In Need of New PC

[Lazerblade]

I know how much you guys love to do this stuff, so I figure I'd ask here before proceeding.

I need a new PC. Mine is quite old. Here's my current specs:

Soyo Dragon mobo
AMD Athlon XP 2600+
1GB DDR RAM
2 EIDE HDD (60GB & 250GB)
2 Optical drives (DVD-ROM & DVD+-RW (I think the burner is Dual Layer)
350W PS
Nice Mid Tower- black w/ handle
Optical mouse
Craptastic Keyboard (but it works)
Bose speakers (only 2, no sub, but works good and I don't need more)
Samsung 900DF monitor
Microphone
All-in-One Lexmark Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax (no need to replace)

multiple operating systems- plan to transfer XP to new machine.

Video- My old card died on me. I previously had an AGP ATI Ice-Q x700. Now I'm running a PCI nVidia 5200. I know it's junk, but I didn't want to buy another AGP if I'm going to upgrade soon anyway.

I have another older system which will be used for parts to replace anything I swap out of my current machine so I retain 2 working computers. The old system will become my girlfriend's kids PC.

So, the obvious- I need the following:

New mobo w/ CPU (AMD Athlon64 or better)
New RAM- DDR2?
SATA drive(s)- I'd really like to keep the 250GB EIDE if possible, simply for the storage capacity it offers, but I do want a faster system drive with plenty of space as well.

Video card- PCIe 16x preferred

Onboard sound, onboard LAN- no need for add-ons since I'm content to use my old speakers and my DSL is a bottleneck for networking anyway- I highly doubt onboard LAN has enough significant impact on the core system's performance to warrant spending more.

Do I need a beefier PS? I ran my old system with a 200W Dell PS for years, and that PS never crapped on me. I just used a replacement I had bought a few years back in case that was the issue with my video card not working. Turns out the video card had died, not the PS.

I really like my case, but if I do need more room, I'm open to upgrading that. As long as it has a handle.

Anything else you guys might suggest, just let me know.

Now, here's the trick. I'm aiming for CHEAP! So, whomever can chime in with the lowest price for upgrading wins. I haven't set a budget, but I want to be able to run Crysis. Doesn't have to run maxed out at any specific resolution, or at 60+ FPS, I just want to be able to run it at 1024x768 and 30FPS, even if the details have to be set on lowest to do so. I figure if it can do that much, any of my current games and the 20 or so titles I'd like to grab from a bargain bin somewhere will run liquid smooth at high settings.

[Dr.Jeckyl]

Without knowing your budget it's pretty hard to give suggestions. Unfortunately "CHEAP" doesn't have a monetary value to it. How set are you on AMD?

[Lazerblade]

I'm not entirely set on AMD, I just feel that you get a little more bang for your buck with AMD than you typically do with Intel. I also feel that AMD systems tend to be more forward-upgrade-friendly since they tend not to change socket types every time they come out with something faster. But by all means, if you know something that might spark my interest, feel free to share.

As for budget, I'm really hoping to keep the upgrade process under $400. I know that doesn't give you guys much to play with, but I plan to keep my monitor until it becomes necessary to upgrade that. I'm not looking for an HD video card- since my monitor isn't HD or even widescreen, that won't be necessary.

I'm looking to save as many parts from my old computer as possible while still getting the "horsepower" I need. I just want to make sure anything I buy will power what I have and want right now. I really am not interested in making sure I can run games that come out in 2 years- by then I will be purchasing a whole new system and passing whatever I build now down to one of my kids. So just keep that in mind. If I can run The Witcher, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and Crysis, that's plenty good enough for me.

Can I upgrade for under $400? You tell me...

[Fixxxer]

It actually seems quite possible. I didn't believe that would be possible at first, but it turns out it is.

All from newegg-

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135076
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103774
Video Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150245
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146764
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178

Total for all the parts - $318.00 USD

Now I think this is a fairly good upgrade for just over three hundred bucks, however, it will likely not have much longevity. But I think you'd be able to get at least a year, if not a little more, out of that while you stash some money away for a larger upgrade.

[Ronin]

The GeForce 8500 is an okay video card but it's pretty anemic for running Crysis.

I'd recommend one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150295

We have them in all of our systems we sell where I work.  We do 3D imaging
and sell our own 3D visualization/analysis/simulation software to the medical
professions.  These cards perform very well for our needs.

I've run Crysis on my workstation at work (2.3Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM) and
it works pretty well if you turn down the requirements.

One thing left out is that you need at least a 450watt power supply and I'd
go with a 650.  That way you have plenty of head room and you won't have
to change it out for a good while.  It will also have the plugs you will need
that your old PSU won't have.

Good luck with whatever you decide (or decided) on.

[Lazerblade]

Well, I finally broke down and bought the new system. Over a year later, but still... it was a hard decision to make. However, after passing on a much-needed upgrade for income tax time, I finally saved enough to push myself into buying. Not that I do much gaming these days, but I'm slowly getting back into it.

Anyway, I ended up spending right around $425. Here's what I got...

Geforce 9600GT 512MB DDR3 (low-end for gaming, but workable)
Athlon 64 X2 5200+
ASUS M2N68-VM AM2+
2GB DDR2 PC2 6400 800mHz (upgradeable to 8GB - room for growth)
250GB SATA2 HDD
20X DVD+/- R/RW DL
Onboard Sound
Onboard LAN
Black ATX Case
Dual 80MM Case Cooling Fans
650W PSU (yes, Ronin, I DID look into that too.  )

Since I'm keeping my old monitor, I had to get a DVI-I to VGA adapter also, which was cheap anyway.

So, for about $100 more I got a system that is about a year newer, with the parts necessary to play current and past games without too much issue. I'll upgrade again in a year, but I won't need to spend nearly as much to do so. And I'm ready to get the LCD screen to go with the new system... as soon as I can afford it.

[Wolfsong]

I still have no problem with my GeForce 8800GT so low end of gaming... I don't know. Sure it doesn't run DX10 that well.

Gonna get a DX11 card when Nvidia releases something nice for it. ATI and Maya simply doesn't work well together... It has to be the way the z-buffer works on their cards of something. For some reason you always select the object furthest from the camera when using ATI cards. Which isn't very practical.