low budget, need some help deciding

J

jay1227

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
305
basically i have $300 to get a case, motherboard, and cpu (and cheap cooler if necessary) to build a quiet yet decent gaming system..

as of now i have a SilenX xtrema 450w PSU, 2x512MB DDR400, 9600XT AGP, and the rest...

I can play BF2 on my sempron 2800 skt A right now and im selling this or most of this rig to a coworker

Im not sure if i want to go Intel or AMD. Im a pretty loyal AMD guy but i thought about trying Intel this time.

Im looking to shop newegg, as usual.

Any suggestions?
 
not this time. the next time i upgrade ill be going the whole PCI-e route but for now im looking on keeping agp and the 9600xt.
 
im getting $300 for a machine and i need to replace what i sell..
im selling case, mobo, and cpu so i need a case mobo and cpu and im trying to figure out what to get.

im starting a new job but i dont know when ill be able to afford a better rig. for now i need to replace that stuff for the time being.
 
just an opportunity to get some new hardware... thought about an

* EPoX EP-9NDA3J Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce3 Ultra
with an AMD A64 3000+ Venice

thats 216 + ship
 
i figured since i can get 300 now i might as well do it then upgrade my video card later when i can afford it. but i definately agree..
 
Do you have the 300 bucks now or is that the money you get from selling your current system?

If you have the 300 bucks now, why not kill two birds with one stone?

Sell your current system, now you have 600 bucks. Buy a AMD 64 3200+ Venice, a decent pci express nforce 4 motherboard, and a pci express x800 xl or 6800 gt.
 
im selling my mobo cpu and case for 300 on friday so it needs to be replaced. im not a hardcore gamer, i can play BF2 on med settings and thas fine with me. just seeing how much better i could do with 300$ to spend on mobo cpu and case for myself. ill get a new vid card in a couple of months...
 
For $300 you can manage a Venice 3000+ with at least a nforce 3 if you keep your current video card and plan not to do any major upgrading with it. Don't forget the heatsink (once you add a good heatsink you bring it closer to that $300 mark.) You should be able to overclock pretty decently and get surprisingly more out of that $300 budget CPU+MB+HSF combo than you might expect.

This is what I'm currently looking at for myself in the near future (planning to keep my current video card and just get to the grief of having to upgrade to pci express when I have to in the future. I just can't afford a new video card, and I sure as heck can't get one that's even worse anyway...)

EDIT: This is what I'm considering: http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1490152&WishListTitle=CPU

The heatsink is a bit overkill (figured I'd spend a little more on a better HSF, a little less on the CPU, so traded 3200+ for 3000+ in favor of an expensive HSF) but my current case has enough room for it. Your situation may differ though, this is a very spacious case.

EDIT2: Oh, oops, case? Well, you can maybe squeeze something in there with that budget, but, with shipping included it goes over 300 for certain. You can opt for a lower end heatsink or something I guess to get a little more cost leeway. You really will be better off trying to go with that Venice A64 than going any lower though. It will last you longer than you might think and you won't regret it down the road, so if you have to spend $10 or $20 over budget, it's worth it.
 
for now ill probably use the stock cooler and one day when i make a little extra commission or something at work ill get an XP90 or something. But honestly I doubt ill be doing any overclocking and if I do it wont be more than what the stock cooler can handle. I appreciate everyones help. Ill be sure to check back in to let everyone know how it went, ill be ordering hopefully friday.
 
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