Ok Help me out here please...

[Yay4Juggs]

since having to rma my x1950pro (ati deemed the card to be bad) ive decided to just start over and build around the card as its a damn fine card...so here is what im trying to accomplish..i want to replace my mobo proc and ram with something more upgradeable down the line...ultimately im gonna have sell off what i have to pay for new parts but here's where im at a loss...i dont know were to begin with such a small budget and this is where you guys would come in with suggestions and ideas to help me out here...i really cant afford to spend more than 250.00 as thats all the wife will let me spend(i spend way too much on gadgets...) one feature i am seeking in a mobo would be coaxial out built into the mobo so it can go right into my ht reciever(i only have room for 1 coaxial on the reciever). is it all possible to even come close to what i need for in and around 250?

[Thermopylae_480]

Please remember to use descriptive titles as described in the Forum Guidelines.

[pt]

where do you live, and where do you buy stuff?

[Yay4Juggs]

Buffalo,NY and typically...newegg

[GJSNeptune]

Don't get something with coax. In fact, coax offers only the second best signal. If you want top-quality, you'll want component or HDMI. On the other hand, if it's the best your TV and cable offers, then you've no choice.

I suggest going the AMD Athlon X2 route, since AMD is super cheap right now.

So you have everything but a motherboard, CPU, and RAM? Are you looking at ATX or mATX?

[NinkobEi]

you could do a S939 board/processor combo and still use your RAM. although its not a huge upgrade it is still a step or two up from your P4.

[GJSNeptune]

AMD Athlon X2 3600+ Brisbane Socket AM2 $59

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
$69

GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $79.99

Which is about $210 before shipping/tax. Get a fairly cheap TV tuner with a coax-in and you should be around your budget. You could also browse Newegg for a cheaper ATX Socket AM2 board and slower DDR2 memory to save money.

[Yay4Juggs]

ok i think you may be misunderstanding "coaxial" im not referring to the coaxial cable for your tv...im talking for audio...it transmits digital audio signal thru 1 cable...its connector is typically orange

[Yay4Juggs]

oh and i want to stay with intel no amd and would prefer atx

[NinkobEi]

in that case the cheapest Cor2duo is probably about ~150$ and a motherboard will cost you 80$ for a decent one. oh and you'll need new RAM which will cost you another 80$ or so. ask your wife for another hundred bucks and it may be doable

[GJSNeptune]

Cheap = AMD.

Sorry about the misunderstanding. Saw 'coax' and thought cable.

[Yay4Juggs]

Originally Posted by Ninkobwi

in that case the cheapest Cor2duo is probably about ~150$ and a motherboard will cost you 80$ for a decent one. oh and you'll need new RAM which will cost you another 80$ or so. ask your wife for another hundred bucks and it may be doable

well if i get enough for the old parts perhaps she will be more flexible

[Yay4Juggs]

ok so ive been out for a bit but here is what i ordered so far...

Mobo - Asus P5WD2 Premium BNIB on ebay $85.00
Ram - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Newegg 131.00
Processor - Pentium D945 bnib OEM on ebay 117.00
Heatsink/Fan Zalman 9700 w/blue led(theme of rig) BNIB on ebay 39.00

Yes i went over my budget a bit and had to sell my soul to the wifey for the extra loot but eh...

I would def appreciate any thoughts on the rigs new guts please and thank you!

God willing everything will be here on friday afternoon

also for comparison im leaving my system specs alone till they arrive and are in stalled

aslo to let everyone know..i recieved a total of 245.00 for old parts and still have the asrock mobo available

[Darknova]

I would have got the cheapest C2D and gone for a cheaper cooler (ie Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7) to off-set the price difference. The rest is great though.

[Yay4Juggs]

the board doesnt support c2d from what i understand...

[hat]

Originally Posted by Thermopylae_480

Please remember to use descriptive titles as described in the Forum Guidelines.

I bet half of your posts day that

[hat]

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/202/1/
Sorry buddy, looks like the best you can get is a PD 840...
Still, this 820 is a very decent CPU for cheaper than what you wanted, and it's retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116213
You'll get the heatsink and all that, AND you'll get a warranty, unless you plan to blow it 5 days later overclocking

[Yay4Juggs]

yeah I read that review prior to purchase...it was written 2 years ago well before the please of the pd 94x series processors

[hat]

Hm, well I at the very least reccomend a BIOS update. If that doesn't work, send that chip back.

[Ketxxx]

Go AMD, their well cheap atm, a X2 3800+ will OC very nicely, PC6400 can be had for about $100 an thats stuff that will reach PC8000 speeds or better, the only thing thats gona hurt is the mobo, its the one component u cant skimp on.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Ketxxx

the only thing thats gona hurt is the mobo, its the one component u cant skimp on.

Sure you can. (well sort of. lol) Both the Biostar TForce 550 and my DFI Infinity NF UltraII M2 are $80, and both get a 3600+ Brisbane to 3Ghz with no effort (provided your chip will go that high). Mine will do 342HT.

[Ketxxx]

Not really, cheaper mobos can be fine still sure not arguing that, just if you dont plan on buying a new system for a year or more it works out cheaper in the long run to get a decent mobo from the offset.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Ketxxx

Not really, cheaper mobos can be fine still sure not arguing that, just if you dont plan on buying a new system for a year or more it works out cheaper in the long run to get a decent mobo from the offset.

But how would it have benefited me to buy a more expensive mobo, if this one already does what I need it to do? I'm not quite following what you're getting at, Ket. (no disrespect intended. I'm genuinely confused. lol)

[Yay4Juggs]

ok so here is the final breakdown of what i went and got and have installed.
Mobo - Asus P5WD2 Premium BNIB on ebay $85.00
Ram - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Newegg 131.00
Processor - Ended up going a different route because seller wasn't genuine in his description Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 840 3.2
Heatsink/Fan Zalman 9700 w/blue led(theme of rig) BNIB on ebay 39.00

http://djfreake.com/cpuz.htm check out my syst info courtesy of cpuz...