Gaming machine - Looking for options

[GuyGrim]

I am sure that all of you have heard the statement, " I want to build a really great machine within my price range". Well, that is exactly what I want to do with the following pieces/parts:

MoBo Asus A7v266 $160.00
CPU AMD Athlon T-Bird 1.4 266mhz 160.00
Memory Micron PC2100 DDR 256mb (2 for a total of 512)$76.00
V.C. Asus GeForce 2Pro 64 MB $140.00
S.B. Sound Blaster Live $70.00
ATX w/ 330 watt Power supply $100.00

I know I did not include any of the drives, but the above parts are the ones I am most interested in knowing about.

Is this Asus Board a good Gaming Board?
I cannot afford a GeForce 3 Video Card. Is the GeForce 2 the next best Board?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[mithrandir2001]

ASUS almost always makes a fine motherboard. I don't have the model number handy, but everybody lately seems to like the KT266-based motherboard by Epox, though.

No need to shed tears if you can't afford the GF3...the GF2 Pro (at 64MB) is an excellent price/performance offering.

 

[GuyGrim]

Thanks Mirth:

Which Epox KT266 board would you suggest is comparable to the Asus Board. Any particular model?

 

[mithrandir2001]

Epox's KT266 board is the 8KHA.

 

[GuyGrim]

Mirth:

HEHE.. found it. Just got off Epox's Website. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Risteon]

I agree on the motherboard, ASUS makes fine quality boards and are widely recommended, and the model you mentioned was recommended in the high-end gaming system guide on www.sharkyextreme.com.

The GeForce3 is still up there in price. About the cheapest and best quality one currently is the Gainward Cardexpert GF3. I think it's price is around $340 or something, but still expensive. There are a lot of GF2 cards out there, but the one I've been using for a while is a Hercules 3D Prophet2 MX (retailed for about $75-80). I think for the same price now, there is a better MX version, but I can't remember exactly. Anyway, my card has run great for me, however if you plan on overclocking or running at high resolutions, you might wanna do more research on card comparisons/reviews/benchmarks.