Motherboard,CPU,Graphics Card

[Volitle]

My motherboard or cpu just recenty fried on me, not sure which as i don't have anyway to test them. It was getting alittle old anyway so I need alittle help in buying a new one. I want to buy a Motherboard/CPU combo and a graphics card. I'm hesitant to buy mobo an cpu seperate as ive never installed a cpu before and don't want to ruin it. But I will try if I have too. I'm looking for something I can play games with, Everquest/Guild Wars, but I don't have a bunch of money. I need to get something around 250-300 dollars. That's all i have to buy Mobo,Cpu and Graphics card. That being said I was hoping someone could help me find something decent to buy in that price range. I will keep posting back with deals that I have found so far.

[jlreich]

Welcome to the PcGuide forums.

$250-$300 is tight for a mobo, CPU, and video card. We need to know what your current system specs are as well.

What type of ram and how much do you currently have? SDRAM, DDR, or RDRAM?

What's the rating on your current PSU? Wattage and the rating on the 12v+ rail.

What type of case do you have? Micro ATX, Mid-tower ATX?

If you have a pre-made system it would help to have the make and model number.

It can be done if you don't need anything else as the recommended system specs are not that great for Guild Wars.

Recommended System Specs:

* Windows XP/2000/ME/98
* Pentium III 1GHz or equivalent
* 512 MB RAM
* ATI Radeon 9000 or GeForce 4 Ti Series with 64MB of video memory
* 500 MB free hard drive space

But you may be better off figuring out what is wrong with your current system depending on what you have. Then saving up more cash for a better core upgrade later. But again this all depends on what your current system is and can it be fixed.

Also what else are you going to do with the system? Do you want to play newer games etc.?

What steps have you gone through to troublshoot the system? What symptoms are you having? If needed you can have a local shop test the mobo and CPU for a small fee.

If you can answer these question we can go from there.