Over the past few months it has become more and more obvious that my desktop computer is in dire need of a good rebuild, and I was wondering if anyone knew of/could suggest any good reputable sources for good quality low priced hardware (I've checked newegg and tigerdirect, and they don't quite cut it unfortunately). My current system specs are: Athlon XP 3200+ (CPU fan in bad shape -- though that is cheap enough to replace) 1GB DDR Radeon 9700 Pro (AGP 8x) 3 IDE Hard Drives totaling 240GB DVD reader/burner The problem is that there is no upgrade path from the processor (the Athlon XP 3200+ was the last socket A CPU for desktops). So I figured I'd replace the mobo/cpu/fan. The problem there is that virtually no new mobos support DDR or AGP while providing reasonable CPU compatability. No new case or power supply is required. I set a $200 budget for upgrades. Any suggestions? I'd like to be able to run newer games reasonably well (mainly things like Team Fortress 2 and upcoming games like Starcraft 2 -- nothing too significant) Thanks ahead of time!

For what reason does Newegg fail to make the cut?

Really these days you are going to want a PCI-E graphics card anyway, DDR is old and slow. Honestly you're likely better holding off and getting a new CPU, Motherboard, Ram, and graphics card. Chances are your power supply isn't as good as it could be, so throw a new one in too. After you've done that you may as well throw in a cheap 300GB hard drive and a cheap optical, and a router. Now you have a main computer and a file server.

my Power Supply is a Thermaltake TR2 430W I bought about two years ago after my earlier one burnt out... sadly, I was in the middle of playing a game of Star Trek: Bridge Commander [grin].

I could probably push my budget up to $250 if there was enough to be gained, but being a college student I have to mind my expenses (luckily, I have some cash free after setting up an office network for a condo complex).

I'm aware of the need for a PCI-E gfx card, and newer RAM. I have no need for more storage space (I'm going to be swapping out one of my hdds -- a 40GB -- for an 80gb anyway -- and I still have about 175GB free space). What I'm looking for is a good config that will let me play some newer games, while leaving me a future upgrade path for when I can afford more. Thanks for the prompt response talroth!

You're not going to be able to upgrade that to a decent spec for $200. You're not really going to be able to upgrade it at all. AGP is dead. DDR is dead. Athlon is dead (at least that generation [razz])

I know AGP and DDR are dead... and I know a little too well that Athlon XP is dead. What I'm looking for is basically a budget gaming spec utilizing as much of my existing hardware as possible (IE: hard drives, optical drive, power supply, case)

So the problem with your budget is that for $200.00 you can just barely afford to replace exactly what you already have. Since what you currently have is more or less worth $200.00 you aren't going to be able to convert that amount of dollars into an upgrade. If anything you'd be looking at a 5% - 10% performance increase which, honestly, you won't notice.

To run new & upcoming games "decently" you're looking at spending somewhere in the ballpark of $1000.00 (+/- a couple hundred)

-me

Quote: Original post by Palidine
So the problem with your budget is that for $200.00 you can just barely afford to replace exactly what you already have. Since what you currently have is more or less worth $200.00 you aren't going to be able to convert that amount of dollars into an upgrade. If anything you'd be looking at a 5% - 10% performance increase which, honestly, you won't notice.

To run new & upcoming games "decently" you're looking at spending somewhere in the ballpark of $1000.00 (+/- a couple hundred)

-me

I suppose, then, I should just buy a new CPU fan and try to keep the system running a while longer. I'm disappointed, to say the least.

As for decent gameplay requiring an expense of ~$1000, thats just nonsense. Not to pick a fight, but most games can be run smoothly with mainstream hardware -- just not at great settings (low to mid settings depending on game).

Geforce 7600GS + Biostar Intel 945 motherboard here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138051R
Get it quick because it is open box and probably won't last.

RAM:
2 GB Dual Channel DDR2-800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134488

CPU:
Intel Celeron E1200 Dual Core 1.6 GHz w/512 cache (should easily beat the AXP 3200 even though it is slower clock).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116064

Comes out to about $200. Cheers.

Quote: Original post by medevilenemy
As for decent gameplay requiring an expense of ~$1000, thats just nonsense. Not to pick a fight, but most games can be run smoothly with mainstream hardware -- just not at great settings (low to mid settings depending on game).

Yeah. That's a fair point. I guess it's more about what our semantic definitions of "decently" are (and obviously what our price points are). For me "decent" means: widescreen resolution, 40FPS, max camera view range (FPS multiplayer importance on that last one).

Otherwise, I've found that the biggest bang for your buck that you can get right now is a new graphics card. The difference between, say, an NVidia 7800 and an 8800 is basically double the FPS on most games. But, of course, the newer cards require PCI-E so that doesn't help you out much. =/

-me

Yeah, you're probably looking at around 350-450 for a decent upgrade. A modest Core 2 duo and decent motherboard will run $160-180, a current-gen PCIe card can be had for around $200 (say, an ATI 3850 or nVidia equivalent) but you can get a high-end last gen for less, or last-last gen for even less (I've seen a 6800GT for $75 for example.) RAM prices are low these days, you can probably find a 2g pair for around $100.

The rest of your components should carry over so long as your GPU doesn't draw too much current.

I've never had, or even heard, any complaints about newegg and they're usually among the cheapest retailers, but I always recommend Pricewatch.com, which aggregates the lowest prices from many online retailers, including newegg.