Help me upgrade my rig.

Best GPUs for the Money (September)
Best CPUs for the Money (August)
Tom's Hardware System Builder Marathon (June)

Those links should give you pretty much everything you need.

"

TeddyRuxpin wrote:

If I could use the current mobo and a updated cpu, and gpu and still run games like Poe, and D3. That would be sweet.

Unfortunately for the CPU, your current motherboard doesn't support the modern lineup that AMD offers... which means you'll have to get a new motherboard if you hope to upgrade your CPU to something like the one you suggested (Athlon II X3 455).

On the AMD side, look for AM3-compatible motherboards; decent budget ones are around the $50 range; they usually offer, at the very least, dual-channel slots for DDR3 RAM and the obligatory PCI-e 2.0 slot for GPUs, along with other basic necessities. As long as you don't overclock or do anything too strenuous, you're fine with one from a decent brand (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte; your mileage may vary amongst the brands, however. I'd stay away from Biostar as far as budget motherboards are concerned).

I've been using this one in my current rig and it's been doing pretty well, with a Phenom II x2 550 Black Edition and a Radeon HD 4870:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131669

As for your GPU, the GT 430 is an entry-level card. If you're going to run at 1024x760 the card should be able to hold its weight, although in many modern games, you won't be able to max them. Your PSU is workable, but just to stay on the safe side, I recommend the Radeon HD 5670 or 6670 if you want something that's better than the 430. Those two cards are the best GPUs that do not require extra PCI-e cables for power; more demanding cards would have you connecting extra cables between your GPU and the power supply, and the 5670/6670 should do just fine while giving you the performance you want at your intended resolution (and even higher, up to around 1680x1050 in many games).

Other than that, what you've gathered is pretty workable. AMD CPUs may not be as advanced as Intel's, but they are absolutely fantastic if you are on a budget.

"

tpapp157 wrote:

Best GPUs for the Money (September)
Best CPUs for the Money (August)
Tom's Hardware System Builder Marathon (June)

Those links should give you pretty much everything you need.

Yes, do look into these links!

Awesome replies guys, even more informative than the buildergeek forums I also posted in.

Wicked appreciate, =))

The new System Builder Marathon for September just started with the $2000 PC. The article for the budget $500 rig will be up later this week so keep an eye out for it.

Wanted to thank everyone for posting links and giving me advice. I was able to build a great budget pc, using links provided. I did go the Amd route. Saved a bunch of money versus performance versus the sandy bridge route.


Heres what I built last night:

Started with an"

Amd Athlon II 455 x3 Unclocked to - Amd Phenon II B55 X4

M5a78L-m Lx Mobo with core unlocker, AM3+, ddr3

1 stick of 4gigs corsair ram, for now.

windows 7 64 bit

New- Cd-rom, and Seagate 250 gig Hard drive. Tossed the old floppy away (Was pleased to see I didn't need it)

Running the onboard video till I can save a few extra pennies for the gtx 560.

This computer is overclockable to well over 4 ghz stable on air, I just don't need it.

It's PLENTY fast enough as is, and I want to get good mileage out of it, plus with a stock heatsink and only 3 small internal fans I don't wanna push my luck.


Thanks again POE forums! Hopefully we all get beta keys soon!

Price bro?

u could consider 2 sticks to activate dual channel tho i really dont know if that makes too much difference

I used the old Tower/Case. So that saved some $$

Cost me about 417.00 before tax. And before the graphics card.


And yes the dual channel memory helps alot. I will be adding the second stick tommorow.


See I didn't have the 500 bucks to complete the build all at once, so buying a component here and there is what really afforded me a solid build.

If you saw the rig I was coming from, you would understand why I am absolutely mind-blown as to how this pc performs with daily tasks. Even on the forums here I didn't realize the graphics were stunted badly.

I just hooked up to a 20 inch widscreen Hp monitor, at 1680x900 resolution it makes me feel stupid not upgrading sooner.

I know the feel hehehe