Building New Computer (Tight, Low Budget)

[JiveTurkey]

I want to make the best gaming machine possible (Starting from scratch, basically) with a budget of 500-700 dollars (Not a great machine, but still better than what I have now). I was originally thinking about getting a Compaq or something, and just switching the RAM I have now with the one in the machine, then upgrading the Video Card and possibly PSU. But I want to see what other options I have.
RAM I have now
Card I have now (Want upgraded, but not necessary)
Mobo (This board if I don't get a new card) - 67 bucks

The Card, and RAM are covered. The card doesn't need to be upgraded, and if its not, I've chosen that motherboard to allow for an upgrade to PCI-e.

P.S. I made this a few days ago but it died out, and I can't delete it for some reason.

 

[jeremy]

what processor you currently have?
and what psu? brand/model look on its sticker

 

[JiveTurkey]

Processor right now is a Celeron 1.7 Ghz, and the PSU is a 350W something or other. I'll check later.

 

[jeremy]

youll defintly need a new psu , anyway i made 3

#1 , with a graphic card much better then your current
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 212$/0.99$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539
eVGA Geforce 7900GT 319$/4.65$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130281
Antec TruePower 2.0 550W EPS12V 93.99$/6$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103932
total with shipping 636.63$

#2 , on this one you keep your current graphic card and get a much better processor+2gb ram
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 355$/0.99$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103547
G.SKILL Value Series 2GB 142.99$ after rebate/4.81$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231032
Antec TruePower 2.0 550W EPS12V 93.99$/6$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103932
total with shipping+rebate 603.78$

#3 , here you keep your current ram & graphic card & gets a bit better processor then #2
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 458$/0.99$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546
Antec TruePower 2.0 550W EPS12V 93.99$/6$ shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103932
total with shipping 558.98$

if your gonna take #2 or #3 stick with that asrock mobo , if your gonna get #1 you can still stick with the asrock mobo but you dont have to i suggest youll get the asus a8n-e for 25$ more , overall the asrock is a pretty good mobo with agp+pci-e but it lacks some features the more expensive ones have and its 3-5% slower then nforce4 based mobos

edit forgot to ask , what case do you have? just for making sure the mobo will fit , if you got a micro atx case it wont fit

 

[slick_tech15]

I would go with the first one that jeremy built for you. That ram is keepable and so is that mobo. Looks like it will be a big upgrade. BTW, #1 is a really nice system. Definetely ditch that celeron.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Celeron was out of the question since the beginning(My current mobo, too, since it only runs AGP 4x). I'm thinking I don't need a dual-core that much since I won't be running two games at once. And the Motherboard isn't totaled in, so that makes the totals about 600-700 dollars. Right now, #1 seems like the best, the video card just may be TOO high profile. I was thinking this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283 because its over 100 dollars cheaper, and I heard the pipes were unlockable (And its still in the 7xxx's). This makes the total $502. What motherboard would you recommend with this?

 

[jeremy]

i think slick_tech15 meant that asrock mobo and not your current , anyway i see the budget went down hill

take the DFI nF4 Ultra-D or the ASUS A8N-E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530

 

[old_geekster50]

Here are a couple of links that should help you with your build:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/10/14/the_/

http://gaming-computers.net/index.html

Hope these help!

 

[JiveTurkey]

The budget didn't exactly go downhill, I just wanted to try to get it as cheap as possible and to try not to max out the budget. There will be other costs, too, like labor and probably a new Windows, since I lost my old CD.

 

[jeremy]

oh , anyway now that i think about it considering your getting #1 along with a much cheaper graphic card , you can defintly settle for this psu which will also save you some $ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103928