I am in a pinch, need to find bundle under $300-$350 ASAP

[Shadowmeph]

Just out of curiosity why do you want to upgrade? why I am asking is because if everything is running great but you want to upgrade then you will most likely be upgrading everything or the very least cpu ram motherboard and video card, myself I wouldn't bother upgrading unless you really had to because the q6600 is no slouch of a cpu. I upgrade a little bit but that is because I have the damn upgrade addiction, once I started I had a hell of a time stopping hehe.

[fubar]

I'm curious in this thread and questions by the OP.

I have a Q6600 system I'd like to use as a 2nd computer or give to my Mom. It's overkill for that but a P4 that has 256mb means more investment in older hardware. I'd like 16gb for running virtual machines.

But, my budget is under $200. LOL. I can probably do the 'save-up' job so I was looking at options. I don't need a gaming machine so I was wondering if a plain jane Z77 mobo w/ 16GB of memory/RAM would do.

I already have a 1TB HDD I could use for it. I might need case and PSU if I keep the current system. Or I could sell off.

I'm just wondering if this sounds good:

Z77 mobo: Asrock Z77 Pro 3 : $85
G.Skill DDR3 16gb - $73
cpu: G540 - $50

I figure that powerful processors are a good deal used especially when ppl are moving to the 'next gen' although I'd like an ivy bridge eventually.

Any thoughts? I think it's good to get a middle-of-the-road mobo and as much RAM as one can afford and as the cpu is a simple switch, then just get something to get by and upgrade later. I don't need a $200 mobo and I actually wanted to buy a laptop but I really *need* two machines so a budget 1155 desktop (to strive for) made sense to me.

Anyway, does that make any sense?

[Dzzope]

A quad core would suit VM's better especially if your using enough of them / resource hungry enough to need 16GB ram..
That said it will run and IMO is about the best way to go budget, with the idea of buying a used i5 or i7 when the next gen comes and people start upgrading.

if your in CA it may be worth looking at a cheap MSI board as they have Canadian RMA facility and should be about the same as the Asrock..


Is there any reason you can't use 16GB with your Q6600?
What motherboard etc?

[Bond007]

Originally Posted by fubar

I'm curious in this thread and questions by the OP.

I have a Q6600 system I'd like to use as a 2nd computer or give to my Mom. It's overkill for that but a P4 that has 256mb means more investment in older hardware. I'd like 16gb for running virtual machines.

But, my budget is under $200. LOL. I can probably do the 'save-up' job so I was looking at options. I don't need a gaming machine so I was wondering if a plain jane Z77 mobo w/ 16GB of memory/RAM would do.

I already have a 1TB HDD I could use for it. I might need case and PSU if I keep the current system. Or I could sell off.

I'm just wondering if this sounds good:

Z77 mobo: Asrock Z77 Pro 3 : $85
G.Skill DDR3 16gb - $73
cpu: G540 - $50

I figure that powerful processors are a good deal used especially when ppl are moving to the 'next gen' although I'd like an ivy bridge eventually.

Any thoughts? I think it's good to get a middle-of-the-road mobo and as much RAM as one can afford and as the cpu is a simple switch, then just get something to get by and upgrade later. I don't need a $200 mobo and I actually wanted to buy a laptop but I really *need* two machines so a budget 1155 desktop (to strive for) made sense to me.

Anyway, does that make any sense?

8gb is more than enough for almost anyone right now. If you can go over $200 after tax here are some options.

8gb 1600mhz for $36

Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX 8GB Kit 2X4GB 1600MHz DDR3 240PIN DIMM Unbuff Hmp HyperX CL9 - Kingston - KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX

and here are 2 bundles with an i3 2120, but different motherboards for $160 and $170 respectively

NCIX Bundle Deal Intel i3 2120 Dual Core Processor & ASUS P8H61-M LX Plus Rev 3.0 Motherboard - Bundle Deals - P8H61-M LX Plus & 2120

NCIX Bundle Deal Intel Core i3 2120 Dual Core CPU & Gigabyte B75M-D3H Motherboard - Bundle Deals - i3 2120&GA-B75M-D3H

[Dzzope]

He's running VM's..

z77 would make a good base for easy upgrade later but the above is equally good option..
You can still use an i5 / i7 with them for that drop-in upgrade but can't overclock on those boards..

[le2key]

For $340, I'd go with an AMD budget build, you're gonna get a lot more bang for your buck.

(Taken from TekSyndicate's 400$ budget build:Kill Your Console - Build an Epic $400 Gaming PC | Tek Syndicate)

CPU
Newegg.ca - AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D AD3870WNGXBOX

Motherboard
Newegg.ca - BIOSTAR TA75M FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM
Newegg.ca - ADATA XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GC4G9-2G

Total: 275$ (shipping not included).

If you want to shave off even more money check out their 350$ build:Kill Your Console: $350 Gaming PC - June 2012 | Tek Syndicate, just pick out their CPU/Motherboard/Ram choices, since you already have a GPU and SSD/HDD.

[Bond007]

Originally Posted by Dzzope

He's running VM's..

z77 would make a good base for easy upgrade later but the above is equally good option..
You can still use an i5 / i7 with them for that drop-in upgrade but can't overclock on those boards..

Got ya. If money is tight you could grab the Z77 of your choice, 16gb ram, and a celeron g540 that is on sale for $40 right now. Then when $ permits sell of the celeron and upgrade the cpu.

Intel Celeron G540 Dual Core Sandy Bridge Processor 2.5GHZ LGA1155 2MB Cache 65W Retail Box - Intel - BX80623G540