I'm no longer a geek :( help me spend 400

S

Survive

New Member
It has been too many years since I built a PC but mine died last night and its time to upgrade anyway.
I have no more than 400 to spend and I need MB, CPU, Mem, Graphics

I know its not much of a budget for a game computer (SC2, FFXIV)

I'm not too particular on brands I just want the best for my money.
I've put together so far:

CPU - Phenom II X4 945 (4 x 3.0GHz - 8MB Cache - 4000MHz FSB
MB - ASRock M3A770DE (option to upgrade mem later)
Mem - 2GB DDR3-1333 Single Stick (8GB total later on)
Video - nVidia GeForce GTS 250 1GB DDR

This all adds up to $410.
I have a geforce 9800gt but I am worried it will bottleneck the MB/CPU unless I upgrade it.
I'm just not sure about any of this stuff... I appreciate any help/advice that you can give!
 
Ok, but which one do you have? Just saying 680w is like answering "it's a 140hp one" when I ask what car you have...
 
from 9800GT to GTS250 difference is not huge...
And GTS 450 already out, or consider faster 5770 1GB?
Or may be getting 880g/ 785G mobo, temporary using onboard vga, sell 9800GT, then get 5830/ GTX 460??
 
The name on the PS is Rite Star and it probably is junk. But it is junk thats been working for the last 3 years without a problem =D

I did a little more shopping around and have this
Video - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127445
MB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176
Mem - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145246
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103809

I think this is a lot better than the original list in as much as getting the most gaming out of the $400
idk tho what do you guys think?

daisy would the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128444 run SC2? If I was able to go that route then I could get an ATI card and crossfire right?

Also one more thing.. That MB has an 8pin CPU conector along with the 24pin atx one. My power supply has a 4 pin only - will I need to upgrade to something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
 
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1- That GPU is last gen...doesn't support DX11. You can get a much more powerful Radeon HD5770 for around the same price.

2- Tha mobo is a bit on the cheap side. Has standard caps in the power section. If you want it to last, get a better one, or a similar-performing HD5670 for a lot cheaper.

3- I found your PSU, I think. Is it gold colored? Blue label? The one I found has no 8-pin cpu connector and no PCIe connectors, so it won't fit your chosen mobo or GPU. Also has no PFC. It probably won't put out more than ~400W, if that.
 
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Thanks for the response Drenlin. You did find the PS that I have and the 680 is clearly listed as PEAK so yea... its old and junky.
Based on what you have all suggested here I've changed pretty much everything but I want to make sure its the right choice to do so. Here are the new components:

MB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128444
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103809
Mem - Crucial 2gb
PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

And eventually I am looking at getting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125317 to run crossfire with the onboard. For now I can just keep using my 9800gt

What do you think about this setup Drenlin?
 
I would honestly get a 460 over the 5830 any day. I've owned both and the there is little to no difference between the two cards. The 5830 has had many mixed reviews, I feel that it is not worth what it is. Lucky for me I found a 5850 for $180 in the local classifieds. I've also had 2 Gigabyte boards go on me for no reason after a year and half to two years. The CPU and PSU look good.
 
Drenlin said:
3- I found your PSU, I think. Is it gold colored? Blue label? The one I found has no 8-pin cpu connector and no PCIe connectors, so it won't fit your chosen mobo or GPU. Also has no PFC. It probably won't put out more than ~400W, if that.
Click to expand...

It only has 22 amps and 265 watts on the 12V rail.

The guy is flirting with disaster.
 
lol

Where'd you find the specs? I didn't see them anywhere...

But yeah, that setup looks good. I think you might be able to get a better PSU for the price, but that one certainly isn't bad. Gigabyte boards are the best AMD boards on the market right now, IMO, though Asus is a close second. CPU is good also.

One thing with the GPU, it's good, but you can't crossfire it with the onboard. The 5830 is much too powerful for that...it'd just slow you down. Also, the GTX 460 is indeed a better card for the price. However, if you want to move up to an 890GX board, you could crossfire a second 5830 later on. The 9800 will be just fine for now though.
 
My experience is different with my Gigabyte motherboard. My Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H motherboard has been working fine since July of 2008. Others will agree with me as well on the quality of Gigabyte mainboards. They are some of the best motherboards on the market today.

Also, others have mentioned this and I will emphasize it as well. A power supply is a very vital part of a system. Cheap power supplies can cause performance issues or burn out and damage your system. Get a good quality power supply.
 
Thank you all very much for your time and expertise on this. Much appreciated!

I looked at this 890gx board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435 but it has the same onboard GPU? What does the 890gx have that the 880g does not?

I was thinking the MB I had selected had room for two cards but maybe not? I can't see not spending another $30 on the MB if it allows me to crossfire later on tho.
 
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The 890GX's onboard gpu is actually clocked a little higher, but the biggest difference is that it can split the bandwidth on the first PCIe x16 slot between the two of them to run crossfire at 8x/8x speed, which is fast enough for two 5830's. The idea would be to buy the second one later on. 880G boards, while capable of crossfire, typically only have 4x speed on the second pcie x16 slot, which is not fast enough for a 5830.
 
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