Help me upgrade my gf's computer

[aliasaid]

$400 is not a lot for a significant upgrade.. but here's what i got..

i didn't choose the best brands as per budget.

cheap mobo that seems good $40 after combo

venice 3000+ $135

1gb corsair value ram 2X512 $66

good powersupply $51

6800xt $120, $90 after mail in rebate

total: $410.98
after mail in rebate: $380.98

and add shipping and taxes.

only think shady about this build would be the uknown mobo. other than that i think its as good as you can do w/ $400.

and of course you could use the same hdd, os, case, monitor, etc

 

[sumik]

Wow, nice, but I thought I'd leave the CPU since it's not that bad.
Wouldn't P4 1.7 GHZ b enough with good mobo, ram and decent video to run BF2 ? That way I'd save money on CPU and have more for mobo or video.

 

[aliasaid]

Minimum Specification:
CPU: 1.7 Ghz
RAM: 512 Mb
Video Card: NVidia GeForce FX 5700, ATI Radeon 8500 or ATI Radeon 9500
with 128 Mb of RAM

Recommended Specification:
CPU: 2.4 Ghz
RAM: 1 Gb
Video Card with at least 256 Mb of RAM


looks like you'll BARELY be at minimum w/ that cpu..

if you wanted to keep that cpu then you'd have to get a socket 478, if not older mobo, and agp video. i don't really know if its worth it... check what socket your mobo is and i'll see what i could do.. (although i think the benefit in cpu here would probably outweigh the benefit in vid cards.. not sure tho)

 

[sumik]

478 socket
name williamette

 

[sumik]

btw, what r u doing up so late ?

U got me confused now. Might b more then a little upgrade needed to get this comp back on it's feet. Maybe I could sell it for $400 and add next $400 to it ($600 if she really wants it) and do a new setup)
But then I would b really out of my ball park with buying the best setup for that price. But i'd defeniately want to go with AMD if that would b the case, and u'r starting to make me believe that this is it.

and here's a website of my local store that I ussually get everything from if that helps u in any way.

http://www.liata.com
plus whatever u see on there take away like $10-20 and don't count tax they have very good prices, a lot better than ncix.com
for example AMD X2 3800 is like $50 cheaper

 

[aliasaid]

lol well i was tryin to get a build while using the same cpu, and i really can't justify it. doesn't make sense to be "upgrading" to a socket 478.

as for liata, take away $10-20 off the total? or on each component? oh and.. so are we still talkin 400? since that site is canadian.. how much canadian you gonna be spending?

 

[aliasaid]

oh and they don't have the best selection there.. we canadians are totally getting ripped off since we can't buy from newegg .

if you are gonna be buying from there, its gonna be a lot harder.. you could just add another stick of 512 ram and get a 6800gs. replacing the motherboard seems like a waste to me.. buying a NEW socket 478 is not within my reason, hehe.. either a simple upgrade, or if it involves the mobo, then a complete overhaul.

 

[sumik]

OK, while u were checking I got a crazy idea, just tell me if this would work, and help me find a card for this, hopefully on this website cuz if i buy all there, then I'll get mayjor discount, and hopefully lets stay below $300 for video

Antec P180
AMD X2 3800
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
OCZ PowerStream Power Supply - 520W
Kingston 2G PC-3200 Dual Channel Kit - KVR400X64C3AK2/2G

This upgrading which is supposed to b simple is a big headache, lol, lets just get this over with. My buddy has been bugging me for past 2 months to buy my comp for $400, this would b his first computer, he just need comp for chatting and for looking online for carparts.
and for liata take away $10-20 for every part

aliasaid I owe u a beer when u stop by in Toronto :d

 

[aliasaid]

holy crap dude thats a great build. what happened to your budget?! $400 for your comp i think you're laughing, lol. ok so that makes $800. i calculated your build and just those parts came to like $1K. and you'll still need hard drive, video card, and a dvd-drive or something.

if you're gonna stay below $300 for vid, you're looking at the 7600gt = $255 on that site. add like $100 for a hard drive, $45 dvd-wr. take away your special discount, say $100 total, and you've got like $1281. do you have that much money? you could save like $100 on just the case, and still get a good one. and also save $50 by getting antec true power 480 watts power supply.

that'd bring it down to almost a G.

here i'll total it up..

how much $ are you allocating to this build now?


edit: the total actually went to $1465. if the price gets out of hand i think you'll be discouraged to upgrade at all, hehe. so i guess w/ your special discount thats like $1350. need to trim it down..

 

[aliasaid]

i'll give you 3 options here..

there are 8 parts total to this build, and i'll assume $12.50 average discount per part.

1) same components you listed, plus:

LG DVD-WR $46
Western Digital 250gb SATA II 16MB $115
BFG 7600GT $255

total: $1465 - $100 (your special discount) = $1365


2) similar price as 1; with the following changes.

Thermaltake Soprano case silver $100
X2 3800+ $338
Lg DVD-WR $46
Western Digital 250gb SATAII 16MB $115
ASUS 58NX AMD 939 mobo $120
Kingston 2gb ram kit $209
Antec TruePower II 480watt powersupply $96
XFX Geforce 7900GT $385

total: $1409 - $100 (your discount) = $1309

3) similar to build 2, but w/ cheaper vid card.

Thermaltake Soprano case silver $100
X2 3800+ $338
Lg DVD-WR $46
Western Digital 250gb SATAII 16MB $115
ASUS 58NX AMD 939 mobo $120
Kingston 2gb ram kit $209
Antec TruePower II 480watt powersupply $96
BFG Geforce 7600GTX $255 (the site says GTX, but i think its just GT, lol)

total: $1279 - $100 (your discount) = $1179


in the pieces i picked, i didn't think SLI mobo was worth the extra $$. also since budget is sorta tight i thought cheaper psu and case would not be bad, since they're still high quality. its really all upto you. sorry for taking so long to reply, looks likeyou've gone to sleep now, hehe. out of the 3 builds, i'd lean towards build #2. you can play games REAAAL nice with a 7900gt. but if you're strapped for cash, build #3 is still good. and if you just love that antec case, and you can't live w/o the ocz psu, then of course #1 will be your choice.

edit: i'll probably be in deep deep sleep by the time you decide on what to do, hehe. if you have an HDD already then you could save $100 right there, or if you don't nee dvd-wr and you have a cd-rom lying around, you could save $50. you can keep goin through it and look for ways to reduce the price; and also you can mix and match b/w my 3 builds for whatever suits you. if you had to reduce the price in something, it would probably be better to reduce aesthetics than performance, but since this is for your gf, maybe not, hehe.. good luck in whatever it is you choose. if you get $400 for your rig i think you'd be really lucky, lol. if that happens, i think buying this new comp should definitely happen. peace.