Opinoins On New Rig

Hi all. My computer is pretty old, about 4-5 or so years old. It has decided to take it's own life and I'm ready to put another one together, somewhat cheap.

This is what I have/had:
MSI K8N neo2 socket 939 (on board sound died)
AMD Athlon 64 3500
2g DDR 400 Corsair
Some cheap old Asus video card (fan is dying)
2x WD360 Sata Raptors (Still strong)
I tried a new sound card, no love with that. The system locks up just reading a web page. I have re- formatted, tried other drives, it's time for new hardware.

Here is what I'm looking at:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
AMD Phenom 8750 Toliman 2.4GHz
Mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
WD 1002 FBYS RE3 Hard Drive (already have)
I can get all this for under $300.

Now, I know there is better hardware out there, but I'm on a very limited budget. I would like some opinions on Video cards, something under $200.I prefer Nvidia chip sets. I'm not a gamer, I might after I get a somewhat up to date rig together. It is deff not a priority. I will be running XP.

I have 4 of the WD 36.7G Raptors that I'm not sure what, if anything will be done with them. I have been doing lots of research on video cards, any the more I read the more I get confused. I have been out of the loop for so long, and so much has changed, I'm just lost. Thanks for any input you can offer.

Thanks Kenny

 

The nVidia 9600GT is a great video card for the price. The are generally under $100 at Newegg. Here's a list of all 9600GT models currently available at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...548 106792522 1067937365&name=GeForce 9600 GT
If you can spend closer to $200, then I'd recommend the GTX260:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...48 1305520548 106792634 4017&name=$100 - $200
The new CPU you chose is kind of an older processor, and for the price, you can get a much better one. The X2 AMD 550 is fast, and overclocks like a champ (from what I hear), or for the same price you can get AMD 710 X3 or even a 9450 Quad Core. Any one of these three chips would provide better performance IMO.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244

 

+1 for dlb's choices especially for going to a multi-core CPU. The difference between a single and multi-core machine while multi-tasking is truly like night and day, esp. with 4GB RAM!

 

Just curious, what PSU are you going to be using? I'd hate to see you build a nice rig like that and then skimp on the PSU. I realize that you are on a budget but, to me, that is one of the more important parts of a system. If you have had one go 'south' on you, you'd know what I mean! If you can, budget for a good, brand name PSU....it's worth it!

 

I do have the 32 bit version of XP, and plan to give Windows 7 a shot. My PSU is fairly new, it's an Antec 500w I believe. It will be replaced soon though. The CPU I was looking at is this one. I was thinking about the combo deal NewEgg has.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211632




It sucks being unemployed! That's when everything breaks, goes bad, or needs replaced. Oh well such is life!

Thanks for the suggestions

 

Well Bodyman, I can't fault that PSU!! For me, Antec is one of the best and is all I have ever used. Granted, there are other good ones out there also, but Antec IS a good choice. It looks like you'll be okay in that department! Good luck with your build.

 

Hey, I have the Antec Earthwatts 500W and it's powering two OC'd 9800GT's, a stock Q6600 quad core CPU with 4GB RAM and 3 HDD's. The thing has been a champ for a year! I will get a new one soon, maybe 650W as the Antec should be near it's max ATM. Also, I'm running this rig 24/7 so that reduces life too.

 

The only reason I want to replace it is to get a modular PSU to cut down on clutter in the case. My Antec was running 3 WD 10,000rpm Raptors with no probs along with the above items, DVD-R and what not. It's been a LONG time sense I built a top of the line rig. I'm hopping this will do till I can build a bitch'in rig later on.