I'd like to build My own this time

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Adn4n
VIDEO CARD INFORMATION:

The 9800XT you desire can be gotten cheaply. Simply buy the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB/bit with the r360 core. If you install the drivers for the XT, then your Pro will become an XT. All you need is better cooling like a $15 VGA Silencer.

CPU INFORMATION:

The 2.8C is better than the 3.0C in price to performance ratio. It overclocks easily, but the 2.8E would be a better choice in my humble opinion. It may run slightly hotter, but with a nice Zalman 7000a AlCu or Cu(Consider them) it should be no problem. However, if you're looking for better gaming performance, or better performance overall; you should go the Athlon 64 way. I was personally opting for the 2.8E, when benchmark results and overall reviews on this board steered me the other way. Now I have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Clawhammer, which runs just perfectly. My colleague went the Intel way, and his system is nowhere mine. So I suggest the Athlon 64 3200+. It uses the 754 socket, which is not future proned, but the 939 is not a wise choice with DDR2 and PCI Express in the near future. Get the equivalent to your current Asus board, which is the K8N-e Deluxe; it is great and I vouch for it.

You need to flash the BIOS... not just install drivers. ATI uses a unified driver just like nVidia... one driver for the entire Radeon line. It detects your card based on the information the BIOS provides about the model.

 

[Markfw]

Jeesh, you want a gaming machine, and you ignore the best gaming CPU AND the best bang/buck CPU's out there, AMD Athlon64. Why ??

 

[SimsFreak]

If you are going to OC I would suggest getting a new HSF, and maybe some artic silver 5.