Sorting Upgrade Options-- Advice Wanted

[jesyjames]

My current setup is an Athlon 1800+, 1gig 2700 DDR Ram, Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb, XP, etc, etc.

Now, in all honesty, it runs 95% of what I throw at it fine, mostly games and Quickbooks. About a month ago I upgraded to the 9800 from a Radeon 8500 LE and that has really helped with that last five percent.

However, I would like to upgrade the machine.

I have a buyer for the current one at $200. It seems a little low, but it's a family member so I guess there's an implied discount.

I'm going to keep the 9800, and put the 8500 back in it.

That puts me in a situation where I essentially need a whole new machine.

My needs are mostly games. If it can run games well, it can probably do everything else I'd need well too.

I'm strongly looking at the Athlon 64 line. I've gone back and forth a million times between the 3000+, 3200+, and the 3400+.

I want to spend roughly $1000, under if possible.

I lost about $100 of that spending money when I realized my current OEM copy of XP most likely won't install on the new machine. That leaves $900.

Which of these options would you recommend?

3400+, 512 MB 3200 Ram, 80 Gigabyte 7200 RPM HD, on board audio
3200+, 1024 MB 3200 Ram, 80 Gigabyte 7200 RPM HD, on board audio
3000+, 1024 MB 3200 Ram, 80 gigabyte 7200 RPM HD, Audigy 2-ZS.

I honestly can't make up my mind. I wonder if a 3200+ with more ram would be a better system. But then I wonder if the 3000+ with the audigy 2 zs would give me a better overall experience. Then I think it's much easier to get the 3400+ now, and then get the sound card and extra ram later. But, there's a big part of me that just wants to be done with it.

Any suggestions?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for an online system builder? I'm looking at IBUYPower.com. Their price and reseller rating is really good, but I've never purchased from them. Cyberpowersystem.com has a better price, but lower reseller rating. HP.com actually has a really good deal for a 3400+ system, 160 gigabyte HD, 512 MB 3200 Ram, XP, low end graphics card(which I don't need) for $950. But, the specs on the system show a 250 watt power supply and I'd have to uninstall AOL.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[lavaman]

Try this place out (ABS Compuers) for prebuilt machines. They are excellent.

 

[jesyjames]

Yeah, actually ABS is my current pc. My only problem is that with them I'm locked into spending $150 on a graphics card I don't have any use for.

I still may do it and then go to ebay with it.

 

[Rukkian]

There is not much of a difference in performance between the 3 chips, I would definately go with the 3000+ with the Audigy, but I never buy the latest, usually 2-3 notches below the newest is the sweet point for prices/performance ration.