building a new pc...advice please

[zerothehero]

hi there. i just registered to ask you fine tech savvy folks advice about building a new PC. here is some info to help you help me.

i want to go the athlon route, but not the pricey 64 bit. im a gamer so a nice medium range ati graphics card is what im after. i just bought new RAM. will these fit the new mobo im thinking off. heres their specs...133mhz, sdram. ive 1gb in there now and i want to keep as much of mu current pc as possible (hard drives, dvd etc)so i think all i need is a mobo, processor and a graphics card really. what would be a good combo. what is the fastest cpu made by amd athlon withought going 64 bit? thanks in advance guys. ill give any more info if needed

 

[snotling]

tell us more about what you currently have we'll see what can be salvaged

BIOSTAR M7NCG Athlon XP 2400+
ATI RADEON 9600SE
Adaptec 29160 - Ultra160 SCSI
2 x Quantum Atlas 10K3 18 WLS
WDC WD1200JB-00CRA1
Toshiba 8x4x12x DVD±RW
AOpen Micro-ATX Desktop 200W

 

[jammydodger]

No modern desktop motherboards support SDRAM, they all require RD RAM so your RAM cannot be used.
You have the choice of the AMD athlon XP line of processors (these are becoming phased out now )I beleive the 3200+ is the fastest one. Or you could get a sempron which is basically a Athlon64 with half the L2 cache and no 64bit, the lack of cache does have a marked impact on games performance.

If I were you I would see if i could get enough cash together for an Athlon64 2800+ or 3000+ they really arnt that expensive and will perform better than the seprons and will last you longer than the XP's.

Garphics card wise I would recommend the ATI 9800pro.

 

[zerothehero]

ok heres my specs
amd athlon xp2100+
nvidea nforce 220 ddr
2x 512 pc2100 ddr sdram
pionneer dvd/rw dvr 104
compaq cdrom drd 8484b
2 ata hard drives (werstern digital)
creative soundblaster platinum ex
ati radeon 9000 family


well thats about it. obviously some of these are going to be replaced but i listed them anyway. thanks for the responses guys

 

[jammydodger]

Ok your RAM is DDR RAM so will work in future motherboards. But I would still recommend upgrading to PC3200 because PC2100 is way too slow and will cripple a newer CPU's performance.
Keep the DVD drive, the hard drives (as long as they arnt 5400RPM), sound card and CD drive and upgrade everthing else.

I recommend:
Socket 939 motherboard (I dont know enough about these boards to recommend one)
Althon XP 3000+ socket 939
either 2x256 or 2x512MB sticks of crucial ballistix
Radeon 9800Pro/geforce 6800

 

[RichPLS]

Personally, on that machines specs I would try to hold out till I could at least double/maybe more than the performance of old rig. A 2100 ain't to shabby yet, and you already have a gig of ram.
What programs are running to slow?
Determine that and look to improve there relative to your funds available, or your willing to add to that rig waiting for the big upgrade.

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[zerothehero]

hehe the only program that is running slow is everquest 2. i dunno im just getting the itch. maybe for now a new graphics card would do? thanks again for all the re[plies guys!!!

 

[snotling]

unless you want to go 64-bit, this rig is fine.

maybe it could use a 9600pro or 9600XT to help with your gaming.

BIOSTAR M7NCG Athlon XP 2400+
ATI RADEON 9600SE
Adaptec 29160 - Ultra160 SCSI
2 x Quantum Atlas 10K3 18 WLS
WDC WD1200JB-00CRA1
Toshiba 8x4x12x DVD±RW
AOpen Micro-ATX Desktop 200W