Budget video card, cpu, mobo questions

[chrisuofa]

Sorry for the length but I'll try to be as specific as possible from the get-go.
I built my first computer a little over 2 years ago with great advice and help from you folks and it was a blast. I'm getting ready to build another. However, I am considerably less up-to-date on today's hardware as I was at that time. My first build, which is apparently failing now (mobo I think?), was this:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Asus A8N-SLI
Thermaltake 430W
Cooler Master Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW
EVGA 128-P2-N368-TX GeForce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Win XP Home
Corsair ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)

I used my then-existing hard drive, DVD burner (both IDE), sound card (some kind of soundblaster not sure atm) keyboard, mouse, monitor. As you can probably see, that was not exactly cutting-edge, state-of-the-art hardware at that time but it has been fine for me. All I do with it now is World of Warcraft and web surf/e-mail - nothing major. I just wanted to put what I had so you see where I'm coming from.

I'm currently broke as a joke and rather than have my wife leave me, I'd like to build a bottom dollar budget pc to do the same stuff I've been doing, and maybe one day down the road play some games like supreme commander and call of duty 4. But even then, they don't have to run flawlessly or make me think I'm actually there, just be functional and not frustrating. In addition, I'd like to at least get a mobo that I could re-use if I upgrade cpu and/or video card in the future. I know that some of you would ask what my budget is but honestly I don't know and I know if I throw a number out there, the suggestions will add up to that number. I guess I'm looking for solid stuff that's maybe a little dated now?

Anyway, here are some questions:
1. Will I be able to use the same case? I don't have problems with it so if so, that would save me a few bucks right there.
2. I have seen that the 8800 GT is frequently recommended. Any decent video cards out there for around $100-$110 rather than $190-200? (If you think they are absolute garbage then say so but if they are decent then I'm interested.)
3. I think I would like to stay with AMD - haven't had any problems there. What do you think of Athlon 64 X2 5600+ such as this one
4. Is there a good deal on a mobo now that I may be able to upgrade with better cpu one day? (would like to go onboard sound for now if it is decent)
5. Could I use the same psu? If not, what do you recommend with your other suggestions?
6. I will probably go with 2 GB memory right now. Suggestions? I have read that 32 bit Vista does not support 4 GB ram right? In that case, if I'm going to upgrade ram one day, should I go ahead and get 64 bit now?

I'm going to use same keyboard/monitor. Haven't decided on the hard drive/dvd yet so let me know if your mobo suggestion won't work with IDE drives. I think I've seen several threads that suggest drives so I think I can find those. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

[flanzig1]

1: Case is reuseable.
2: 8600GT is in your price range, should do WoW ok, probably struggle with COD4
3: Good for the budget minded
4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131234
5: Probably not, possibly an older ATX. You would need an ATX 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104037
6: 32bit OSes support up to about 3.2 gigs of ram XP and Vista. Start with a 2 gig kit, if needing more, can add a 1 gig kit.

[Masaki 7-11]

2. An 8600GTS is your best choice for that price range, it will work a decent amount faster than a 8600GT; here is a link to a 8600GTS Overclocked from BFG: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131082

[doubledragon5]

If you think your mb is dying and it is only 2yrs old I would call ASUS and see if it is still under warranty which it should be (3yrs warranty). You can salvage your existing machine and have two on hand or sell the older one for extra cash..

[chrisuofa]

Originally Posted by doubledragon5 If you think your mb is dying and it is only 2yrs old I would call ASUS and see if it is still under warranty which it should be (3yrs warranty). You can salvage your existing machine and have two on hand or sell the older one for extra cash..

Ah thanks for pointing that out. I'm not sure if it is the motherboard. I started hearing a very loud noise that would come and go, like a loud buzzing or whining sound but at that time did not notice any change in performance or temperature. I replaced the cpu fan and it did the same thing. I then replaced the fan on the video card, no change. Then I unplugged the fan on the mobo, same thing, but now I notice everything is slowed down. I especially notice it playing WoW. There is a delay from when I type something to seeing a result in the game. At one point, after exiting WoW, I saw weird pixelated-like rectangles on the screen and everything locked up. The temperature was around what it normally was even with the mobo fan off. I also noticed that I can tap the side of the case and the whining/buzzing noise will stop, sometimes for a while and sometimes just a moment.
I don't know how Asus is as far as replacements but I guess it is worth a shot.

[chrisuofa]

Well I got a very grumpy tech support guy at ASUS this morning. Extremely rude, kept interrupting me. One time he interrupted when I said I had tried something I read online and said "Lots of people have many problems online, we're just concerned with your problem." I'm like hmm I sure thought I was telling you about my problem.
Anyway, he suggested disconnecting all switches except the power and see if it still makes the noise. Then try testing it outside the case, grounded. Not sure how that really accounts for the slow down in performance but I guess I will give that a shot tonight when I get home from work.
I've read where many people hear noise and it ends up being the psu but it sure doesn't sound like it is coming from the psu. Could a psu defect of some kind account for the laggy performance?

[doubledragon5]

A psu going south can cause performance problems, because it is straining to give all the power the system needs to run.. In the end when it goes it will either go quietly or take out other parts as well.

