$500 computer upgrade - Hardware & Software

so last time i looked at computer hardware, the 8800GT/GTS/GTX was top of the line so I'm going off assumptions from that time.. I'd like to spend less than $500 and have a computer that can run new games (Skyrim, BF3 etc) on decent settings @ 1280x1024 (so that should make it easier to manage, I would think). I play a lot of D2 and old games like that so, realistically, anything is going to look miles better than that. My current rig has: 9500GT AMD Athlon X2 @ 2.7GHz OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 @ 800 400w Cooler Master PSU 150GB hard drive (SATA) (something else I intend to upgrade soon, most likely get a 700gb+ drive and use the 150gb for my OS or something) Gigabyte MA69GM-S2H Motherboard 2 monitors @ 1280x1024 resolution It has pretty much been frankenstein'd over the last few years to try to keep it running and keep up with new games but it doesn't really do the latter anymore. i can manage Driver: San Francisco and GTAIV on all low but they don't exactly run well, they just run. this is where i'm at now, going off some budget builds on Tom's Hardware and my good experience with Gigabyte boards and AMD processors (I have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro that I use now so that's another reason I'd like to keep to AMD): [IMG]http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4893/asdfxb.png[/IMG]

Acceptable short time investment, but the i3 2100 performs better then a phenom 980, and you would have the upgrade path to an i5 2500k once you'll need it. I'd strongly suggest you adding about 40 dollars to the budget to get an i5 2500k tho.

I hardly play video games as it is now, I still use 1280x1024 so I'm, at the very least, way behind "cutting edge". I could probably get away with much less computer but I figure I'll give myself just a bit of ability to upgrade in the future without spending too much. Currently, I'm looking at just buying a 6850, a Phenom quad core and 4gb of DDR2 800 because, really, at 1280x1024 that's more than likely more computer than I would need to play any game out now. Even if I upgrade one of my monitors, it would be to 1600x900 at most. I'm not a "hardcore gamer", I barely play games so I don't see the necessity in spending $300 on a new motherboard and processor when I could spend $350 and get a processor, graphics card and 4gb of ram and be just as well off. This computer has lasted me 3-4 years and done most everything I've wanted. Thanks for the reply, anyways.

Well you said you had $500 to spend and all she was trying to do was give you something to where you could upgrade further in the future if you needed.

[QUOTE=Zerokateo;33285689]Well you said you had $500 to spend and all she was trying to do was give you something to where you could upgrade further in the future if you needed.[/QUOTE] I didn't say they were wrong in any respect, I merely stated that I had decided to go a different route after re-thinking my purpose in upgrading my computer and that spending $300 on a processor/motherboard that I'm hardly going to use isn't worth it to me when that same $300 will get me a new processor, video card and 4gb of ram. I agree fully that the Intel processors are superior to AMD in most every respect and that they're the better choice but they're the wrong choice for me. I tend to think big but spend small - this thread is a good example. Originally, I was looking at spending $1000 (a new-from-scratch build), then $800, $500 (when I posted) and now $350 (what I came up with after). I appreciate the responses but I'm barely on my computer enough to justify spending any money into it, let alone enough to purchase a good Intel processor/motherboard combo.

[QUOTE=RubberDuckeh;33286264]I didn't say they were wrong in any respect, I merely stated that I had decided to go a different route after re-thinking my purpose in upgrading my computer and that spending $300 on a processor/motherboard that I'm hardly going to use isn't worth it to me when that same $300 will get me a new processor, video card and 4gb of ram. I agree fully that the Intel processors are superior to AMD in most every respect and that they're the better choice but they're the wrong choice for me. I tend to think big but spend small - this thread is a good example. Originally, I was looking at spending $1000 (a new-from-scratch build), then $800, $500 (when I posted) and now $350 (what I came up with after). I appreciate the responses but I'm barely on my computer enough to justify spending any money into it, let alone enough to purchase a good Intel processor/motherboard combo.[/QUOTE] Alright well if thats your situation I agree with you, Like you said no point of spending money on a PC you'll almost never use.

Just do keep in mind that the i3 2100 performs better then a phenom 980 and goes for like 40 bucks less. You don't have to buy an am3+ motherboard, just am3 is just fine, a 955 and 965 is the exact same thing, just get a 955 and overclock it if you need it.

Thanks again for the responses. I've put together my final decision, $390 for an AM3 board (ASUS M4A87TD) with the Phenom II 965 (it's a combo deal w/ the motherboard on Newegg), a 6850 and 2x2gb of G.SKILL Rip Jaws ram. I found a brand new Thermaltake 430w PSU in my closet of PC parts and, according to the calculators I've found, that should be enough power. I'll be re-using my case, HSF, hard drive and whatever else I can salvage until I decide to pony up more dough and get a terabyte drive or something. If I thought I would actually use my computer more often, I would've gone with a nice intel board and i5 but it's just not in the cards for me. I'm not going to chase after little gains when, to me, 30fps is just as playable as 60fps. Thanks for trying to help anyways, though.