Motherboard/Thoroughbred questions

[gunnm]

I'm new to posting here but have been lurking for a couple weeks

Basically, I'm looking for a new motherboard/cpu/ram/soundcard setup. CPU wise, I'm considering the Athlon XP 1800 or P4 1.6A. Would it be better to go with the AMD or get the Intel chip and overclock it to around 2.2GHz? Also, I hear the new thoroughbreds are right around the corner, is this true (within a couple of weeks)? Will the thoroughbred be 133 or 166 FSB? Will there be several speeds released initially or only a bleeding edge version (which I can't afford)?

Motherboard-wise, I'm looking for something stable with integrated s/pdif optical sound out OR something cheap w/o any extras (and I'll just add a sound card). Looking for about 256MB of RAM too (Does the brand really matter? Is CAS 2 really noticeably better than 2.5?).

Also, I have an old Elsa TNT2 card (not the ultra). Will it fit in a new motherboards AGP slot? (I will upgrade the card later, but can't afford to do it right now)

My budget is about $350 and I would like to play the newest MMORPGs and do some fast MPEG-2 encoding, just wondering what the best solution would be.

 

[o1die]

Epox 4sda+ ($99). P4 1.6a retail boxed ($133). Samsung ddr333 pc2700 ($86). Total with shipping about $320 (all prices from newegg.com). My 1.6a is running at 2.19 gigs (1.625 volts) and memory at 171 fsg (+.2 volts and 4:5 ratio).

 

[CoDerEd]

<<Epox 4sda+ ($99). P4 1.6a retail boxed ($133). Samsung ddr333 pc2700 ($86). Total with shipping about $320 (all prices from newegg.com). My 1.6a is running at 2.19 gigs (1.625 volts) and memory at 171 fsg (+.2 volts and 4:5 ratio). >>

With Epox /Shuttle{KT266a/KT333} board you can get Athlon XP1800 for around the
same price($133) at Newegg.

Stock performance: Athlon will beat Northwood

OC performance:
Athlon didn't OC as high as Nothwood but when they're both OC'ed
XP1800(1.53@16.6... probably) and P41.6@2.2 it will be on par
performance , well pretty fair, some Athlon win some P4 win.
well it's tough choice but it's your call

peace