Upgrading Motherboard and Processor, $250 limit

[Omen]

What am I replacing?

Motherboard: 7-slot BTX motherboard (12.6" x 10.5")
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHZ
RAM: 2x 4GB DDR2 SDRAM

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
The main reason I'm upgrading my computer is so that I can play Planetside 2 with decent frames. I'll also be using Visual Studio and Photoshop
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$250, I only want to upgrade the motherboard and the processor
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA, in Pennsylvania, although next week it will be Vermont.
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.
I only want to buy a new Processor and a new motherboard
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case: Dell XPS 720
Drives: 2x 150 GB Hardrives, 1x 1.5 Terabyte Hardrive, 7200 RPM
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 465 Direct X 11, 1 GB vRAM
Power Supply: Dell H750P, 750 W
6) Will you be overclocking?
I don't intend to, no.
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have a two monitors, one is a 22" 1680 x 1050, and the other is a 28" 1920 x 1200.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next two weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
I will also be using the computer to develop Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8 apps which means that the processor needs to support Hyper V 3.0 which requires SLAT Hyper-V support for the Windows Phone 8 emulator.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I'll be getting a copy of Windows 8 through MSDNAA, 64 bit.


Right now, this is what I have on the table.

Processor: AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+

Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: 2x 4 GB GeIL Pristine 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 240-pin.

Any thoughts? Should I go for an Intel instead?

Thanks for the help .

 

[Dangman]

Wait, you sure that's a BTX motherboard? If so, you will have to replace that case as well.

Also, any chance of you raising your budget by another $20?

 

[Omen]

Ugh, you might be right. Here's a diagram of the Motherboard, the Owner's manual itself doesn't specify if it's BTX or ATX, but I'm pretty sure it is.

I thought maybe an ATX would work because I read somewhere that BTX motherboards were backwards compatible, but I'm going to have to guess that it's wrong.

 

[Dangman]

Yeah that's definitely BTX. That also means that the PSU is probably proprietary as well. So you're looking at a new case and PSU as well. Still want to do this CPU, mobo, RAM, PSU, and case upgrade for $250?

 

[Omen]

Yeah that's definitely BTX. That also means that the PSU is probably proprietary as well. So you're looking at a new case and PSU as well. Still want to do this CPU, mobo, RAM, PSU, and case upgrade for $250?

Alright, well since I can't use the existing case. I just so happen to have an old computer lying around that has an ATX motherboard in its case. I think I should be able to gut that out, and put the Graphics card in there, although this means that I have to get a PSU, any recommendations?

Do you think that would work? The case is smaller than the Dell XPS 720, and I'm wondering if a 750 w PSU would fit. Now that I need a new PSU, I'm willing to go $50 higher.

 

[Dangman]

Do you think that would work? The case is smaller than the Dell XPS 720, and I'm wondering if a 750 w PSU would fit. Now that I need a new PSU, I'm willing to go $50 higher.

Well first, what is that old case? If it's too old (i.e still uses 80mm fans), then it's not worth reusing since it may not provide adequate cooling for your parts. Especially considering that you have the hot-running and power hungry GTX 465.

 

[Omen]

Well first, what is that old case? If it's too old (i.e still uses 80mm fans), then it's not worth reusing since it may not provide adequate cooling for your parts. Especially considering that you have the hot-running and power hungry GTX 465.

Yup, it's an old case with 80 mm fans. It's a Compaq Presario X09 from 2003 >.> . I already had an Nvidia 7800 in it, and it ran really hot on that.

It looks like unless I want to mod my current Dell's case, I have to get a brand new case. Unfortunately, I don't really have time or money to do so >.>.

Are you 100% sure the ATX board won't fit at all?

 

[Dangman]

Yup, it's an old case with 80 mm fans. It's a Compaq Presario X09 from 2003 >.> . I already had an Nvidia 7800 in it, and it ran really hot on that.

Yeah definitely new case: The 7800 is low powered compared to the GTX 465. So imagine the problem with the GTX 465.

Are you 100% sure the ATX board won't fit at all?

In that Dell case? Yes. Dude, look at the layout in the diagram you provided: It's completely reversed of ATX. Look at any ATX case: it's different from that Dell. In fact, you wouldn't even be able to mod that Dell to fit an ATX.

 

[Omen]

Yeah definitely new case: The 7800 is low powered compared to the GTX 465. So imagine the problem with the GTX 465.

In that Dell case? Yes. Dude, look at the layout in the diagram you provided: It's completely reversed of ATX. Look at any ATX case: it's different from that Dell. In fact, you wouldn't even be able to mod that Dell to fit an ATX.

Oh well, it looks like I might as well throw in the towel. Some people actually have been able to modify it to work with ATX, but that would require enough parts to justify buying a new case.

I can't believe Dell went with a BTX design.

Are you sure the PSU wouldn't work in another case? (If I ever wanted to buy a new case in the future).

Thanks for all the help, I probably would have bought the ATX Motherboard, and then I would have looked extremely stupid trying to fit it in the computer >.> .

 

[Dangman]

Are you sure the PSU wouldn't work in another case? (If I ever wanted to buy a new case in the future)..

I'm sure. It's an older Dell so yeah it's more than likely proprietary.

In any case, you can get a new setup for $10 more than your $300 budget:
$88 - Intel Pentium G850 CPU
108 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard + Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM Combo
$64 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
---
Total: $360 shipped

 

[Omen]

I'm sure. It's an older Dell so yeah it's more than likely proprietary.

In any case, you can get a new setup for $10 more than your $300 budget:
$88 - Intel Pentium G850 CPU
108 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard + Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM Combo
$64 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
---
Total: $360 shipped

Thanks for the info, I will consider this. Do you think the Pentium processor would make that big of a difference compared to what I have now? I mean the computer seems to run pretty well right now, I still haven't come across a game it can't play on at least Medium now.

 

[Dangman]

For gaming you'll see about a 15% to 25% performance depending on the game.

 

[Omen]

For gaming you'll see about a 15% to 25% performance depending on the game.

Alright, thanks for the info