Motherboard BIOS Done, replacement + possible upgrades

[M16Grenadier]

I was attempting to flash the BIOS on my motherboard, and lets just say I no longer have a working motherboard, it will post a BIOS error message. I do not believe I can fix it (however if anyone knows please tell me!).

I really do not like having to upgrade now, since my PC really isn't that old:

2500+ AXP Barton (overclocked as high as 2220 MHZ (185x12 @ 1.775 Volts)
A7N8X Motherboard REVISION 1.06 (done)
2x512 A-DATA PC3200
9800 Pro 128 MB
80 GB HD (plenty of space between both)
40 GB HD
P.O.S. Case (missing panels and has crappy airflow)

However, I realize that maybe I could benefit of upgrading now, opposed to later (In 6-18 months is when I planned to overhaul my system). I am hardpressed to figure out what I need to get, and if getting such things would be worth the money.

I'm pretty set on not paying more than 300-350 USD (unless it was REALLY worth it, then I'd pay a little bit more), and any upgrade I would do I would prefer to get a new case, along with the other upgrades. I also probably would prefer to deal with newegg.com, since I have a gift certificate I have not used yet there. Again, any suggestions are appreciated.

I'm thinking of a few options (if I cannot fix this issue):


1. Just Get a new board (would be probably only 50 bucks)
2. New Board + Case
3. New CPU + AGP-board + case
4. New CPU + PCI-EXPRESS board + video card + case

I think 1 GB of Ram is sufficient, but I would like the option to upgrade in the future, so I'm not buying anything with less than 3 DDR slots.

Please help.

 

[M16Grenadier]

Any suggestions??

 

[pkrush]

I'd go for option 3. Get an Athlon 64 3000+, Asrock 939dual-SATA2 motherboard (both PCI-E and AGP slots) and whatever case you want )for around 50 bucks either the Cooler Master Centurion 5 or one of the Chieftec Dragon/ Chenming 601 cases should work fine). Also, what power supply do you have? You might need a beefier one to run this setup.

 

[M16Grenadier]

I have a COOLER MASTER 380WATT PSU with 16 Amps on one 12V Rail... Probably not powerful enough.

 

[Spinne]

You've tried everything to re-flash the BIOS? Make sure there isn't something you haven't tried. You may wanna try going to the Computer Helpdesk at a local University and sweet talking the guys there to look at it or atleast give an opinion. (This works best when there are no students around!)