Whats the best components i can purchase for my EPoX EP-8RDA3+ PRO Motherboard?

[The_Bill88]

Hey iv dug out my old PC from a few years ago, it's now my only PC and i need it badly for some 3D animation college classes im taking. So anyway I need to upgrade it as much as possible. So what my question is, is what are the very best/fastest components, such as CPU, Video Card, what type of RAM that are compatible with this motherboard, and any other parts you might think could be upgraded.

Here are the motherboard specs.

Model EPoX EP-8RDA3 PRO 462(A) NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 ATX AMD Motherboard

Brand EPoX

Model EP-8RDA3 PRO

Supported CPU

CPU Socket Type 462(A)

CPU Type Athlon XP / Athlon / Duron

FSB 400/333MHz

Chipsets

North Bridge NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400

South Bridge NVIDIA nForce2 MCP

Memory

Number of Memory Slots 3×184pin

Memory Standard DDR 400

Maximum Memory Supported 3GB

Channel Supported Dual Channel

Expansion Slots

AGP Slots 1 x AGP 4X / 8X

PCI Slots 6

Storage Devices

PATA 2 x ATA100 4 Dev. Max

SATA 1.5 Gb/s 2

Onboard Video

Onboard Video Chipset None

Onboard Audio

Audio Chipset Realtek ALC85x

Audio Channels 8 Channels

Onboard LAN

LAN Chipset Cicada CIS8201

Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports

PS/2 2

COM 1

LPT 1

USB 1.1/2.0 4 x USB 2.0

S/PDIF Out 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial

Audio Ports 6 Ports

Onboard USB

Onboard USB 4 x USB 2.0 connectors support 4 ports

Onboard 1394

Onboard 1394 2 x 1394a connectors support 2 ports

Physical Spec

Form Factor ATX

Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6"

Power Pin 20 Pin

Packaging

Package Contents EP-8RDA3 PRO

User Manual

Driver Disk

Rear I/O Panel Shield

IDE/PATA Cable

FDD Cable

SATA Cable

4-pin to SATA Power Cable

IEEE 1394 Bracket


And i also looked this compatibility chart here at...

http://www.amdboard.com/epox_amd_cpu.htm

...but im not sure exactly what it means as far as what parts will work with it.

 

[masterjaw]

Hate to be rude but you may want to trash that old mobo of yours and get a new one? Anything you put with that board would still be outdated thus not worth the effort/expenses.

 

[The_Bill88]

lol yeah it's ok i figured so any suggestions on what new mobo i should start from?

 

[masterjaw]

Maybe you should state your budget first?

 

[outlw6669]

Yes, please post your budget.

Your main usage is going to be 3d animation?
Are you intending to game on this system also or just animation and general usage?