Domino

CPU Cooling:
ASUS Silent Knight II LGA775 AM2 AM2+ S939 45.6CFM 2300RPM Heatsink Fan Copper Cooler
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530AC0659
$53.46

Arctic Silver ArctiClean 1 & 2 Thermal Surface Cleaner & Purifier 60ML Kit (2) 30ML Bottles
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10460AC0702
$7.18

Arctic Silver 5 HIGH-DENSITY Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 Gram
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10460AC8077
$8.97

Cooler Master Neon Blue LED 120MM Case Fan 3PIN 22DBA 1220RPM 42.734CFM 3PINS
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC7628
$5.08

Video Card:
His Radeon Hd 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2XDVI-I Video Card
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12030BD8486
$194.25

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L Atx LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound Gblan Motherboard
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD6873
$87.99

Memory:
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD8264
$59.40

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Dual Core Processor LGA775 2.53GHZ 1066FSB 3MB Retail Box
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD6726
$145.60

It comes to a total of: $561.93 with shipping. All the products are from www.directcanada.com and I would like to keep it at there too. All prices are also Canadian.

However, a little problem here is that a power supply would be needed as this 400 Watt shouldn't be able to run it. I have this old 500 Watt PSU laying around from Ultra, from about 5 or so years ago and wondering if that'll still work properly with this system?

Also, new stuff is coming out around Christmas this year that is expected to be very fast and would change a lot of parts around here. Would it be better off just upgrading this old system for less?

Current System:
AMD 3800+X2 (939) @ 2.17 GHz
EVGA SLI Board
Stock Cooler
EVGA 7600GS @ 600/920
400 Watt PSU
200GB Sata Price
1 GB PC3200 Ram

Would it be a better cost to performance ratio just to upgrade to:
CPU Cooling:
Zalman CNPS7700-CU LGA775 S478 S754 S939 S940 Copper 1000-2000RPM 20-32DBA CPU Heatsink Fan
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15210AC7115
$41.43

Cooler Master Neon Blue LED 120MM Case Fan 3PIN 22DBA 1220RPM 42.734CFM 3PINS
http://www.directcanada.com/products...e=COOLERMASTER
$5.08

Arctic Silver ArctiClean 1 & 2 Thermal Surface Cleaner & Purifier 60ML Kit (2) 30ML Bottles
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10460AC0702
$7.18

Arctic Silver 5 HIGH-DENSITY Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 Gram
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10460AC8077
$8.97

Video Card:
Bfg Geforce 9600GT Oc 675MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I Hdtv Out Video Card
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10720BD2013
$109.99* With a 40 Dollar Mail-in-Rebate

Memory:
Corsair Value Select Dual Channel 1024MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory ( 2 x 512MB )
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...365&CatId=1838
$51.99

Anyways, what do you guys think? Upgrade for about 250 or go with this new set up or just wait for a better system down the road when larabee and the new Intel CPU come out and upgrade?

The Jinx

If you don't plan to do any real gaming, then I would wait it out. But seeing your choice in video cards I would assume you are looking to get some higher FPS and a better overall gaming experience. I personally would go for the Intel build, but if you are planning to upgrade it down the road I would just get a E2180 or E2160 and OC it, this lowers the cost of the build by 60 - 80 respectively. But if you plan to just upgrade your current system, might I recommend looking at a 5000+ BE. With the unlocked multiplier Im pretty sure you can stretch out the life of your current system a bit longer.

Intel E2160 - http://www.directcanada.com/products...ufacture=INTEL

Intel E2180 - http://www.directcanada.com/products...ufacture=INTEL

AMD 5000+ Black Edition - http://www.directcanada.com/products...anufacture=AMD

euphoricmix

Here is a Power Supply Calculator that will help you determine if updating to those components will exceed you current PSU capabilities. Not plugging in your components I would believe 400W would not be enough, and the amps on the +12v rail may not be sufficient to power a card like the HD 4850.

Just to let you know that Asus Silent Knight appears to be an socket AM2 cooler. Look at an OCZ Vendetta2, OCZ Vanquisher, Xigmatek S1283, or Thermalright Ultra 120. All of those would be superior to the Zalman 7700, and better the Zalman 9500 even. Don't mess with that ArctiClean crap either, just buy yourself a bottle of 90% isopropyl alcohol at Wal-mart or the like for $1 and it will be just as effective.

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BiG O

For a budget build, I would also suggest the 21XX series as they overclock extremely well in most cases. it will save you quite a bit of money.

If you don't want to overclock, that might be a different story.

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Vox

I sudgest the Xigmatek S1283 over that Cpu HSF. Chepaer and performs VERY well!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

mortimersnerd

For CPU coolers I would suggest the Tuniq Tower, Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, or Xigmatek S1283. All offer similar performance with the TRUE slightly ahead.

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