Upgrading cpu, mobo, ram for gaming

M

MannyD

n00b
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
3
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Graphic intensive gaming

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
500ish

3) Where do you live?
Orlando

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc
Processor, ram, mobo, GPU and the PSU (maybe????)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Lian Li PC65B
Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
APEVIA ATX-AS500W-GN 500W ATX Power Supply (ummm?)
Hard and disk drives
I know its old but will a Thermalright XP90 cooler fit?

6) Will you be overclocking?
I would like to, but not a necessity

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Dell 2005fpw

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next month or so.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I don't think I will be needing any of those, not really sure if I would use multiple cards or just upgrade one card in the future.

I haven't been keeping up with hardware trends since I'm very preoccupied with college. I like to play games on my rare off times and would like something other that my Dell m1530 to play on as it is really starting to show its age. I really don't have the time to research hardware and maximize what I can get for my money; I know its part of the fun, but I just don't have the time. All the help is appreciated!
 
Last edited:
You'll need a new PSU as well -- Apevia PSUs are garbage. If you plan on overclocking, you'll probably have to buy a new CPU cooler as well, since the 120mm tower style coolers perform much better than the XP90 in its heyday. Since you practically need a new system, and you want good gaming performance, could you add an additional $100-$200 to your budget?

You didn't answer question 10: Do you already have an unused (or retail) copy of Windows available? Do you need one?
 
I figured that would be the case with the PSU, so I would go ahead and replace that. I do have a copy of Windows.
 
$149 - AMD Athlon II X2 250 & Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 combo deal
$110 - G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 kit
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$160 - XFX Radeon HD 5770
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
=====
$519 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Depending on the age of your HDD, you may want to consider a new HDD (preferably one that uses 500GB drive platters) or an SSD in the future.

If you really want to overclock, consider buying a Black Edition processor instead. AMD's Black Edition processors come with unlocked CPU multipliers (the Intel "equivalents" are the expensive Extreme Edition processors).

You won't need the Audigy 2 ZS, as the quality of the onboard HD audio chips have improved from years ago.
 
tiraides said:
$149 - AMD Athlon II X2 250 & Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 combo deal
$110 - G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 kit
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
$160 - XFX Radeon HD 5770
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
=====
$519 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Depending on the age of your HDD, you may want to consider a new HDD (preferably one that uses 500GB drive platters) or an SSD in the future.

If you really want to overclock, consider buying a Black Edition processor instead. AMD's Black Edition processors come with unlocked CPU multipliers (the Intel "equivalents" are the expensive Extreme Edition processors).

You won't need the Audigy 2 ZS, as the quality of the onboard HD audio chips have improved from years ago.
Click to expand...

good build; OP, if you decide to get a higher res monitor, a second 5770 would be perfect (and come relatively cheap)

1680x1050 users are the niche in which a 5770 crossfire is a reasonable upgrade path, imo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top