New build

[Ron]

Instead of going with a graphics card on a very limited system I decided to upgrade the mobo and get a new case.

Ron's Tech Blog: Day off - Computer upgrades

I was extremely limited with what I could do with wiring because the wires that came with the case and mobo were so short. When I get some extra cash again I'll buy longer wires and make the wiring look cleaner.

For now its great though. The mobo itself is such a huge improvement over my old dell one. Dell had a lot of restrictions on the mobo, like no overclocking options, so it really limited the performance I could get out of it. Now after overclocking I'm playing Crysis 2 on a low/med setting mix on a 7300 LE. Thanks to the better airflow I can overclock the shit out of it.

Case: Cooler Masters, forgot the model number.
Mobo: Gigabyte G41M-Combo
PSU: Coolmax 600w

Had to go with a cheaper mobo because of a limited budget, can't be happier with it though. I can finally adjust fan speeds and overclock settings without having to use third party programs, which is something Dell doesn't like to give you.

For spending less than $200 I think I got a great setup going here. Thoughts?

[MentaL]

[Rishwin]

I like it.

Not too many people can appreciate the difference a new motherboard can have.

[Ron]

I like it.

Not too many people can appreciate the difference a new motherboard can have.

Yeah dude.

I really didn't expect it to make much of a difference at first. I mainly got it so it fit the case better. I'm glad I spent my cash on a mobo instead of a vid card now. So much better results.

[Rishwin]

Yeah dude.

I really didn't expect it to make much of a difference at first. I mainly got it so it fit the case better. I'm glad I spent my cash on a mobo instead of a vid card now. So much better results.

I personally would have saved up another $200 and then spent that on a new system. The 'Budget Gamer' build in the 'PC Buying Guide' sticky should be bellow the $400 mark at this point. I can't remember your system off the top of my head, but i think you would have seen a better performance increase with that.

But then again i just love building a brand new PC, so i would have taken any excuse to start a new build :P

[Ron]

True, but all I really need to do is upgrade the GFX card and I'm good to go, only another $150, or 200-250 if I want high end.

The processor is a core 2 duo E6300, currently have it OC'd to 2.50 GHz running very cool, might push it to 2.7 or 2.8. Gonna read around online a bit about others' experiences overclocking this processor.

So really I'd spend a little under your budget build getting similar performance. Not bad really. And like you said, just building a new PC is a great feeling. :D

I'm thinking of pushing this processor to its limit, might get a couple cheap fans to help with airflow. Its 5 years old so if it burns out I'd need to upgrade it anyway.