Upgrade time again

[Colonel Sanders]

It's been a few years since I have upgraded my PC but I think it's about that time again. Anyhow, I would love to use my PC more for gaming, but I think my GPU is limiting me.

Current specs:

Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9 Socket 939
GeForce 6600GT PCI-express
1GB DDR RAM (antique, I know)
AMD Athlon 64 3000
500GB Western Digital SATA
60GB SATA - I like to keep my OS separate from my media so that I don't have to do backups if I need to re-install windows
Ancient DVD-ROM drive PATA
DVD-RW - PATA
Thermaltake 430W PSU with SATA connectors, 24pin ATX, 4pin and 6pin ATX connectors

I really want to use a Gigabyte MB simply because I like how well they are labeled and Gigabyte has treated me well for my past two motherboards. I want a full size ATX board simply because micro-ATX would feel weird, I want coaxial SPDIF audio out to connect to my stereo, and I don't really care for having multiple GPUs. So I have priced out this build:

GA-770T-USB3 - $90
2GB (2x1GB) Kingston RAM $53
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz $65
Total so far - $210

The problem is that the motherboard I have chosen has a 24-pin and an 8-pin ATX connector, should I try to find a motherboard from a different maker that would work with my current PSU and have coaxial SPDIF out, or should I get a new PSU? Will my GPU really limit this system? I would like to try to fit a 1TB hard-drive in, I am not sure if I should go for a WD Caviar Green, Caviar Blue, or Caviar Black, they all look to be about $70-$100. I would really like to keep the budget for my below $300 but I am not sure if that will be possible. What is a realistic budget for this upgrade?

[glc]

You should be looking at 4gb ram these days. I'd replace the PSU, most boards these days have an 8 pin aux connector and 430 watts won't support a very strong video card. Caviar Black is the way to go, as would be a SATA DVD burner. A 6600 is now ancient and not worth reusing for gaming. If you have to upgrade in stages, get the video card and PSU first.

[Colonel Sanders]

Well, I know my PATA DVD burner is kinda old, but I don't feel that I burn DVDs often enough to justify upgrading the drive. The most graphically intense game I want to play is UT3, so I doubt I need a very new graphics card, what do you think? My 6600 can not handle UT3.

Would I be fine with a 500W PSU, or should I look for 600 or 800 watts? Do you have any suggestiobns for a budget ATI (or nVidia) GPU? I would like to spend about $100 for a graphics card.

[glc]

ATI 5670/Nvidia GT240. Your PSU is strong enough for either one, as long as it's the model with two +12v rails. If not, I'd replace it to be safe and I'd go for a 500.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004

[Colonel Sanders]

Slightly over budget, but I think i will be happy with this Radeon 5750 With this video card, should I still go for a 500W PSU or something a little bigger?

The motherboard I am looking get has a 24pin power connector, and then an 8pin connector that I have never seen before. I don't believe the Antec power supply you linked has the 8pin connector. I did find a 500W Rosewill Powersupply with the connector. I think the specs for the Rosewill power supply look good, but I know nothing about the Rosewill brand.

Thanks for all your help!

[glc]

If you need an 8 pin, you do need a new PSU. I wouldn't touch a Rosewill. The 5750 recommends 450 watts.

Here's a decent unit for the price (but the rebate is going to take a LONG time to get):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341016

[Khalil]

glc, how come you stopped recommending Xclio power supplies?
A couples of years ago I bought 20 of them and I have yet to get one back with a problem. I have not bought them since because non of my distributors carry them and I have bought those when newegg.com had a B2B division which they did away with.

[glc]

Well, the original Channel Well - built XClios started to show failures after a while so we looked elsewhere. Do you see an XClio that would be a good alternative to that OCZ? I would have recommended the Antec Earthwatts 500, but it's 90 bucks at Newegg right now.

[Khalil]

No it was not about your recommendation of the OCZ, sorry it was just a random thought, I remembered that for a while you highly recommended them while I was reading this thread so I thought I would ask. Like I said earlier I ordered 20 upon your recommendation at the time and they have been bullets so far, no complaints.

[glc]

That's good to hear - but I've heard of a few that have failed since then. Nothing drastic, just a quiet death, similar to the Channel Well Antecs from back then.