Budget upgrade

[imported_egghead]

Good day to you all. I'm looking to upgrade my abacus (Athlon 900Mhz) to something a little more current so I can play games. I've a $500US budget plus a hedge (more in a bit). I'm looking for the core components, CPU, mobo, RAM and video card.

So far I've been looking at the $500 upgrade found on hardocp.com -- http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjU5

That upgrade is:

CPU: Athlon64 2800+
Mobo: ABIT KV8Pro
RAM: Kingston Value Series, 512 Mb
Video: ATI Radeon 9600XT

All in all that looks like a decent deal, something around $480 on newegg (with the recent price drop on the Athlon64.) Can it be beat?

I'd like to stay at or below $500 but my hedge is a Best Buy card with no balance and Black Friday just over the horizon. I don't want to go too crazy on the card but it's always an option just in case RAM and/or video cards are heavily discounted come B.F..

This system doesn't have to be 'future proof' but enough to get by--currently I get by by playing old games at 800x600 max. and framerates in the 20's (at best. Ugh.) Any upgrade will be helpful but 'best bang for the buck' is the mantra I'd like to follow while staying close to my budget.

 

[Machine350]

do you plan to overclock? If not, I'd say you're good to go.

 

[imported_NoGodForMe]

Looks good to me. When I saw the thread title, the H article poped into my head.

I'd try getting the video card on E-bay. Some who upgraded to the 6800 stuff may be selling, and you might be able to get a better card for the same money.

 

[imported_egghead]

I doubt that I'll overclock because I've never done it and don't want to ruin anything.

[edit] I won't buy off of Ebay.