Well I started writing that reply almost an hour+ ago (got bogged down in some stuff i needed to get done) so i didn't see what you said until i posted my reply; so it was bit of non-issue by that time.

You need to save that baby, then copy and paste it into stubborn memory posts, for "fast, fast, relief", as the old Excedrin commercials used to go. :wave: LMAO

lol, very well gentlemen. I may just stand pat with 2 Gigs like you say and put the money towards a new machine. My computer loads pretty quick upon login, I'd say about 3 to 5 seconds so I can't complain. I use FireFox as well. I think FF is a lot smoother and quicker than IE 7 or 8, IMHO.

Thanks for the info.

A PSU will just supply the required power to the various components of your PC. So you can use any PSU (wattage equal to or above that required) on your motherboard.

However, as the Captain correctly suggested, you should look into a new system if you want to play any of the recent games.

If you tell us your maximum budget for the PC, we would be glad to give a few suggestions.

All the best.

Hey Rit,

I'd say less than $500.00 should build a descent gaming system from newegg. It's putting all the correct hardware together that's so laboring. I'm reading all I can though. I've got the Antec case and PSU picked out. Earthwatts EA650 and the Antec Three hundred illusion Black steel ATX mid tower case. I'm wanting to go with the AMD mobo (preference). I found the 785 and the 790GX to my liking and they had good reviews.

Keep in mind, I'm not trying to build the gaming computer of the decade, just a descent gamer. Those mobo's are probably overkill, but the price is right on the 700 series.

Any thoughts during this first stage?

The AMD 790 X / GX / FX chipsets are excellent ones especially when you're overclocking your CPU. However, when you're trying to stay at about 500 bucks for a decent system, the 790 series does become a trifle expensive.

Here's what I would suggest at your budget:

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz - $56.99
ASRock M3A770DE AM3 - $59.99
BFG Tech GS-550 550W - $49.99
A-DATA Gaming Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 - $91.99
XFX Radeon HD 4770 512MB - $114.99
Antec Three Hundred Illusion - $61.99
HITACHI Deskstar 7200RPM 1TB - $79.99
Sony Optiarc AD-7241S-0B - $26.99

Total - $542.92

You could save some money by going in for the HD 4770 manufactured by a brand other than XFX. Also, you could pick an HDD with lesser storage space.

The above system should let you play most games at decent settings. Modern Warfare 2 should run like a charm.

Thanks for itemizing the hardware, that's a big help. Yeah a TB is a bit much for what I'm going to do with it. I'm thinking 320 Gig HDD, that would double what I got. Is that graphics card a bit pricey? I saw some for half that price, or a little more. I'm not questioning you, just trying to save where I can. This system will definitely get the gaming job done that's for sure.

I think with a little tweaking, the cost could come under $500.00 and be a pretty good computer for some time to come. What do you think?

Thanks

The MSI Radeon HD 4770 is available for $91.99 at newegg. So you'll save about $23.

Just want you to know that although the HD 4770 is a very nice card don't expect too much out of it in games like Crysis. Clear SKy, etc. at high settings. But for all other intents and purposes the card will be able to hold its own.

Hi Rit,

What's your view on this HDD? HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721032CLA362 (0A39264) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive, and it's less than $50.00. That 4770 card should do just fine, and $23.00 in savings is great. I like first person shooter games and don't play much online. Playing cod6 mw2, WGT.com golf and playing web video is just about all I use my computer for. I know, pretty boring right? lol

*Edit: The WGT golf game plays out of the browser, no downloads.

Thanks Rit.

The Hitachi 320GB should be fine enough.

Let us know how your build works out. Good luck.

Given the choice I would opt for either a WD or Seagate drive. However not any of the WD "Caviar Green" series.

Is this video card, XFX HD-477A-YDFC Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16- compatible with this mobo AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz? I noticed the AMD mobo supports DDR3 and the video card is GDDR5.

My apologies. ASRock M3A770DE AM3 - look at the above post (7 posts back) and you'll see a list of hardware Ritwit laid out or me.

VRAM type has nothing to do with ram type supported by motherboard.

Thanks for the reply Archean, it was helpful.

Is this RAM, A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-AG compatible with this mobo, ASRock M3A770DE AM3? I ask because I don't know if the PC3 12800 is to much for the listed mobo.

Thanks for your help in advance.

It should be compatible. Newegg lists that the board uses DDR3 1600 memory which means PC3 12800.

O ok Ritwik thanks. I have another question. What kind of cables do I need to get to make the above (12 post up) listed components come together? sata, cables or anything like that?

Thanks again.