Cheap DIY gaming rig?

I currently have a HP desktop with a intel Q8300 @ 2.5ghz, 8gb of ram and an ati 4650 1gb from XFX.

I asked on my upgrades a while back but it seems LGA 775 has been left behind so I've been thinking about building a new (well my first) rig.

Any tips for parts? It can be either intel or amd when it comes to the cpu, my budget is roughly $400-$500.

Parts that I own:

-Cheap HP case(not sure if I can use it with new mobo)

-Sata CD/DVD burner

-Sealed WD 500gb 3.5 hard drive

-19 dell LCD.

I would need

-Case

-Mobo

-CPU

-Ram

-PSU

-GPU( thinking on holding on to the 4650 if I cant find anything within the budget at the time)

Thanks guys :D

For that budget, your looking at AMD.

I would look to spend 1K at least unless that is far out ur reach. What kind of gaming do u do?

I don't have 1k to spend right now(finishing up my student loans), I mostly play FPS games (COD,Counter strike,TF2,etc).

Can I keep the Q8300 a with a current gen PSU and a new GPU on my current setup? If so which would you recommend? (ordering from newegg)

I don't have 1k to spend right now(finishing up my student loans), I mostly play FPS games (COD,Counter strike,TF2,etc).

Can I keep the Q8300 a with a current gen PSU and a new GPU on my current setup? If so which would you recommend? (ordering from newegg)

iShiny

The Q8300 isn't bad, but it's starting to get to that point that within the next year or two and upgrade may be necessary if you can't OC it.

In your situation, I'd pick up a good quality PSU and a good GPU. Something like a 550-650W PSU from Corsair, Antec, Seasonic or such other quality company. Next, get a HD 6850 or better from AMD or a GTX 560Ti or better from Nvidia. Use them for a while all while you're saving up for a new MB, CPU, RAM and maybe case. Once you save up, you look into a good CPU (who knows what will be good for price/performance by then) and go from there.

@ishiny-Look pal with 8gb of ram and a quad core CPU as good as q8300,don't go for a entire (CPU/Mobo) upgrade unless you heve totally made up your mind.Invest in a good PSU (any 80+ Bronze 650 or HIGHER watt ones from Seasonic/Corsair/Antec/Silverstone) and a good GPU (HD6950/GTX 560Ti).

Put 'em in your current rig and you are good to go for any current game.At best try your hand for overclocking your CPU.

Oh and you can put that GPU/PSU in the next total upgrade easily.