BleepingComputer.com: Need advice on cheap gamming rig!!

Sorry to use someone elses post, but I too am doing a build and need some thoughts...I have $500 to spend and here's what I've chosen so far........................PSU: Antec EA650......RAM: Kingston 2x2Gb 1066MHz.......CPU:AMD Phenom 2X3 tricore(heard it had good overclocking results)I believe its a black edition 770?......Mobo: ECS Black GF8200A......Video Card: HIS Radeon 4850 1Gb 256Mb Q cooler included(also heard of this card being overclocked with success.........Well fella's what do you think and can I improve this with the same budget? Oh btw...Price total from Newegg.com like $450... Thanx in advance.

snyderrich, on Jul 27 2009, 08:14 PM, said:

Hey,the 720 is the BE,I think you can get much better performance and capabilities if you used a mobo like ...the Foxconn A7DA-S,it has a waaay better IGP that can be set to Hybrid crossfire X,of which will give you even better results than that 4850 alone,plus its AM3,of which will allow you to use DDR3 ram,at a faster speed.
Look at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.212211
Also corsair and G.Skill make excellent ram,Try this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231190
I have this and it works Great!

This is an exact repost of your posting in this thread: Parts Compatible for a Gaming PC?, I'm building my first Gaming PC and need compatible parts.

I would suggest getting a different motherboard. That ECS motherboard is old and should be avoided if you can afford something else. I suggest, if you're not planning to use multiple graphics cards, the GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard. If you do want to use multiple graphics cards, the ASRock M3A780GXH/128M AM3 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard. Pair that with Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 and you should be set.

snyderrich, on Jul 27 2009, 08:14 PM, said:

changed a few things....any feedback?????Thanx...I just got done w/ some virtual shopping and came up with this....PSU: same...Cpu:same...Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA790x-ud4p AM3/am2+/am2 amd790x atx amd motherboard..........Vidcard:Visiontek 900244 Radeon 4870 512mb 256bit gddr5 pcie 2.0x16 xfire ready......price went up to $503

Don't forget the RAM I suggested, you need that too. That looks good, I assume you're reusing your old case and optical drives. You also need an operating system. You can download the Windows 7 release caandidate for free and get the RTM later when you have the cash.

Woah, wait a sec DO NOT buy that ram,or order that board.
That board is DDR2,and DJB's ram is DDR3,rich,you need to ether get DDR2 ram or a true AM3 MOBO,it can NOT say AM2 or AM2+ if you are going to use DDR3.

<Rereading the post>

Ahh, I mistook your suggested motherboard as the DDR3 model I suggested. If you go for any of the motherboards I suggested, you would need the DDR3 RAM I suggested. However, you're going for the older AM2 board, so you need DDR2 as DDR3 WILL NOT work with it. The ASRock M3A780GXH/128M AM3 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard I suggested earlier can do the same things as the Gigabyte you want, but is cheaper and uses DDR3. I don't suggest DDR2 boards since DDR3 boards and RAM are near DDR2's price point.

DJBPace07, on Jul 29 2009, 10:25 PM, said:

Thanx man I'll look into that mobo...I still have a week or two until I order so any other advice will help out greatly.

Ya just make sure your motherboard is compatible but everything else is good.

snyderrich, on Jul 27 2009, 08:14 PM, said:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814161245 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371015 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.234483 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.234024 Finally decided on this config, ran into a little extra money