Which CPU/Board/Video? : $300 budget

[jtac84]

Hi all,
I'd like to get some advice on how you would spend $300 on a CPU, Board, and Video Card in order to get the best possible gaming performance. I have an Antec Sonata Case with a 500W EarthWatts PSU, 4 Gigs or Ram. I have $300 to spend on CPU,Board,Video and I want to get the best gaming performance possible. Ideally, I want to play Call of Duty 4 on high settings, as well as the ability to play any other game on the market (not necessarily at top settings, but decently).

What would you recommend I purchase?
Thanks

 

[heyheybooboo]

Phenom II 720 / Biostar 790gx combo: $212

There are a number of Radeon HD 4830 512Mb discreet cards at The Egg with free shipping for $75 after rebate.

 

[Denithor]

Not a bad idea there but give us some more info.

What size LCD do you use for gaming, at what resolution?

Game performance, especially at higher resolutions, is more dependent on GPU power than CPU strength.

e5200 (2.5GHz, 2MB cache) $73
ASRock G41M-LE $62
Asus 4870 512MB $195 - $30MIR

Total: $330 - $30 = $300

OC that e5200 to 3GHz or so and you'll be flying through most games like you won't believe.

And the EA500 that comes with the SonataIII is more than adequate for this setup.

 

[jtac84]

*I have a 23 inch LCD with a max resolution of 19 by 12. I would like to run games at least at 16 by 10 resolution, or the 19 by 12 perhaps. What do you guys think are the pros and cons of me choosing each of the following CPUs for this setup:

I am considering these CPUs:

Pent. DC e5200
Core 2 Duo e8400
AMD 5400 Black Edition or the newer 7750 DC black (with a L3 cache)
AMD Phenom 2 Tri core

Any feedback is much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[zerogear]

Get a 4870 and then pair it up with e5200 like Denithor suggested. 4830 won't have enough power, nor would the 790GX

 

[magreen]

Denithor is right, for best gaming performance you def. want to invest more in your graphics card than in your cpu, or your mobo for that matter.

Also, I remember seeing an even cheaper 4870 in the hot deals forum. Then you could bump up the cpu to the $100 zone and get something a tad stronger than a pent dc.

 

[imported_Redmist]

Originally posted by: jtac84
*I have a 23 inch LCD with a max resolution of 19 by 12. I would like to run games at least at 16 by 10 resolution, or the 19 by 12 perhaps. What do you guys think are the pros and cons of me choosing each of the following CPUs for this setup:

I am considering these CPUs:

Pent. DC e5200
Core 2 Duo e8400
AMD 5400 Black Edition or the newer 7750 DC black (with a L3 cache)
AMD Phenom 2 Tri core

Any feedback is much appreciated.
Thanks

I would choose either the PII X3 710 or 720 OR the e8400

both seem to be about the same in price and performance but with the PII you get an extra core. And im not sure the price difference on the motherboards they both use but I would think you could probably find a cheaper AM2+ board rather than the intel one

 

[deputc26]

Denithor's build is perfect, I would say best possible, though I would OC the 5200 to at least 3.5ghz, it can do 4ghz easy so 3.5s not even pushing it. Plus one to Denithor for being exactly right.

 

[theAnimal]

Originally posted by: deputc26
I would OC the 5200 to at least 3.5ghz, it can do 4ghz easy

A lot of E5200 will not do 4GHz with normal safe voltage.