Need help building my PC

[Rayken15]

Hello fellow escapists! A few years ago (2009) I had a friend build me a "gaming PC" (I wasn't very good with computers back then). Well, after some research, it turns out he did a pretty crappy job (GT 220, Dual Core 3.0ghz, 3 gb RAM). After looking at a few upcoming games I realized that I won't be able to run most of them and that I'll need an upgrade.

What I set my eyes on:

-Kingston HyperX Blu 2x4gb DDR3 RAM at 1600Mhz
-An HD Radeon 6850 1gb

Now you might wonder: "Why not a Radeon 69xx or GTX560ti?". The truth is that I have a limited budget (280$) and I don't care that much about graphics either. I just want to be able to run upcoming games at reasonable framerates and ok looking graphics. Even if I would care about graphics, I still have an LCD monitor that can only go up to 1280x1024, so I don't think I need anything better than the 6850.

Now, what I need help with: the motherboard. As I said I'm new to building PCs and I don't really know what to buy. I only have 70-80$ left and I would really appreciate if you guys could help me out.

Other specs of my current PC:
450W PSU
Athlon II X2 250
250GB HDD
500GB External HDD

 

[Rayken15]

C'mon guys, no IT specialists around?

 

[wabbbit]

Keeping the same CPU? If so you need to make sure that you get one that is AM3 (i think, please double check) and DDR3 capable.

Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-970A-D3-AM3-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0056G10WK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346833988&sr=8-5&keywords=am3+motherboard

Im not in US so can't provide the best price, but that board supports the processor, DDR3.
They even have the bundle for $133.23 that includes Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz

As for the GFX, the 6850 should be ok, providing you don't go for the low-end one

 

[Rayken15]

Keeping the same CPU? If so you need to make sure that you get one that is AM3 (i think, please double check) and DDR3 capable.

Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-970A-D3-AM3-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0056G10WK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346833988&sr=8-5&keywords=am3+motherboard

Im not in US so can't provide the best price, but that board supports the processor, DDR3.
They even have the bundle for $133.23 that includes Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz

As for the GFX, the 6850 should be ok, providing you don't go for the low-end one

Thanks for the suggestion! Also what do you mean by "low-end one"?

 

[wabbbit]

They often do multiple versions of the same card. Depending on the card they will often do a low-end "low-profile" fan-less card, all the way up to a beast that requires it's own nuclear power station.(May be a slight exaggeration)

If you look at a few in the price range you want, check out the Clock Speed and the number of Cores and go for the highest/best within your budget.
Often people get caught out by only looking at the VRAM (1GB, 2GB) etc. VRAM is only half the story.

 

[thespyisdead]

well... what i would do, in terms of motherboard, is look for one that is compatible with your CPU! that is the most important thing for you right now. the next thing is figure out the RAM hard limit on the board (i.e. 8gb and up) and finally, make sure it is DDR3 compatible!



Quick crash course for building PCs in the future: Start with the CPU ALWAYS(because then you know which motherboard to get)

 

[Rayken15]

So, I found a few candidates for my motherboard but a few of them say this in the description:

AMD AM3 100 and 200 series CPU support up to DDR3 1066MHz

Does this mean my CPU doesn't support 1600mhz RAM?

 

[Worgen]

If you aren't going to upgrade your cpu then I would keep the same motherboard, the motherboard and cpu are two of the things I wouldn't skimp on since they are a pain in the butt to swap out. Ram and vid cards are an easy switch so really I would focus on the cpu and mobo first before I got a new vid card and ram.

 

[Rayken15]

If you aren't going to upgrade your cpu then I would keep the same motherboard, the motherboard and cpu are two of the things I wouldn't skimp on since they are a pain in the butt to swap out. Ram and vid cards are an easy switch so really I would focus on the cpu and mobo first before I got a new vid card and ram.

I forgot to say that the motherboard doesn't support DDR3 (the one I currently have).

 

[Wolfram23]

You're in a bit of a tough spot with this one as it kind of needs a major overhaul. Right off the bat, a GPU upgrade would be great. I'd maybe suggest a 6770, 7750, or 7770 (7770 is slightly faster than a 6850), but the 6850 is fine too if you can get a good price (also look at the 560).

CPU and RAM need an upgrade, but as you know that's running into a problem. DDR2 is very expensive, DDR3 isn't supported on your rig. First question then is can your BIOS overclock or unlock cores? Worth looking into, might need a BIOS update. If it can overclock, you'll have to read up on it and get an aftermarket cooler like maybe a Hyper 212 Evo ($30).

Otherwise you're stuck saving for a new motherboard and RAM, in which case I'd suggest saving to get an Intel i3 CPU, H77 or Z77 motherboard, and 8 gigs DDR3 (~$250)

 

[Rayken15]

Thanks for all your help guys! I think I've got a rough idea of what to get for my new PC.

You may close this thread mods.