$450 gaming upgrade

[DBD]

I didn't want to HJ CmdrChris's thread, so I made a new one.

My budget is about $450, Going off of what Trotter suggested in post #7 with the video card Saltynay suggested in post #10
http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/cheap-gaming-pc-upgrade-got-few-s-193496/


$119.99 - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

$119.99 - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

$159.99 - Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

$39.99 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

total is $439.96

BUT, I was wondering, For a gaming rig would it be better to spend $30-$40 less on a mobo (I will never use 8 sata and usb ports or 4 memory slots etc) so I could get a $200 Radeon HD 4870 within my price range of $450.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Those parts look good. If you are gaming at 1680x1050 or higher the 4870 is probably worth it otherwise a 4850 will be fine. It also depends if you are planning on overcloking since the EP45 UD3R will overclock better than a cheaper board.

You could save $10 and get the Biostar TP45HP which supports crossfire so you could add a second card in the future. It is also every bit as good if not better at overclocking than the Gigabyte.

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

 

[DBD]

Those parts look good. If you are gaming at 1680x1050 or higher the 4870 is probably worth it otherwise a 4850 will be fine. It also depends if you are planning on overcloking since the EP45 UD3R will overclock better than a cheaper board.

You could save $10 and get the Biostar TP45HP which supports crossfire so you could add a second card in the future. It is also every bit as good if not better at overclocking than the Gigabyte.

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Thanks for the advice!

1680x1050 is what I game at now, Higher res in the future.
The only thing I overclock is video cards.
I will never use crossfire.

Dose anyone make a good $80-$90 mobo that will not bottleneck the hardware listed above?

Thanks

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The EP43 DS3l is $80 and should be fine for all of the hardware you want. It's still a pretty good overcloker too in case you want to overclock your cpu in the future.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

 

[chesirecat1701]

i second puddle jumper's suggestion

 

[dario03]

I third it.

 

[Pinscher]

why don't you overclock your cpu but you do overclock your gfx cards?

 

[Hussein19891]

With graphic cards you can't set voltage. So don't really expect a great overclock of any sort when it comes to video cards.

 

[DBD]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

If everything goes as planned, I will be ordering tomorrow.

why don't you overclock your cpu but you do overclock your gfx cards?

because it's very easy to overclock a ati card and I will buy a better cooler for my gfx card right away, so all I have to do is move some sliders in ati tool and turn the fan up. I will do this after a couple years when my gfx card starts to show it's age.

Speaking of coolers, What is the best cooler(air) for the Radeon HD 4870.

 

[Nagasama]

scythe musashi (review comin **** yeah got one on the way), thermalright t-rad2, or arctic cooling twin turbo. they all have their strengths and weaknesses.
scythe is the most balanced between noise/price/weight/cooling capacity