Old Radeon HD 4850 + ?

[RedFiveSW]

I am using this in a computer with an AMD Phenom II X4 945 and some Asus MB, home theather and gaming at 1366&768.

I want to put a HD 7770 in mine, and then build a budget homework/gaming computer for my son using the 4850. I just can't tell what the modern one-step up equivalent is to my old CPU.

Can you recommend a CPU and MB combo that hits around $100 to $150 bucks? Is an i3 overkill?

Thanks!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

i3 is perfect for a budget build.

 

[Termie]

You won't get an i3 and a motherboard for $150, but that would be about equivalent to your X4 945. The cheapest i3 is typically $120 and the cheapest motherboard is $45, and that's a very cut-down motherboard. Are you looking to get something better than your system or just equivalent? One step up from your CPU would be an AMD 4300 or better yet a 6300, which is about $140, plus a ~$70 motherboard.

Also, have you considered getting a new system for yourself and passing your entire system down to your son? That might be easier and will give you much better performance. You could get huge paybacks for a few more dollars spent on the CPU, but that might not be put to good use with an HD4850. Something like a $180 Intel i5 is leaps and bounds ahead of AMD's or Intel's offerings at $130-$140.

 

[Torn Mind]

You won't get an i3 and a motherboard for $150, but that would be about equivalent to your X4 945. The cheapest i3 is typically $120 and the cheapest motherboard is $45, and that's a very cut-down motherboard. Are you looking to get something better than your system or just equivalent? One step up from your CPU would be an AMD 4300 or better yet a 6300, which is about $140, plus a ~$70 motherboard.

The motherboards that go for $45 will probably require a BIOS update before any Ivy Bridge processor can work on it. If the board has an H61 chipset, it's going to need one.

 

[mfenn]

The motherboards that go for $45 will probably require a BIOS update before any Ivy Bridge processor can work on it. If the board has an H61 chipset, it's going to need one.

One way around that would be to get an i3 2100, which will work with an H61 right out of the box.