Upgrade

[aintnothang]

So I want to upgrade my machine. I have about $250-300 to spend. I just want to play games and use it to get work done. My Specs! (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00313196&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=&product=460075&lang=) So what would be the best hardware?

[blueonblack]

I would say a video card for sure, but your system doesn't have much in the way of expansion slots for video. There are some decent PCI video cards out there that would surely be better than the onboard video the system has, but I'm not personally familiar with them. And more ram. Ram is pretty cheap right now.
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Glass Pipe (http://glasspipes.net/)

[aintnothang]

I was thinking something more along the lines of a new mobo and graphics card. PCI is outdated.

[blueonblack]

I was thinking something more along the lines of a new mobo and graphics card. PCI is outdated.

Oh, sorry, you are looking at a more extensive upgrade than I had thought. I'm honestly not up on the Intel boards, but obviously you will want at least one PCIe x16 slot on it, preferably a 2.0 slot or even two with an SLI or Crossfire enabled board. I just bought an Nvidia 8800GT PCIe x16 2.0 video card at Best Buy today for $179 plus tax. Just be sure your power supply will handle it.
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EXTREME Q VAPORIZERS (http://vaporizer.org/reviews/extreme)

[aintnothang]

Definatively has to have pci-e x16, maybe sli or crossfire for future upgrades. Obviously a decent graphics card, but doesn't have to be right away. Probably a new power supply too.

[blueonblack]

I'm upgrading myself, and as cheap as boards are I've decided to get a board that has a PCIex 16 slot (not 2.0) and a better video card (it is 2.0), since they are backward-compatible. The card will make the most dramatic improvement in your gaming, and a board is usually a less expensive upgrade in the future. Odd, but it's cheaper to upgrade your board to match your higher-performance video card than it is the other way around.
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Alaska dispensaries (http://alaska.dispensaries.org/)

[crenn]

It would be cheaper to dump it and build a new machine. Reuse as many parts as you can from your current machine (or keep it intact as a spare)

Look at this thread for inspiration:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14256

You can build a decent machine for $300

[aintnothang]

You can build a decent machine for $300
Do you think this is the route to go then? I was thinking an 8500gt for value.

[crenn]

GPU: $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814260052
CPU: $58.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103213
Case: $39.99 ($19.99 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133048
PSU: $15.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817709010
Motherboard: $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135083
RAM: $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220091
HDD: $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

Total: $309.93 ($289.93 after mail in rebate)

[aintnothang]

I have a case already so I could cut cost there.$269.94. no upgrade for sli though.

[crenn]

If you don't need certain things, you can move up to a better board.

[aintnothang]

any suggestions?

[Spawn-Inc]

in that case i would step up to this video card,

SAPPHIRE 100236L Radeon HD 3650 512MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102726) - $64.99

its about a bit better than a 8600GT, it i will beat a single 8600gt but not 2 of them in sli. i've used 2 of them in friends rigs and there great cards.

[aintnothang]

Thanks but whats a good mobo then?

[Spawn-Inc]

i can't talk on amd stuff since i've never had/built anything. sry

[NightrainSrt4]

Your not going to get full 2 16x lanes on a low budget, atleast not of what I found.

I haven't used Gigabyte boards for AMD machines, but they haven't failed me on Intel setups.

Here is a 2 lane 8x SLI 570 board from Gigabyte $85 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128014)

There is also a similar MSI board on there for 79$ i believe.

Edit: I am sure there are plenty of others, could be better too. this was just off a 30 second search, just searching "amd sli"

[aintnothang]

My centurion 5 came today!

[aintnothang]

So far here it is:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9419/26472074fr0.png

[aintnothang]

I might switch to a card with hdmi. I not totally set on AMD, would intel be a better choice?

[crenn]

For a cheapish system, AMD is your best bet.

[aintnothang]

whats a good card with hdmi? I don't necessarily need it, but my monitor has it. Oh and a cd/dvd drive?