RO]

its socket a and im almost 100% positive their is no upgrade form my current cpu

 

this is my current set up

 

mobo

 

cpu im pretty sure this is it i might have the 2800+ ill have to double check when i get home.

 

gig of cheap ram

 

the radeon card

 

creative fatality sound card

 

cheap 150gig wd hard drive

 

 

most of this being out of an emachines i got over a year ago.

 

so if its not worth upgrading this any further let me no.

[k-wix]

its socket a and im almost 100% positive their is no upgrade form my current cpu

 

this is my current set up

 

mobo

 

cpu im pretty sure this is it i might have the 2800+ ill have to double check when i get home.

 

gig of cheap ram

 

the radeon card

 

creative fatality sound card

 

cheap 150gig wd hard drive

 

 

most of this being out of an emachines i got over a year ago.

 

so if its not worth upgrading this any further let me no.

 

Z3Ro you were in the exact same boat i was, and i decided to save up and overhaul the system entirely. Socket A is dying. and by dying i mean dead AGP is also dying, not dead yet, but expensive as heck to upgrade to compete with PCI-E

 

So 2 pieces of your motherboard (the two most critical to gaming, no less) are dying. 1 is pretty much gone, Socket A.

 

Do some research and see what kinda chipset you wanna go with, something that can CHANGE to dual-core is important i think for the future of gaming (when stuff like Crytek comes out)

 

Then, make sure its PCI-E compatible. you can usually find a good Mobo for under 100$, usually around 70 if you look hard.

 

 

Socket T (LGA 775) is pretty popular now, and a good budget PC with good expandibility would be the Socket 939 series, which I am currently running, lets find a good 939 board for you

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813188007

 

Theres a solid choice, its cheap.. has dual PCI-Express compatibility (IS PCI-E in the first place) and is .. well, cheap! its really well priced. Also has standard 400 DDR Ram, i know DDR2 is out and a bit better, but you can get some pretty fast DDR Ram, when you have the cash, its pretty pricey for like 2 gigs i think your lookin at 150 Easy, but yea.. its got all the features you want.

 

Heres another, slightly more popular model that isnt Too pricey:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813131569

 

 

Now you need a good Processor.

 

Id say a solid 'budget' choice would be:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819103528

 

So your still way under your price mark, about 150 if you went with the big board, 120 if you went with the lesser But you need a new graphics card, your new board doesnt take AGP.

 

In my opinion the video card is the heart of the box, so lets get you something nice, but a great price, i'd say:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814130017

 

This baby will run everything, Counter-Strike at full blast at a solid 50-60FPS and is just only over 100$ 120 after rebate.

 

So now we're at 280, WAY over the price mark, or like 250 if you went with the cheaper board.

 

 

So yea, that would be a hot budget setup right there Plus you can expand to Dual-core, PCI-E, and stuff, th system will last you a good 3-6 years if you upgrade it steadily. But dont just go and buy everything because i said so, i know a lot about CPUs and GPUs and how to put a solid system together, but others probably know a lot more, do some research and make your own decisions G/L and enjoy the $$

Edited December 26, 2006 by k-wix

[Z3RO]

I was really just looking to tide me over till tax season when i plan to blow my tax return on a whole new rig. so if its not worth putting any more money into my gehto rig then i will use my money to buy some thing eles its looking like saving is going to be the option for me right now. unless some one has some handme down parts thier willing to let go

[Cujo]

save til you can do a whole overhaul.

[NOFX]

save til you can do a whole overhaul.

 

ditto. that will hold you over for a few hours.. then you realize those 6 extra points on 3dmark06 really isnt worth it.

[Tek-Almighty]

Send me the money, I promise to buy something really nice for the price.