Advice on fixing up computer

[Xinlitik]

update: So I just decided to buy a EVGA GTX 650 Ti for $120. I'm having a lot of trouble finding a socket 775 motherboard for a reasonable price (ie not more than it first retailed for, wtf?). My best luck has been finding G41 chipset boards...are these worth it, or would a x38/p45 serve me better?

Hi all

So I have an old computer running the following:

asus pn5e sli
core 2 duo e8500
gskill 2x2gb DDR2 800 mhz 5-5-5-15
8800 GT 512 mb
550 w PS

It's currently having some issues. Mainly, the graphics are majorly messed up. In one pcie slot, the 8800 gt will boot with artifacts and minimum resolution. In the other, the computer will not post and has a constant recurring beep. When I threw an old 6 series in, the first slot works fine, and the second will not boot with a long short short beep pattern. The 8800 gt had artifacts in another comptuer as well, but it was just a crummy dell w/ a tiny power supply so I can't be 100% sure it's graphics card...but that's the best I had for testing. Also, I tried the baking method on the 8800 gt and that seemed to fix the problem for a limited period of time...but it always came back.

Anyway, I'm beginning to suspect that both the graphics card and the motherboard are having issues, so I'm trying to think of the best way to replace things. Thing is, my computer serves me perfectly with room to spare, so I'm not interested in anything but a budget upgrade.

For motherboards, I was looking at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BN3548/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&smid=A2E03HGVYBRQJB
this guy, which seems quite nice although I would have to buy new RAM b/c it is ddr3.
also these two:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WUWJHK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&smid=A3FVN6JF7VG0OV
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OJRGYA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=A1WBR3GSJXTJKA
Should I forgo these and try to find one that supports DDR2? My poor understanding of processor/ram relations is that my processor won't get a whole lot from ddr3. But newer MBs will support pci express 2.0, which would improve GFX card performance, right?


For graphics cards, I'm a bit lost in all the terminology. Apparently a 550 gtx ti can be way better than a 650 gtx etc etc... so I was hoping for some extra help here. I'd like something affordable (~ 100 or less).
I found:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RJJN9Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
GTX 550 ti. this one seems nice, but I hear people saying 192 bit is not so good? it's 109 after rebate
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032W602A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
9800 GT 1 gb. this one would be one step up from mine it seems, and the price is attractive at ~60
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-1024MB-Graphics-01G-P4-2650-KR/dp/B00966IU4M/ref=pd_cp_e_0
GTX 650 1 gb and another for 100 (seems to have lower performance than 550 though?)
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeFo...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1355606712&sr=1-15&keywords=gtx
GTX 650 2 gb OC, for 109
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...ie=UTF8&qid=1355606425&sr=1-2&keywords=gt+450
GTS 450...another at 100. What are the pros/cons of these seemingly similar cards?

Anyway, what do you guys recommend I do? Buy a new GFX card and test it first? Buy a new MB and test it first? Buy both? If a new motherboard, what RAM would you recommend? And of course, what are some solid yet affordable (albeit not super high performance) options of the above?

Oh, and as for usage, I am a gamer but really only play games that are on the lower end of the performance spectrum. eg league of legends, team fortress 2, etc. I'm pretty happy with the way my computer performs (or used to), so I only want to upgrade affordably (since this is all older gear now, I figure I can get something better for fairly cheap, no?)

Thanks!

 

[ninjacore]

Welcome! What's your total upgrade budget and do you like near a micro center?

 

[Xinlitik]

Welcome! What's your total upgrade budget and do you like near a micro center?

Thanks. Hmm, there seems to be one 45-50 minutes away. Do they have good deals on used stuff or something? My budget is really "cheap as possible" because I just want to get my computer back on its feet a while longer until I can slip into the next cheap generation of parts, haha. I know core 2 is getting old, but it meets my needs still. For the motherboard, I was hoping for something under $100, if that's possible, total budget around 200? I really don't do much intensive computing.

 

[ninjacore]

Microcenter does really good combo deals and they're processor prices are generally ~$50 less than anywhere else. I haven't looked in the last couple weeks, but recently you were able to get a 3570k and a MSI Z77A-G45 for a little over $200 total.

For just about anyone, I think it's a terrible idea to drop close to $100 on a "new" 775 motherboard. For just 50%, you could jump up to socket 1155 and get a huge performance increase. That's definitely what I would recommend, even if it means putting it off another month and saving a few extra bucks.

For the GPU, my brother has a 550 Ti and still plays BF3 at 1080P (albeit, at medium-high settings).

This is a pretty solid deal...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500283

Or you could bump up a lot to an AMD 6950 and get it used for $125-150ish

If you're not gaming, though, the 550Ti is more than enough.

Either way, the mobo/CPU upgrade would be my first choice by far.