Time to upgrade, again. Budget Bugger.

[permazorch]

Hey, All:
I want to upgrade my system. I think the only definite holdovers will be the monitor, the case and the speakers, as well as the input devices.
Basically, I want to go as high-end gaming as I possibly can, for $700.00 USD. The only thing I have picked out is the Power Supply, and the OS.

Power Supply:
PC Power & Cooling 610W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703005

OS:
Windows xp media center edition 2005. (I never got a successful installation with it on my last build, and so it's still legit, I think.)

I'm partial to AMD, but only because I'm used to it. I'd experiment with intel if it seemed best for the $/performance ratio.

Any thoughts, mech-folk?

[Masaki 7-11]

For a gaming computer for $700, you'll want to get a fast video card, so if you can keep the price of an AMD processor to about $100, you should have enough money left over to have a higher $/performance compared to an Intel build. Which parts do you currently have?

[DarkPacMan77]

I have a thread already in this section starting with, "parts are in the mail!" - the total build is under $700 if you aren't including an operating system. I can't say I fully recommend it because I haven't received the parts and assembled the system, however, I had the same goal of gaming under $700 and I use an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ processor as well as an EVGA 8800GT 512mb 256-bit graphics card. If you start with those parts, it's hard to go wrong for under $700.

Like Masaki 7-11 says, though, you should let us know of what you already have in your current computer. It may be logical to reuse some parts of your current computer and either save money, or spend that money on better parts.

It would be hard to build an Intel system with better price/ performance with the market the way it is right now. Also, for under $700, you MAY want to use a slightly less costly power supply. If I were to nitpick, I'd argue that the OCZ StealthXStream or the Mushkin 550200 would help save $20-$25 or so and still offer up just as much performance for a <$700 build.

-DarkPacMan77-

[jon_e_33]

You might try this as a base to start from:

Motherboard: Asus P5K SE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131189

CPU: Intel Q6600:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115017
Or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037

Video Card: eVGA 9600gt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130334

Hard Disk Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500gb 7200.11 32mb cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288

PSU: Normally Corsair PSU's get great reviews. You can keep what you have now, or get the standard Corsair:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

Or this PSU has a good rebate if you want to bother sending it in:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817341010

RAM Corsair XMS2:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145590

DvD burner: Lite On Sata Retail. (Black, may not match your case.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106072

EDIT: forgot the HDD, and somehow deleted the RAM. Whoops! This now rounds out to about $763 before any rebates (but including shipping), with the Corsair PSU and the Q6600 CPU.

Another alternative would be going AMD, but I'm not up on their latest products.

[shadowpr]

Jon has a good build there. Just don't forget to add a hard drive to that.

[permazorch]

It's been a while, a couple of years since I got into it. So, I pull up the Belarc Advisor.

Processor:
2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Motherboard:
ASUSTeK Computer INC. A8N-E
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

2 Hard Drives (one of which is acting wonky):
37.02 gig
160.04 gig

Memory:
2 sticks of 512 each.

I'm sorry the information isn't more specific. I also have two optical readers, and an old floppy drive.

I don't know how much longer this system will last, given the poor operation of one of the hard drives. If you have any great diagnostic tool suggestions (besides digging in the cellar for receipts), I'll take 'em.

[Masaki 7-11]

Here is a good upgrade list for a gaming computer (assuming you can still use the hard drive, optical drive and OS that you already have):

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115
$44.99

ASUS M2N-E AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131022
$99.99

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130339
$299.99

PC Power & Cooling S610EPS EPS12V 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703005
$109.99

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146118
$42.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5200CZBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103767
$109.00

Subtotal: $706.95

[permazorch]

I think I'll follow your list directly, but I'll keep my old case. It's a nice Antec from 2000.

Perhaps I'll use the savings on the case to get a new hard drive. I don't mind going up to $730.00, say, for the gravy.

Wish me luck, because I always need it.

[DarkPacMan77]

Good luck,

Let us know how it performs.

-DarkPacMan77-