I would like to build a good gaming rig

[Sharpedge]

Presently I have a P3 1ghz with 256 sdram on a P3V4X motherboard with a GeForce 2 video card 32mb, running windows xp. My budget for the Motherboard,CPU and confident I will need new ram is $700.00. Or is what I have comperable to what I would be upgrading too that a faster video card would suffice? I am confused with Intel's latest offerings, that they might be a better solution as I was on the virge of going with the KT333,AMDXP2100 and DDR. Any sites that offer a comparison to help narrow it down would be appreciative.

Thank You in advance for your assistance as always

 

[jaybee]

First question: do you want to overclock or not? If you don't -- or aren't comfortable with it -- I think AMD is probably a better deal. Otherwise, Intel is definitely worth a look. If I had your system & $700 to upgrade, here is what I would get:

P4 1.6A -- $135
Asus P4T-E or Abit TH7II -- $115/$130
Samsung PC800 RDRAM 2x256meg -- $175
Antec TruePower 430 -- $70 (you will probably need a new power supply)
Abit Geforce4 4400 -- $220 (a Geforce2 will not do this system justice)

This is a few dollars more than your budget, and some of these prices don't include shipping, but it's worth the extra $ not to skimp. If you have to stay close to $700, go for a Geforce4 4200, but I recommend the 128MB version.

If you're not into overclocking, shoot for an AMD system.

jaybee

 

[Sharpedge]

jaybee

Thank you for the reply. I was not planning on overclocking a little nervous about doing that, but is always an option. I forgot about the power supply would probably go for a new case and was thinking on one with the 430 true power which ever direction I take, will just have to go the extra above budget for that.

I like your suggestion,but with the newer 850E boards being out would they be better than the ones you suggest?

Again thank you for the reply, the cloud of confusion is diminishing.

 

[jaybee]

If you don't want to overclock, P4 is still an option but you might want to spend another $100+ for a faster processor. You can get a P4 2.26 for $255. Then again, for around $140 you can have an AMD XP2000+ that will be about as fast. So, the budget route in your case is probably AMD.

Regarding motherboards, I would recommend Abit or Asus. The actual chipset (850, 850e, KT333, whatever) depends on the cpu. I would do two things if I were you: check out system benchmarks to gauge cpu/motherboard/memory performance, and look at motherboard reviews to choose the specific mobo. Anandtech and Tomshardware have good comparison articles. I use tech-report.com to find links to hardware reviews.

I wish I could be more help, but I think you need to do a little research on your own. One more thing: I use pricewatch.com to find the best prices and resellerratings.com to find a good vendor.

jaybee

 

[Sharpedge]

Thank you for the recomendations and the links.

I favor ASUS boards, there layout is always to my liking eventhough they may be higher.

I will do some more research.

Thank You again.

 

[Tom]

Here is an article that compares the latest top of the line cpus head to head. Either system would be great as would systems a step or two down the cpu ladder.

Article at Tomshardware.com