$500 upgrade

[JD]

I'm curious, if you had say ~$500 (total w/ shipping, tax and preferably before MIRs) to spend and needed a PSU, CPU, Motherboard and GPU, what would you buy?

The rig in question to be upgraded:
E6600 @ stock
P5N-E SLI (nasty 650i chipset, so no 45nm quads)
4x1GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
8800GTS 320MB @ stock
Old Enermax 535W PSU (got a rather bad review from SKYMTL on the NCIX forum PSU round up he did ages ago, thus why I think it should be replaced)

And I doubt I'll do any OC'ing on it since the case isn't the coolest since it needs to be fairly silent. So don't base any choices on OC'ing.

[chouchou]

i say one of the corsair tx's, p5q pro, q6600, and a 9800gtx+? u might even be able to fit in a gtx 260 in there.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

I'm curious, if you had say ~$500 (total w/ shipping, tax and preferably before MIRs) to spend and needed a PSU, CPU, Motherboard and GPU, what would you buy?

The rig in question to be upgraded:
E6600 @ stock
P5N-E SLI (nasty 650i chipset, so no 45nm quads)
4x1GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
8800GTS 320MB @ stock
Old Enermax 535W PSU (got a rather bad review from SKYMTL on the NCIX forum PSU round up he did ages ago, thus why I think it should be replaced)

And I doubt I'll do any OC'ing on it since the case isn't the coolest since it needs to be fairly silent. So don't base any choices on OC'ing.

$500 won't cut it.

$350 - NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Gaming Bundle Deal Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHZ CPU & ASUS P5Q Pro CrossFire Motherboard - E8400 & P5Q-PRO In Canada.
$159 - NCIX.com - Buy EVGA E-GEFORCE 9800GTX+ SC 756MHZ 512MB 2.24GHZ DDR3 Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card - 512-P3-N884-TR In Canada.

Your already over $500.

You may want to say what your goals are for this machine because if its a gaming machine you could look at a motherboard and ram upgrade and keep the 8800GTS and e6600.

Overclocking the e6600 to 3.4ghz is quite doable and still remain quiet.

[CroSsFiRe2009]

why 9800gtx+ i might ask?
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail $193

Gigabyte EP45-UD3L ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 PCI-E 2PCI SATA2 HD Sound GBLAN Motherboard $100.84

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE55 590MHZ 896MB 1.998GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Video Card $175

OCZ StealthXStream 500W Power Supply - Active PFC, 120mm Fan (OCZ500SXS)

Not my choice of psu. If you want a better one and no oc'n, grab a g31 board from gigabyte, its actually not THAT bad for oc'n if you do end up wanting to
Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L mATX LGA775 G31 DDR2 1PCI-E16 2PCI SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN Motherboard

Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan

[JD]

Originally Posted by enaberif

$500 won't cut it.

Overclocking the e6600 to 3.4ghz is quite doable and still remain quiet.

Well I was thinking more along the lines of a Phenom X3 720BE or maybe even a X4 810. I don't think anything Intel is really feasible.

As for OC'ing, my brother's case is rather lacking for cooling. It's some aluminum Coolermaster case from a while ago, 120mm exhaust, 120mm intake with the hard drive cage blocking 90% of the airflow. I suppose things could be done to help remedy it though. Even still, his room is warmer than the rest in the house so it's not totally ideal IMO. I do know the chip itself is fine with 3.6GHz (as it was mine before) but he doesn't have space to keep it cool at that.

Originally Posted by CroSsFiRe2009

[parts list]

Not bad, PSU is a bit lacking though but probably still better than that Enermax. I definitely want to avoid mATX boards though. They just aren't something I'd want to use in an ATX case since it seems like I'm wasting so much space and they usually have problems of their own.

Oh and another idea while I was writing this, I could always just get a P45 motherboard, and a HD4850 or GTS250 (should be fine for him), then watercool the CPU so I can OC it without it getting so toasty.

Of course, I'll have a watchful eye on NCIX tomorrow evening...

[AbC-50]

phenom II 720 + Gigabyte ma790x ud4p is what im using. u can get it for around $300.
and i unlocked 4th core on a non 0904 batch.
for the rest of the money i'd get the corsair 550w and gts250 as mentioned earlier.

or if ur feeling really lucky, u can try unlock the phenom II 550 for fun. and that'll probably save you enough for a gtx 260 :D

ps. there was some issues with the ocz platinum 1066 + gigabyte mobo (here), not sure if that affects the ram u current have

[JD]

Originally Posted by AbC-50

phenom II 720 + Gigabyte ma790x ud4p is what im using. u can get it for around $300.
and i unlocked 4th core on a non 0904 batch.

I was looking at that motherboard. Seems like a good choice with the ability to unlock and it's only $120.

Good to hear it worked for you.

[mo' power]

Well, this is what I found but went a little over budget.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail - DirectCanada

189.99

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan - CMPSU-550VX In Canada.

99.99 minus 35.00 rebate= 64.99


Newegg.ca - PNY VCGGTX275XPB GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

249.49 pricematch to ncix minus 25.00 rebate= 224.49

$480.47 before taxes and shipping.

[CroSsFiRe2009]

I can actually recommend the gigabyte g31 board. Some people have gotten them to amazingly high clocks with the E5200. Got my friends E7300/E7400, can't remember which to 3.4 stable and once in a while, 3.7. Doesnt look pretty but they do the job well. Up to you in the end though. And i think watercooling is bit of a waste on a budget build. Rather get air cooled oc's and a better system than watercool.

[rapmaster]

Originally Posted by CroSsFiRe2009

I can actually recommend the gigabyte g31 board. Some people have gotten them to amazingly high clocks with the E5200. Got my friends E7300/E7400, can't remember which to 3.4 stable and once in a while, 3.7. Doesnt look pretty but they do the job well. Up to you in the end though. And i think watercooling is bit of a waste on a budget build. Rather get air cooled oc's and a better system than watercool.

The OP won't OC so the G31 and e5200 are terrible choice. AMD is the way to go, a good Phenom II 550, 710 or 720 with a 770-UD3 or 790X-UD4P. That should cost 200-250$.