This year for my birthday, I'm going to try for a tandem gift from my parents and grandparents of massive PC upgrades, with possible support of my own money.

The only downside is, I'm upgrading from a P4.

Obviously I'm going to want to buy a dual core AMD, motherboard, and ram; however, I'm pretty stupid when it comes to making these decisions, and I'm asking someone more wise than I to select the parts (preferably from Newegg).

I'm currently residing with this, but that isn't as bad as it seems, I have purchased a Radeon x1950 Pro along with a new PSU (550 watt if I recall correctly).

I'm assuming a max of $200 from my parents, a definite $100 dollars from my grandparents, and $300 dollars of my own. I'd prefer to keep the end price around 400$, or less if possible (I don't want to go crazy, but I'd like to have a chance of playing Crysis).

disconnect it from the internet

I'd try for a Core 2 E6750, and an 8800GS if you can't swing a GT.

This just might work

I'd go with what Obi said for once. My rig cost me around $550, but that's cause I got a massive deal on my Phenom 9500 and mobo (which works nice.)

Just make sure that the RAM and mobo are compatible. I'm currently using an Elite Group Mobo (never heard of them before I bought this) and I can swear by my Mobo now. Works great.

I wouldn't upgrade your video card JUST yet--that's the best of its generation.

Grab yourself an E6750, a decent motherboard, and try to push it to 4 gigs of RAM if possible, then that should put you close to 400 bucks.

But only if he also gives up being a furry.

I can vouche for that X1950 pro.
I have one and it can run Crysis on high. Things a really nice card.

Yes. At 10 fps at 800x600. If you at all used to decent* frame rates, you should resign yourself to using at most med-high settings with an 8800GT or less.

*not decent.

I don't plan on purchasing a new graphics card anytime soon; however, is there any recommended brands for mobos? I've had recommendations for Gygabyte, Asus, and MSI; is it true that they are better quality? Also, is getting a Crossfire/SLI enabled mobo more expensive? Are Crossfire/SLI the same thing?

From what's been stated so far, this processor. - $179.99, leaving me with 230$.

I just ran into a problem here... the case I'm using only has 4 applicable slots, and pardon my ignorance but I believe that's referred to as a "micro" case, meaning I'll have to purchase a micro mobo, correct?

[Edit]

In the event I am required to buy a micro mobo, would this be recommended? If so, the other 130$ (excluding shipping fees, etc) could be used for this RAM, putting me at a grand total of around 410$, and also an estimated 40$ for shipping.

[Edit 2]

I decided this RAM is a better deal, and if I'm told all is fine and dandy, the grand total will be $422.54, after taxes/shipping. Pretty close to my price range, and I'd be happy.

I can get an even 20 with all high, 30-40 on all medium.
at some resolution thats 1260 by something.

It ran on my 7900GT medium settings 30-ish fps (25-40). An X1950GT is better than that.

Stop exaggerating.

Nothing's worth playing if it's under 60.

Get a Core 2.

Is this worth the extra 20$? I know it's OEM (which requires more work/purchases I believe), and if it is worth the cash, what else would I need?

that's a great processor, but oem means it won't come with a fan.

Stick with Intel chips for now, AMD needs to do some redesigning of their archi.

As for video cards, I haven't been keeping up too much. I'm running on the E6750 Core 2 duo w/ 8800GT and it runs almost anything I can throw at it at max. (The card was placed in a weaker machine and ran crysis at a decent resolution with all effects (DX9) maxed.) I think the 9800s are coming soon but expect a price the size of the card....

You can't get that consistently on all high. I could get that too with my X1800XT in certain places. (Same thing practically.) But realistically you can't play through whole game on all high @ 1280x1024 even on an 8800GT.

(Keep in mind that CPU is pretty important in this game.)

I just noticed the E8400 is out of stock, so it looks like I'm staying with the E6750.

Just as a side question, how much of an improvement would the E8400 be over the E6750?

Yes it can do that, you think that i mean Very high (IE DX10) i mean just normal DX9 high, Yes the card can do that, it can run Very High (With haxed CFGs) at around.. 4-7 FPS.

An X1950 can play through it on high 1280x1024. No AA, No AF, and lag in some places (the ice part in the beginning) but probably could chug through.

I wouldn't recommend going over medium 1280x1024 2xaa 4xaf though. That would probably be pretty sexy and still run well.

Ehhh would someone please answer my questions?

I don't mind discussing Crysis but I'd like my thread about upgrading my computer to be about upgrading my computer..

That's up to you to decide. NoESC said it's a great chip, better than the E6750 by far, but it doesn't come with a fan. Do you want to go buy a fan also?

CHOOSE WISELY

not if he is only going to be spending $400.. intel cpu and mobo alone will be $400

I'm no fps snob, but I don't consider this kind of performance to be playable, and those are much faster cards than an X1950. Each, to his own, I guess.

(Benchmarks were run on a mix of med-high at 1280x1024.)

med-high? I said medium. Not medium-high. I run it medium-low on my 7900GT, 1gb of RAM, and 3800+ X2 and it runs okay. Not great, but it runs well enough to play. 1680x1050 too.

Gonna overclock?

Oh, sorry I thought you meant high, like TE. Medium-low will do fine, I've done it too.

No, I don't plan to overclock (at least for now).

RAM

Mobo

Processor

Total: $393.98 before taxes, $422.54 after, free shipping. If no one objects to anything on this list (yes, I need a micro mobo), then I'll go ahead and order.

If I were you I would at least get a SLI (or xfire) mobo

I wouldn't. Complete waste of cash. By the time buying another card for SLI becomes a need, you'd be better off just replacing your current card. You'd get better performance and save money in the long run.

ok.. then at least pci-e 2.0

Why? That doesn't offer any benefit at all.

Well, I ordered what I posted in the last list. Let's hope it turns out for the best.

um sure it does if you have a pci-e 2.0 card

Proof?

And you would be wrong.

pci-e 2.0 cards work with pci-e 16x boards.

i know, i have one.