computer upgrade

[Guest]

Ok, tax return time is here and it is time to upgrade the old PII300. I have decided to go with AMD, unless someone can totally convince me otherwise.
Doing a bit of reaseach, I have decided to go with an Asus A7V motherboard with 1Ghz Thunderbird Athlon. Is this a good route to go? I all ready have a 128Mb PC133 SDRAM, but plan on getting another 128. Would it be better to get a different board that supports the newer DDR_SDRAM? Or is the performance increase enough to offset the price difference? If the DDR_SDRAM is the way to go, what board/processor would you all choose?
On top of all that, I also need a new video card. What is the best bang for your buck in the less than $250 range?
Thanks a bunch,
Zymrgy

 

[Guest]

Regarding MB, I'd consider a MB with the VIA KT133A chipset, instead of K133. This will give you 133mhz FSB support. As for DDR, there's not much performance advantage. Asus has one based on the AMD 760 which is probably the best DDR board. It really depends on how price conscious you are. From a price/performance standpoint, I wouldn't get it. As for a video card, the GF2 GTS 32meg DDR ($160) is the best one that meets your criteria. If you want more performance consider the GF2 Pro but I don't think it's worth the extra cash. Better used to save up for a new card in the future.