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Hi all, I'm new here but am looking at building a new gaming PC.

Heres what i have so far:

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
ASRock 880GM-LE Micro ATX AM3 Motherboard
Patriot G Series Sector 5 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Asus Radeon HD 6850 1GB Video Card
Cooler Master Elite 310 ATX Mid Tower Case
Logisys 550W ATX12V Power Supply
Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer

I already have a HDD to put in so thats not a problem.

Anyone have any suggestions/upgrades for items in my price range?

Thanks all

Welcome to TR!

That Logisys Power supply is trash. I would budget 40-60 dollars for the Power Supply even on the low end. Corsair, Antec and PC Power and Cooling are some of my favorite brands.

Thanks for the input! ill swap that out.

Anything else anyone thinks i should switch/upgrade

Welcome to the Tech Report.

Have you checked out the Econobox in the System Guide?

What about Windows and peripherals? Do you need a keyboard/mouse/monitor OS?

LaChupacabra wrote:

What about Windows and peripherals? Do you need a keyboard/mouse/monitor OS?

Sorry forgot to mention, i do have all peripherals and windows.

i did check out the guides as well. thanks!

Should i get an AM3+ motherboard for the extra 40 or so dollars? Also how much performance difference can i expect from a Phenom II X4 955 Black from the Phenom II X6 1090T? Especially when gaming since thats all ill really be doing on this PC.

thanks

Following the dismal showing from AMD with bulldozer, you might consider Intel. See link below for details:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/21813/7
Notice all Intel chips at the top of that chart? Even if you look on to the next few pages of gaming benchmarks, Intel chips still top the list. (that i3 2100 is a $125 CPU beating the amd 8150 at $220+)

Not only do intel chips game better at the same price range, but you'll have a system that you could potentially upgrade in the future with a much more potent cpu than anything amd has to offer at this moment. If upgrading in the future is your goal, you might consider one of the PCI 3.0 compatible MOBO's from ASRock (ASRock Gen3) to leave you an opening for a potential Ivy Bridge upgrade a year from now.

Looking at that comparison I think that might be the way to go.

Heres what i changed to:

Intel i5-2400
Gigabyte GA-Z68P-DS3

I think that leaves me better off, and with more upgrade potential instead of replacement in the future.

I wouldn't count on future Intel processors sticking with the same socket. I also wouldn't count on ASRock managing to get support for future processors right in their currently shipping motherboards.

On such an extremely tight budget, you'll have to go with some of the cheapest new parts available today. $400-$500 is an unworkable price point for a gaming PC. $600-700 is more likely, as you can see from several other recent threads in this forum.

If you're serious about wanting a complete gaming PC for under $500, you might look for a scratched-and-dented Inspiron 620 or 570 in the Dell Outlet store and then just add a $145 Radeon HD6850 or $170 Radeon HD6870 to it for gaming.

Yeah i understand. In the current build i have, ideally id like it to last me 2 or so years of solid gaming, then when i have a larger budget go out all out and build a complete monster.

While I share "JustAnEngineer's" reservations about PCIe 3.0 mobos being compatable with Ivy Bridge cpu's, especially when that generally hasn't been the trend in the past for Intel. I can't help but point out that there must be some reason why all major mobo manufacturers are coming out with gen3 products especially when sandbridge cpu's do not have gen3 capabilities. They must know something about future compatability of Ivy Bridge. Whether thats true or not...thats up to the eyes of the beholder, but for roughly the same price you can have the "possibility" of being compatable with Ivy Bridge. That must count for something.