Upgrading MB, RAM and Chip

Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2000
6,369
0
71
Hello all,

It has become clear to me that simply upgrading my chip won't be enough since I am still running PC133 RAM and the choices are very limited or non-existent for a new chip. So I want to upgrade the MB, Chip and RAM.

I want to start with the MB since it will drive the rest. I am open to socket A or socket 754 MB, but since the prices are comparable for RAM and MB I am leaning towards the 754. The chips are a little more expensive, but it is probably worth the extra few bucks to get the latest.

[EDIT]Would like to stay with AMD chips[/EDIT]
I have an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro AGP, so I need an AGP slot and do not need on board video.
I have a Santa Cruz sound card, so I don't need on board sound.
I don't need on board LAN either.
I have IDE drives so need an IDE controller, but would also like a SATA controller as well.
RAID controller is not that big a deal to me since I have a file server with RAID 5.

What chipset do you recommend?
What MB do you recommend?

[EDIT #2]I would consider selling ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and going PCI Express[/EDIT #2]

Thanks a lot.
 
Nov 11, 2004
10,855
0
0
Go S939, S462 is almost phased out and S754 is becoming the budget line. Anyhow, all modern boards come with onboard audio and onboard LAN. I'd suggest grabbing a MSI K8N Neo4 SLI as the onboard sound (24 bit from Creative) will cream that Santa Cr*p, grab a Winchestor, some RAM with a good deal and a nice VGA (SLI Capable for the future) and you're set to go.
 

Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2000
6,369
0
71
Mmmmmh. I don't see the SLI, I just see the Plantinum SLI and it is almost twice the cost of the regular board. Can you please provide a link or a few more details?

Are there any special power requirements for this MB - will I need to buy another PS as well?

Thanks.