Inexpensive Mobo & CPU Upgrade?

[dmoritz]

I'm looking for some guidance/suggestions on a fairly inexpensive mobo, cpu, and RAM setup for some online gaming. Any help is most appreciated!

 

[o1die]

Start with a shuttle an35n-ultra (refurbished $38, new about $58) with a retail boxed barton 2500 ($80). For memory, any name brand pc2700 or pc3200 (crucial, micron, samsung, corsair, pny, mushkin) will work fine. You can start out with one 256 meg stick, and add another one later if money is tight. All prices from newegg.com.

 

[confoundicator]

I disagree with the 1 stick of 256MB RAM. I think that 512MB now, upgrade to 768 MB (3 sticks of 256) or 1GB later is more like it for games.

Also (to dmoritz), what kinds of games? You want to play cards on Yahoo or play stuff like pinball and minesweeper? (256 should be enough) First person shooters like UT2K4 or BF1942? (at least 512 imho) MMORPG's like StarWarsGalaxies or Everquest? (which are the biggest memory hogs in my experience - SWG won't run smoothly with 512MB - needed 768MB to smooth it out, and 1GB improved it some more, other users report the same experience)

Just my humble opinions.

He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart. -C.S. Lewis

 

[Spitfire_x86]

My recommendations:

AXP 2400+
ABIT NF7 v2.0
2 x 256 MB Kingston DDR333 CL2.5

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<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86" target="_new">My Website</A>

<A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig</A> & <A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/benchmark.html" target="_new">3DMark score</A>

 

[Crashman]

Compgeeks has a new boards with the SiS 748 chipset for $35. Add a $60 CPU and you're around $100 for the combo. Add a 512MB PC3200 DIMM for $100 and you're up to $200.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[dmoritz]

I currently play EQ and hope to play World of Warcraft when it's released later this year. Is it cheaper to buy more memory at a time...like say 1 Gig?

I appreciate everyones suggestions!

Have a good day all

 

[Zeekfu]

quit playing eq..it rots your brain. 😛
seriously what a time sucking hole that game is. I quit when I got cable and realized I could play some real games now. 😛 (Which by the way I got because at the time I was obsessed with eq) I discovered online games I can actually *play*, not just hit the a key and wait while a cartoon swings his sword. No more everlag. No more websites filled with flames debating about some cartoon "diety" or something equally obsurd, ungodly and immoral. No more obsessing about some new piece of "gear" that doesn't even exist. No more immature flame wars about who is camping what and who is getting what....etc. ect.
I discovered I could play team fortress classic and other fps online with a high speed connection. Then I discovered day of defeat, a ww2 mod. What a great game that is. Furthermore if the phone ring or someone knocks on the door I can just hit escape right then and there and get back to life. It is a free mod for half life and it cost nothing to play. It is easy to pick up but also encourages team effort. There are so many things to do in life. When ever I see "immersive" labled on a game I steer clear. I recycled all my maps, and broke the cd roms after reformating my hard drive. No relapse this time. I wasted alot of time on that stupid game and almost got sent packing from grad school. Good ridance eq..you are evil.

peace 😛

Sorry for the tirade but I feel better now that I got that off my chest. 😛 Good therapy!

 

[blackphoenix77]

Your posts are too long and I'm lazy, so I didn't read them.

<b><font color=red> ATI 9600Pro </font color=red></b>
<b><font color=green> AthlonXP-M 2500+ OC'd 3200+ </font color=green></b>
<b><font color=blue> Abit NF7-S </font color=blue></b>
<b><font color=black> 2x256MB Corsair PC3200 </font color=black></b>

 

[Zeekfu]

lol

 

[dmoritz]

Can a board of this type be upgraded with other cpu's down the road?

Thanks for your help!

Have a good day all