Budget system ~$450 help

The only game I play that requires a semi-decent video card is world of warcraft. I need something that is better than what is currently in my sig. I need processor, ram, cpu, gpu, and maybe heatsink; unless I should keep something from my sig?

Athlon 64 3200+
G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB)
ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket 939 ULi M1695
Geforce 6800XT 128MB 256-bit

There are other cheaper 1gb kits that you could get, but I got this one because it offers 2 3 3 timmings at stock while all others below only offered 2.5 3 3, hopefully the lower timming might let you oc higher as you loosen them up.

The mobo I picked offers both agp and pci-e, so your new card can be either a pci-e or agp, and it is easier to upgrade later on.

The video card i picked I believe can be unlocked to have more pipes with rivatuner, but you should check before you buy because I'm not sure. No card is guaranteed to unlock but they all have a chance that they might.

all of these parts add up to about $480 including shipping, you can look at other online store where you might find them for less, i just liked to newegg as a reference. And the video card has a 20 mail in rebate that lower the total to $460.

You can always get more money by selling your stuff, and if you want to get another card later you can still use the 9600xt for now until you can afford somthing else.

Avg said:

Athlon 64 3200+
G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB)
ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket 939 ULi M1695
Geforce 6800XT 128MB 256-bit

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Nice recommendations.

The only thing I would change is the processor and the mobo.
Processor: 146 Opteron ~$160

Mobo: CHAINTECH VNF4

I have not had experiences with the Asrock and not sure how well, that one overclock but I've build a couple budget 939 system with the the Ultra version of this Chaintech board. It is does awesome OCing for a entry level board. I remember reading a review somewhere that it was stable over 500HTT. If you are not going SATA 2, the VNF4 is a nice entry level board. The Ultra version is around $15 more.

I didn't suggest the opteron because it is so hard to find, and most places were overpricing them, but if they can be had for the same price it is a much better buy, there is a chance that it will overclock higher and it has more cache then the venice chip.

About the mobo, the Asrock is used by many members of the forum, and it is a good board that supports both agp and pci-e natively, not the crap other mobo makers were doing of converting a pci-e slot into a agp like slot which didn't work too well. And if you change to an pci-e only version then he will need a different video card because the one I listed is agp. i listed the Asrock because it is wellknown and because it is versatile and it overclocks well too.

For the board mentioned then I would suggest the X800GTO

Instead of a 6800xt i would just go with 6600gt i have one and it works like a dream on all the games out right now and would more than exceed the requirements for world of warcraft. That would give you some more money for a better processor or motherboard because in most mmorpg's you use your processor the most because of all the individuals around you that it has to account for.

Well, I agree with AVG's ram selection, and there is no better budget board than the ASRock, but if you can just bump it up to $470 I recommend the following:
Opteron 144 This is not as cheap as ecost, but if you check their reseller rating you will not want to buy from them.
Epox 9NPA+ Ultra This is pricier than the ASRock, but is capable of the higher htt you would need with an Opti 144.
EFX 6600GT pci-e

May I ask why you need to update if all you are playing is WoW? I think my PC ( see sig ) is slower than yours and I can play FEAR, WoW, etc just fine. Or is this just an update cause you want to spend some money?

For the board mentioned then I would suggest the X800GTO

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Yes, for PCI-e, the X800GTO is a faily cheap card that overclocks nicely. I would recommend the GTO over the 6600GT or 6800. The GTO2 is a lot nicer but quite a bit more.