Cheap uppgrade - GPU missing

V

Vorret

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 26, 2003
Messages
1,100
First of all, I want to know if this is relatively "futur proof" I don't uppgrade often and when I do, I don't buy the top if the line since my budget is limited (adult life FTW lol)
Anyways, I didn't plan on uppgrading but I can't play Civ5 unless I set everything to low and that's just... well that's WRONG!

So, without hesitation, here's what I've come up with ! :)

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming, WoW, Civ5, SC2, probably some FPS but nothing needs to be completly maxed out.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

I'd like to keep everything under 500$ SH/TX Incl. (Canadian$$$)

3) Where do you live?

Canada

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The
word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

CPU,Ram,Mobo,Video card and PSU

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Case, Hard drive, DVD burner

6) Will you be overclocking?

Nope (well, I've never even attempted it but I guess I *could* though I don't want to spend more for non-retail cooling)

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

20' 1650x1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Now

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

Nothing "special" though I might add an SSD after Christmas

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yep, Windows 7 64bit legit (really!)


Here's what I have so far, everything is from the shall not be named website (n c i x) so I can't link anything.

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W ATX 20/24PIN SLI Ready Modular Cables 135mm Fan Active PFC Power Supply - 60$ (40$ after 20$ MIB)

Patriot Sector 5 PGV34G1333ELK 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit 90$ (65$ After 25$ MIB)

ASUS M4A77TD ATX AM3 DDR3 AMD770 SB710 PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI IDE 6SATA Sound GBLAN Motherboard 80$ (65$ After 15$ MIB)

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor 3.2GHZ AM3 8MB Cache 125W Retail Box 145$


I need a video card (I'm currently using a 9600GT), something that's good enough to run games at a decent setting (ie: not low but not extreme either)

So far my total with shipping is 428.14$

Crap.
Ok I guess a bit over 500$ after all unless I can find some better deal somewhere else :(

Thanks
 
Just read a bit on OCZ PSU and they seem to be having some trouble... would this be a better buy :

Antec Earthwatts Green 500W Power Supply ATX12V V2.0 Active PFC 80PLUS Bronze 80MM Fan 70$ (50$ after 20$ MIB)
 
For what you have listed there the PSU is crapilicious & on a budget the Athlon II x4's are much better values compared to the Phenom II x4's

Overall this build from Newegg.ca came in at 515 before shipping, but included the video card.. & at 1680x1050 should allow you to just about max out EVERYTHING.

82 SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W
77 MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G
186 XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB
62 GeIL Value PLUS 4GB (2 x 2GB)
106 AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz

Overall this build compared to yours above spends less on the cpu & spreads out the difference elsewhere. Especially the PSU as the SeaSonic I linked is a WAY better psu then the OCZ

As an alternative you can try to find the parts in this picture from somewhere other then newegg that we cant discuss here. It was 538 before shipping which i believe is cheaper then newegg for you guys up north.
 
Vorret said:
Thanks!

Isn't the 6850 a bit overkill ?
Click to expand...

Maybe.. But I dont think so.. Especially if you dont upgrade often.. Also remember that the 6850 isnt a 5850 replacement.. its a 5750 replacement so the next generation of AMD video cards are way above it when they are released. Plus you should be able to max most games out playable now & as time goes on & newer games come out with higher requirements it shouldn't leave you hurting until your ready to do everything again.
 
Question... would this be a better deal for the Motherboard/Cpu :

MSI 770-G45 ATX AM3 770 DDR3 CrossFire 2XPCI-E16 PCI-E 3XPCI SATA2 RAID GBLAN Audio Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 925 Quad Core Processor AM3 2.8GHZ 6MB L3 Cache 95W Retail Box

Combined price of 169$ after 10$ MIR
Or the Athlon will perform better?
 
Vorret said:
Question... would this be a better deal for the Motherboard/Cpu :

MSI 770-G45 ATX AM3 770 DDR3 CrossFire 2XPCI-E16 PCI-E 3XPCI SATA2 RAID GBLAN Audio Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 925 Quad Core Processor AM3 2.8GHZ 6MB L3 Cache 95W Retail Box

Combined price of 169$ after 10$ MIR
Or the Athlon will perform better?
Click to expand...

Yep get that.. The Phenom II x4's are faster then the Athlon II x4's clock for clock and since that combo is cheaper thats definitely the way to go
 
Vorret said:
I'm going to sound really annoying but in my madness to make it as cheap as possible, I've come across this :

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103644

Is it better than the other 2 we've posted so far?

(I'm wondering since it's an AM2+ instead of AM3 ...)
Click to expand...

From a price to performance standpoint, not really since it forces you to use more expensive and older DDR2 RAM and current AM2+ mobos costs a little more than their AM3 counterparts.

For 1680x1050, definitely go with the HD 6850. It is not overkill by any means.
 
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