Upgrade For Gaming

Status
Not open for further replies.
I

INNOVATOR

Baseband Member
Messages
22
Hello everyone,

I always wanted a reasonable gaming rig to at least handle World Of Warcraft flawlessly and possibly Crysis-like gaming along with very light computer graphics for website building. This is what I have and hopefully providing enough information...what would you upgrade? Is $500. a reasonable budget? XD

Motherboard: Mach Speed P4MSD-800 D2

Processor: 3.33 gigahertz Intel Celeron D

Drives:
Hitachi HDT725025VLA380 (250.06GB)
36X CD-ROM
LITE-ON DVDRW LH-20A1P

Memory: Ultra 1024MB PC4200 DDR2

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000

CPU Cooling Fan: ThermalTake Golden Orb II

Monitor: Princeton Ultra 96 (17.7")

Case: Black ATX Mid-Tower (450w SATA PSU)

Audio: Realtek AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller

I would also like to get an external drive for general computer backups, but shouldn't media files including gaming be stored on its own hdd? The following choices were recommended to me: Maxtor STM305004OTA3E5-RK OneTouch 4 Plus 500GB External Hard Drive and Seagate FreeAgent Go ST903203FGA2E1-RK 320GB External Hard Drive.

Thank you for any help and recommendations, very much appreciated!
 
Would you be ok with using that $500 for a whole new rig? because you can do it, and it'd spank the ever-living-crap out of it
 
 
Nope, not buying a new rig. This was a gift from my Dad so it would be rather insulting to him if I ditched it. Thanks for the links Trotter. I'm taken aback by how much would have to be upgraded...
 
OK. No problem.

Here's what CPUs your mobo can handle:
  • Intel Pentium 4 Prescott
  • Intel Celeron D
  • Intel Pentium D
  • Dual Core Support

It can only handle a max of 2GB of RAM, with the maximum usable speed of 533MHz DDR2.

here's a start:
Newegg.com - Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA800 - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - POWERCOLOR AG3850 512MD3 Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Finding a better CPU could be rough, though.
 
Trotter said:
OK. No problem.

Here's what CPUs your mobo can handle:
  • Intel Pentium 4 Prescott
  • Intel Celeron D
  • Intel Pentium D
  • Dual Core Support

It can only handle a max of 2GB of RAM, with the maximum usable speed of 533MHz DDR2.

here's a start:
Newegg.com - Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA800 - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - POWERCOLOR AG3850 512MD3 Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Finding a better CPU could be rough, though.
Click to expand...

Looks great Trotter.

At the OP: Just so you know, that HD 3850 is quite solid (I have the PCI-e version) and your CPU might be a heavy bottleneck mate, later on when you get more money, see if you can find a cheap deal on a Pentium D and a decent cooler, and you can OC to around 3.5-4.0ghz (if you are really lucky 4.0ghz)
 
INNOVATOR said:
Nope, not buying a new rig. This was a gift from my Dad so it would be rather insulting to him if I ditched it. Thanks for the links Trotter. I'm taken aback by how much would have to be upgraded...
Click to expand...

I would still do what trotter originally posted. It isn't completely scrapping the rig, only upgrading most of it. As long as you still have the case, I'm betting your dad won't know the difference. He doesn't know how much you're upgrading. In this case it is everything but the case, opticals, and HDD.
 
 
Ok I'm caving and going with Trotter's original suggestion...I hate parting with money lol. Anyways, I was talking to a TigerDirect representative (I'll prob. be going w/newegg) and he mentioned the first motherboard listed and I'm just wondering what the difference is between the two:

Asus M4N78 Pro GeForce 8300 Motherboard w AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor HD9600WCGDBOX Bundle M4N78X49600 at TigerDirect.com]Asus M4N78 Pro GeForce 8300 Motherboard w AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor HD9600WCGDBOX Bundle M4N78X49600 at TigerDirect.com (Asus M4N78 Pro GeForce 8300 Motherboard w/ AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor HD9600WCGDBOX Bundle)

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor
 
If you are talking about the Asus M4N78, it uses an Nvidia chipset. Nvidia used to be the shizzle when it came to AMD, but not anymore. AMD makes their own chipsets and they are rock solid, especially when you get into the 780 or higher.

The original Phenoms are not that great. They work and all, but they don't hold a candle to the new ones.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Harper
New look for PS5 console
Replies
0
Views
667
Harper
Harper
jfenwick
New system build for 2021 - $2k budget
2
Replies
17
Views
4K
PP Mguire
PP Mguire
J
Need Recommendations for upgrading Prebuilt PC
Replies
8
Views
2K
PP Mguire
PP Mguire
A
I Need Recomendations For What To Buy For My Setup!
2
Replies
13
Views
4K
NerdyKiddo
N
C
GPU Upgrade
2 3
Replies
20
Views
4K
PP Mguire
PP Mguire
Back
Top Bottom