Let's Play: Spend My Money!

[H0ly-H@nd-Gr3nade]

Well my brother's computer has become very outdated, and he is looking to replace it. He isn't a hardcore gamer, so I don't need anything top-of-the-line, but he does play a few games like Flight Simulator.

Budget : $500-600
What parts? : CPU, MB, RAM, Video card
(already have a case, hard drive, all other peripherals)

Well, get going!

[ryanbatc]

DFI mobo
Newegg.com - DFI BI P45-T2RS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

E8400
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

4GB OCZ ram
Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 4GB Enhanced Bandwidth Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

eVGA 9800GT
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N973-TR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

be sure hes on a 64 bit os, like XP or Vista to use the 4GB of RAM, otherwise get 2GB

[H0ly-H@nd-Gr3nade]

[juneau]

The main question is, if his PC is very outdated, what is his PSU like? Outdated i presume and not able to handle a new spec.

[H0ly-H@nd-Gr3nade]

We aren't going to be using the same case/PSU as he is currently using. We recently purchased those for a rig that got stuck in planning, and so we can use them for this one.

[juneau]

So what PSU is it?

[H0ly-H@nd-Gr3nade]

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

[ryanbatc]

That's a solid PSU for the parts I listed

[juneau]

That's a solid PSU for the parts I listed

Yup.

Just switch the graphics card from the 9800GT to this.

Newegg.com - MSI R4850-2D512-OC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

[WalkinTarget]

I tried to put together an AMD setup to top this, but it isn't looking too good, so I'll go with whats already been listed.

The 8400 is a great choice and a top performer in the bang for the buck, so I'd also side with Juneau and go with the 4850 for the vid card.

[ryanbatc]

Well I guess I'm just used to Flight Sim X - and ATI cards suck for FSX...

I spose for any other "real" game the ATI card would be better

[Ghost_Rain]

I would change the Cpu to a Intel Core2Quad Q6600 because they have really droped in price if you have the cash.

[H0ly-H@nd-Gr3nade]

Ok, thanks all! I will look more into it this weekend when I got some time.

[ryanbatc]

yeah but the clock speed of the Q6600 is going to give you less performance than the E8400

Plus you'll be able to overclock the E8400 better than the Q

Even if you were attempting to "futureproof" I would not do it with a Q6600, you'd want to go Core i7 for quads. And that's moola

[Ghost_Rain]

I oc my old q6600 to 3.4 without a problem but I found it more easy to oc my I7 920 to 3.4 than I did with the q6600