MAJOR UPGRADE ON MY SYSTEM! What To Get? Your advice wanted!

[timers]

Hello. Currently I have a 700 mhz slot athlon, with 384 mb of pc100 sdram. I have 3 harddrives, phsically, and 2 cd-rom, 1 being a cd-rw. So that right there is 5 IDE devices, am I correct? I purchased a Promise card to accompany the 5th ide device and all is well on my newly installed Windows XP. HOWEVER!

I do notice that the price for CPU hardware is going DOWN and is LOW. I would like to upgrade.

I want a:

Athlon XP 1900 which is 1.6 mhz, correct?
What MOBO is the best for this card. I will probably not do any overclocking of it, as I do not know how, and do not see a need, as i am going from a 700, i think its ok in speed, to now double that and more, 1600! It will fly.
I will use this computer for occasional games, with OpenGl needed being a must. I want EXCELLENT GRAPHICS, as well as speed. I also use this cpu a lot for mirc, aim, internet, office progs, etc, etc. Im a multitasker, and normally have around 5-10 windows open at a time.
What MOBO will fit this CPU well and offer me excellent capabilities. Ive heard good about the Eox 8k7a I believe? What is so good about it? I do not know.

Also, I will probably end up getting 2 sticks of 256 ram from Crucial
New case, - dont know what to do. Probably something with like 8 bays or so. and that will fit my mobo and pc well
24x cd-rw

NEW VIDEO CARD. Right now I have a Voodoo 5 5500. Its ok, but I know there is so much better stuff out there. Plus I want something that works well with WIndows XP and will not fade in years to come. Thanks.

 

[minendo]

im running an XP 1800 with 512 MB Crucial PC2100 Cas 2.5 on a gigabyte ga-7dx with thermalright sk6 and a delta fan for cooling. its all in an antec full tower case.

I personally like the Antec cases. They provide a lot of room. I like the gigabyte ga-7dx, but I wish it had onboard raid. The thermalright sk6 and delta fan work great on cooling the CPU.

As for a CDRW: I currently have a Yamaha 16x SCSI burner. I love it, but I wish I had a 24x.

btw: I am not OCing and the XP1800+ runs at 1533MHz.

 

[AGodspeed]

Athlon XP 1900 which is 1.6 mhz, correct?

Yes.

I just recieved the Epox 8KHA+ and will be installing it very shortly. However, I suggest you go with the Shuttle board (AK31A), since you're not going to be doing a lot of overclocking you don't need to spend the extra money for the Epox board. The AK31A is about $25 cheaper than the Epox board (both the Shuttle and Epox use the KT266A chipset).

So your setup will look something like this:

1. AMD Athlon XP 1900+
2. Shuttle AK31A Motherboard (KT266A).
3. Your own sound card, nic, hard drives, cd-rom, and cd-rw.

As for a suggestion on what video card to get, I'd pick up a Leadtek GeForce 3 Ti200 from newegg for $178 shipped. It is supposed to have the best 2D out of all the GeF3 cards (along with Gainward) and has 4ns RAM. In other words, you're getting a hell of a great deal.

EDIT: I'd get the 1800+ if I were you, it's cheaper by about $50, and therefore simply not worth the extra $50 for just 67MHz that the 1900+ will provide. Also, I'd get WinXP Home Edition. You won't be needing Professional from what I can see.

 

[timers]

<< im running an XP 1800 with 512 MB Crucial PC2100 Cas 2.5 on a gigabyte ga-7dx with thermalright sk6 and a delta fan for cooling. its all in an antec full tower case.

I personally like the Antec cases. They provide a lot of room. I like the gigabyte ga-7dx, but I wish it had onboard raid. The thermalright sk6 and delta fan work great on cooling the CPU.

As for a CDRW: I currently have a Yamaha 16x SCSI burner. I love it, but I wish I had a 24x.

btw: I am not OCing and the XP1800+ runs at 1533MHz. >>



So what kind of MOBO and Video Card are you running? WHAT OS ARE U USING ALSO?

 

[timers]

<< Athlon XP 1900 which is 1.6 mhz, correct?

Yes.

I just recieved the Epox 8KHA+ and will be installing it very shortly. However, I suggest you go with the Shuttle board (AK31A), since you're not going to be doing a lot of overclocking you don't need to spend the extra money for the Epox board. The AK31A is about $25 cheaper than the Epox board (both the Shuttle and Epox use the KT266A).

So you're setup will look something like this:

1. AMD Athlon XP 1900+
2. Shuttle AK31A Motherboard (KT266A).
3. Your own sound card, nic, hard drives, cd-rom, and cd-rw.

As for a suggestion on what video card to get...I'd pick up a Leadtek GeForce 3 Ti200 from newegg for $178. It is supposed to have the best 2D out of all the GeF3 cards (along with Gainward) and has 4ns RAM. In other words you're getting a hell of a great deal. >>



Ok well what CPU do u have? So this EPOX board is only for OC'ing? how hard is that to do on the new CPU's? Id like to try that. Just like a little step up, like 1.6 to like 1.65 or so. Hows that Shuttle board? Much different? Are there any other benefits than Oc'ing with the other board or is that it?

Whats an NIC? And is the Santa Cruz the best SC out?

ALSO I WANT EXCELLENT GAME GRAPHICS. Dont I want great 3d, not 2d graphics? Whats a good GeForce card?