I had to deal with Biostar for what I thought was a faulty SATA controller (computer kept freezing, logs said harddrive problem). I did multiple RMA's of the motherboard. They were easy to work with every time.

As part of that, I originally thought it was the seagate harddrive. They were fairly easy to deal with too.

In the end, it turned out to be the SATA cable that came with the motherboard... when I changed that out, I didn't have any more problems.

I also had to deal with adobe because CS4 wouldn't install. I hope I never have to deal with them again. Through chat, they had me try a bunch of different things, and didn't solve the problem. They bumped me up to the next level, which had me jump through the same hoops. That person bumped me to the next level, where someone would take control of my computer. That person did the same things I had done the first two times, and then bumped me up to the next level. They never tried anything new, even though the next person was "the next level above" the previous one. Completely useless.

If that "something" is a spouse, it is generally good to listen. :) For me, I try to wait until the 'need' kicks in, and not the 'want.' I always want new things, but until the ones I have aren't doing what I think they should, I don't need a new one. So that's my advice. If you don't need it, wait.

For roughly the same price, you can get an i3, which does amazingly in games right now. And if you get the right motherboard, you can upgrade to ivy bridge in a year if the i3 isn't enough any more. The bulldozer path is pretty much a dead end as far as upgrades go, because the next processors will use a different socket. I think at this point, Intel is the way to go.

See if you can get Pikmin NPC used for cheap. I enjoyed it, but I like RTS games. If you can get it for $10-15 used, and don't like it, just turn around and sell it.

Currently reading the Ranger's Apprentice Series. Decent light reading.

About to start the second book in the Mistborn trilogy, after that I'm probably going to check out some more of Brandon Sanderson's books. Also deciding on a new graphic novel/manga series to read, not sure what yet.

chessmaster1989

Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author. I would highly recommend The Way of Kings.It is the first of a planned 10 books though, so be warned.

Part of the problem I have as a Zelda fan is that I've grown up playing these games. The puzzles are becoming stagnant, and I know how I have to think to make it through a Zelda game. Skyward Sword was more difficult for me combat wise than other Zelda games, but puzzle wise, I breezed through it.

The only time I really got stuck in Twilight Princess was in the Temple of Time on the big scale. And that was because I didn't realize you could throw the weights onto the other scale when it was high and you were low. I tried 2-3 times, thought it was impossible and didn't try again. I found a way to work around it though. Took some time. (there is a challenge for all of you... play that room again, but no throwing weights from the low scale to the high scale). The combat was easy in twilight, except in the 50 level pit, and only towards the end did it get difficult.

As for the game that is about right difficulty wise, I would say Majora's Mask. I think it is the hardest of the 3D games.

After looking at things, I decided to wait. I'll upgrade this summer after I've saved a little more. That and my summer travels will bring me by a micro center. Thanks for all of the help though. I think I'd be happier if I waited and got something better though.

Is it really important to get RAM that is on the compatibility list for a specific motherboard?

Thanks for the reply. I didn't realize that the phenoms were still around. I thought AMD was going to stop selling them. The 965 isn't really different performance wise than the 2100, and the price is pretty similar. For my use (light gaming, some photoshop, etc...), would one be preferable over the other?

As far as GPU goes, I would be fine with either a GTX 460, or HD 6850 or 6870. I guess it depends on what I have left after CPU/mobo and ram.

The hard part of me is picking a motherboard. I'm not sure what the good brands are. I have a biostar right now, had it for 3 years, and it's been fine. I just want something else that will last 3 more years.

I've been wanting to upgrade my PC for a while now, but I'm unsure of what would be best in my budget. I want a new CPU/mobo, GPU and ram in the budget of $400.

Current build: I have an athlon x2 5000+, HD 4670, 4 GB DDR2, 500 gig HD, antec 650W PSU (overkill for my setup, but it rated really well. I bought it for $40 when my last one started shorting out), an antec 300 case, and a SATA DVD burner. I can keep using the HD, PSU, case, and burner.

I use it for general stuff, like internet, word processing, some photoshop/illustrator things, and a few games here and there. I got a 1080p IPS monitor for the art things when my CRT died, and don't really like turning down the resolution on games. I play supreme commander 2, and forged alliance (which isn't as multi-threaded as the original...), as well as some old games on occasion (descent 2 mostly. Still awesome and there are still people who play it online. Come, join us). The old games play just fine, but the RTS's really bog down at times.

I would prefer intel, because I was disappointed with bulldozer, but I am open to all suggestions. I was leaning toward the i3 2100, or the i5 2400. For my use, I don't think the 2500k would be worth the price premium for it and a decent overclocking mobo.

Thanks for your help.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I can't just upgrade the processor on my mobo. It doesn't support the newer AMD CPUs.