Help my friend assemble a decent rig

[suszterpatt]

NOTE: Please do not post links to newegg or other online store items, as the parts are sure to have completely different prices over here (central Europe represent!)


I'll try to make this short. My friend wants to upgrade his 666 MHz Pentium to an overclockable gaming machine. He has all the peripherials, he only needs a new mobo, and consequently a CPU, PSU, some RAM and a vid card.


He's on a budget though, so he can't buy everything all at once. The best idea I could come up with for him is to build a config similar to mine (see sig), with cheap RAM and PSU that will be switched to something quality once overclocking is due.


Question 1: Anyone have any better ideas which parts to buy first? Keep in mind that he will be stuck with those for a year or two.

Question 1a: If yes, what?

Question 1b: If no, what exactly should he invest in that will get him the most bang for his buck? I'm pleased with what I have and I think it will be enough for him too, but would a Neo4 Diamond SLI and a 3200+ (along with a PCI express card) worth the extra expense in the longer run?

Question 2: Maybe I just suck at the internet, but I couldn't find out if the ALi 1631 mobo he has now is ATX compatible. If it helps any, it's a socket 370 board.




Thanks for your help.

 

[w00t]

if hes on a tight budget i recommend getting him xpress 200 mobo so he can use onboard video for a little. and ur rig isnt pci-e he should go pci-e its newer no point of buying old technology he should get corsair value ram 1gig 2 512mb, ocz modstream, amd64 3200+ venice core.

 

[KoolDrew]

He could buy a A64 3200+ Venice, Chaintech VNF4 Ultra, Corsair Value Select, 6600GT and an XClio 450w.

 

[suszterpatt]

Originally posted by: w00t
if hes on a tight budget i recommend getting him xpress 200 mobo so he can use onboard video for a little. and ur rig isnt pci-e he should go pci-e its newer no point of buying old technology he should get corsair value ram 1gig 2 512mb, ocz modstream, amd64 3200+ venice core.

I know mine isn't PCI-E, but the Neo4 Diamond is. My question was if the mobo was so much better than mine that it would warrant the extra cost on the mobo, and a PCI-E vid card that all seem to cost a bit more than their AGP counterparts.


Good thought with the onboard vid though, thanks. I didn't even know there were mobos like that, I'll try to find some of these. Otherwise, what would be the cheapest motherboard for OC'ing? The Neo2 Plat is good and fairly cheap, I know that. Which older Asus or Abit mobos OC well?