Can somebody help me put together a budget mid-level gaming rig?

So, right now I am pretty much broke after moving and getting married over the summer. I was hoping my current PC rig would hold out for another few months, but it is 4 years old and dying. I am currently getting random lockups that appear to be related to both the motherboard and GPU (not temp related), and something is apparently wrong with USB as several ports on the board do not work anymore and all of the USB ports will randomly stop working.

I use this PC mainly as a gaming rig, but the games I run at this point are not really intensive. I spend a lot of time playing TF2 and other Source-based games, Fallout 3/New Vegas, Company of Heroes, and the like, so really nothing that is TERRIBLY demanding, but not solitaire either.

I currently have a Phenom 9850, a 512MB 8800 GTS video card, 4 GB DDR2, An ASUS AM2+ motherboard, and a 500 GB mechanical drive. PSU is a quality 650-700 watt unit, but I don't remember specifically what it is. Honestly, for what I use it for, there is nothing that makes this setup feel antiquated, but it needs to WORK, and I really don't want to spend money towards what could have gone into a new system replacing parts with similarly dated hardware. However, I also don't want to build a system assuming that all I will be playing is TF2 3 years from now.

Problem is, I'm really having trouble figuring out both how to replace the parts that seem to be failing (motherboard and GPU), and then the parts I will have to replace once I replace those (CPU and RAM), while keeping the price down to what I might be able to afford, which is the $300-$450 range.

The last intel CPU I owned was a Celeron 300A. I have usually gone with AMD for acceptable performance at a lower price, but from what I read, the AMD bulldozer chips just suck and the AMD A8 chips aren't really a performance upgrade from what I have (and the upcoming A10 chips may not be that much of a jump).

I'm getting sticker shock looking at the Intel chips, and I'm hesitant to buy an I3 chip (which seems to be the only Intel chips in my price range) because I'm not sure how well they actually perform.

Basically, I'm looking to get as stout of a setup as I can within the $300-$450 range. I need a CPU, GPU, Motherboard, and RAM, and an SSD drive would be nice, but that at least can wait until I can get the system running with the above.

Thank you!

The website below gives a general score comparison on CPUs.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

Search this forum and you can find some related threads like:
http://slickdeals.net/f/4763118-C...g-PC-build

I just built a low/mid level gaming pc. Got the bundle at Microcenter with the Phenom X6 1045t (or X4 965) and looks like it's gone now.

From what I have learned regarding the current AMD lineup the FX processors actually do not outperform their predecessors (Phenom II) and one of the reasons for this is that half of the cores are virtual and not actual physical cores. As for the A's they don't seem to outperform either and much of the cpu performance is given up to help the integrated graphics.

What you have now doesn't sound to bad to me as far as the processor is concerned. You might benefit from a bit more RAM, Better graphics card and maybe a new motherboard if necessary.

I'd just troubleshoot the machine and work out the kinks. Save that money for later when you can afford to buy something that is much much better than what you have.

Snagging a Phenom II X4 / X6 or even an A10 if it were good is just not going to be much of a step up from where you already are regarding the processor, at least not worth spending the money on in my opinion.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html << Can see where you are here.

Honestly the setup you have doesn't seem THAT bad. Even though it's a Phenom I, you still got a quad-core, 4GB RAM and decent size HDD. *If* you could get it working again for minimal amount of money, would you prefer to fix your current setup and spend the savings (of buying a whole new setup) toward a new GPU and/or SSD...or would you just prefer to cut your losses and start over?

Pirate - It's not THAT bad, but it's got an old-ass video card, DDR2 ram, an old AMD processor.. it works for TF2, but not much else. If OP wants to do anything more than TF2 on it, he's gonna need new stuff.

I say cut your loses and start over. Building a new system now will last you a few more years, and you'll save yourself the headache of troubleshooting, looking for compatible parts, and not spending money on a dying system.

As for parts, if you get a 3rd gen core-i processor (ones that say i3-3xxx, i5-3xxx, or i7-3xxx), even an i3 will be a giant upgrade over any AMD processor (especially over your old Phenom). Unless you're doing a lot of multi-threaded work, a higher-clocked dual-core i3 might serve you just as well as a lower-clocked quad core processor.

AMD processors right now are great for integrated graphics, but unless you're only using integrated graphics, don't bother.

In terms of graphics, anything you buy now will be a huge upgrade over your 8800, but I would recommend going with a card for about $150.

I think the latest i3's are supposed to be about $130, add $150 for video card. That's $280. Keep your current PSU (650-700 watts is way more than enough). Add $35 for an FP deal on 8 gigs of ram, $40 for a FP deal on a case, keep your hard drive if it's still ok. You're up to $355. $100 mobo (you could probably find a reasonable mobo as an FP deal for a lot less), and that's $455. You can spend more on an SSD if you want want (I would recommend a 128gb, they're not too expensive). Keep your current optical drive if that still works. Even your case might still be useful, but cases are pretty cheap.

If you want to be a little cheaper, spend a little less on the mobo, and you probably wouldn't notice a difference between 4 and 8 gigs of ram (although you'll save maybe $10 there).

Now go has fun!

If you want to be even cheaper, you might be able to find a cheaper case and cheaper ram off craigslist. I wouldn't trust craigslist people for a video card, mobo, or processor unless it's brand new, in-box, and they have a receipt .

SSD May be out of your budget. But IMO you could get something like this.

Microcenter - i5 3570k 189.99
Asrock Extreme 4 Board - 89.99 (Or get Pro4 and save 15 bucks)
8GB Ram - $35
6870/7770/550ti - 130~150

If your powersupply is truely quality then you can keep that and use your old hard drive. If you have the budget spend 60 bucks on a 120gb ssd (ocz) and use your old case. If not then get an antec 302 for 50 bucks. That's a kickass rig right there IMO.