[Khalil]

That AMD 5600 is a beast and plays games extremely well. I would look into the new 9600GT if you can budget for it. The 8600GTS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130084 is a very nice card as well, my brother is using it to play Tabula Rasa, Crysis and Supreme commander so it should be awesome for you and fit in your budget. Stick to Evga cards if you going with Nvidia, they are excellent cards with great support.
I find it unusual that you had a rude guy at Asus, they are usualy very helpful. If you want to go ahead and rebuild, I would just RMA the motherboard back to Asus, they will probably send you a new one which you can sell on ebay.
I would also make sure and use DDR2-800 Memory, stick to Kingston, Crucial or Corsair for best results. Good luck

[chrisuofa]

Turns out it is definitely the fan on the mb making the noise. I'm going to try to rma it and get a replacement. I still can't figure out the sluggishness now though. That didn't start until I started replacing things so maybe it is unrelated. Just trying to figure out if I did something to cause this.

[Khalil]

Sometimes sluginish might not be hardware related at all.
In the past my OS had gotten so corrupt which caused my machine to run really bad that I had no choice but to re-install the OS after a full format.
There are also some viruses and malware that are not detectible by any Virus scanner on the market, those could be using system resources behind the scenes that slow down your machine drasticaly. Again this kind of a problem is easiest fixed through a full re-install of the OS.
One way to check if suspecious activities are going is to boot the computer, turn all programs off including the virus scanner then ctrl-alt-del, click on performance tab and see what your CPU and Memory performace are like. If the CPU looks like it is working at 100% or even 40% when the computer is ideling that tells you something funky is going on.

Your rig is still upgradeable, you can add this CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103531
This Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440
This Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130287
I would also replace the power supply to make sure the old one don't end up taking out the new hardware you just bought this is a great one for the money
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004

For around $225 you will have a solid machine and see major improvement from what you have now.

[chrisuofa]

Well I am allegedly going to receive RMA information from ASUS (I have e-mailed them twice now) since they said the fans were on back order and would be at least mid-April before they got more. (I know some of you have had great customer service with ASUS and I am still waiting and hoping I get to see it.)
So will all this be compatible?
Go with the new A8N-SLI Mb
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103531
Another 1GB memory same as I have nowhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440
GeForce 8600GTS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130084
500 W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004

Roughly $250 and I think I'll notice a difference. By the way, I think I have to get another video card anyway because I messed this one up trying to replace the fan (that didn't need to be replaced ) Couldn't get the pins to fit that came with the replacement fan so I used the heat transfer tape that came with it which the local computer repair place said they thought would hold. The fan fell off and at the same time I got a lot of weird green shapes on the screen, then brightly colored lines, heard a pop type sound and dispaly went out. Put the old fan back on the card and now get no display at all. I'm hoping it is just the card and not the monitor.

[Khalil]

My appologies, this is the CPU I meant to recommend http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote....V&vid=34&src=F
the single core 3800 will make insignificant gain, you need the dual core. this will cost you 15 more but its worth it by a long shot.

[chrisuofa]

Ah ok thanks for pointing that out. Hate to keep asking questions but on the compatibility list at the bottom of that page, it says A8N-SLI Deluxe but I don't see just the A8N-SLI (which is what I have.) No big deal?
And do you buy from that vendor often? I noticed that it says out of stock so I wondered if they normally restock frequently.

[Khalil]

wow, that was in stock when I linked it. Man it is going to be really hard to find a dual core socket 939, I did a search on google and no one has them.
Only ones available are the Opteron which are 149 dollars +

You might want to consider selling your current hardware on eBay and going with an AM2 rig

Here is what I recommend:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103213
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148163

[chrisuofa]

After crunching the numbers and ASUS said they will send a new mb, I am hoping I can sell it and maybe other hardware and just get a new rig. What do you think of this?

Antec Basiq BP500U ATX12V Version 2.01 500W Power Supply $49.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3GHz $74.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103213

Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $44.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148163

Evga GeForce 8600GTS 256MB $89.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130084

Vista 32-Bit Home Basic $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116196

Not sure about which Mb. I know Khalil recommended this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127035 but it didn't have the greatest reviews at newegg - not that I put their opinion over yours but it is just most things I have seen recommended here have good reviews there. Any other recs on Mb in that price range or maybe a little more or just roll with that one?
It would be nice if I could use my existing IDE hard drive and DVD drive with this rig at least temporarily but maybe use at least one of them and just get a new SATA hard drive for now?

[Masaki 7-11]

Take a look at this Asus motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131234
It will come in really handy if you plan on upgrading since it supports AM2+, and PCIe 2.0. Asus have really high quality boards, and this one is just $20 more than the one recommended. You'll be able to use your IDE hard drive and DVD drive with either motherboard that has been recommended, but it requires running them in a master/slave configuration. If you set the hard drive as the master and the DVD drive as the slave, you shouldn't have any problems.

I'd also suggest in changing ram to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146118
It runs faster (because of lower CAS latency) and it has a heatsink on it to decrease the chances of ram overheating (I've had my computer crash because of overheating ram before). The ram I'm recommending now is the exact same price as the crucial ram.

[chrisuofa]

Ok thanks. Yeah I was just looking at that mobo.
Can you send the link the ram you suggested again? Both links in your post are to the mobo.

[Masaki 7-11]

The link has been fixed, my apologies.

[chrisuofa]

Is this a better deal for $34 with the rebate? I noticed the lower CAS latency...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034

[Masaki 7-11]

If the rebate is convenient to you, then yes, the corsair xms you linked are better, but if you won't send in the rebate, the mushkin ram is a better deal.

[chrisuofa]

I ended up going with this mb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131234

and using my old case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119068

The mb seems to fit in the case fine - the rear panel ports line up precisely in the back plate part that came with the mb, which fits in perfectly in that part of the case, but the PCI slots do not align with the case. Every slot is just a little bit off so that the slots are lined up with the metal on the case that is between the openings. I can't get my video card to fit as a result. Has anyone experienced this or am I missing something?