Upgrading mobo and processor

[qacwac]

I currently have an

FIC SD 11 mobo (worst slot a mobo made)
classic 700 Athlon
256 MB Kingston PC 100
256 MB K-Byte PC 133 (doesn't work with current setup)
128 MB unknown PC 100
27 GB ata 66 (think it's a Maxtor)
75 GB ata 100 WD
ATI Rage Fury Pro VIVO
Pioneer 10x DVD
HiVal 2x2x24 CDRW
old Yamaha something sound card
FireWire, Network, and Modem PCI cards
Windows XP

Anyway, I'm about to start making some climbing movies and need some more power and stability. I have very, very little money. I'm also going to be upgrading my video card to either a Radeon VIVO or Radeon 9000 VIVO (need the VIVO for import and export to tape)

I was thinking maybe an Athlon XP 1600+ ($52.99) for the processor. (Open to suggestions)

I need a good mobo for pretty cheap that I can still use all my old stuff. (If this is possible) and be upgradable for future. (If possible) Built in sound and stuff is fine as long as AGP. Would also like USB2.

I looked at the weekly hardware price guide on Anandtech but don't know what all the KT400, KT266A, nForce and nForce2 mean nor about compatibility with old RAM, XP 1600+, and stuff like that.

I like to keep it cheap as possible.

Thanks

 

[Vette73]

For a CPU I would go to newegg.com and get a RETAIL 1700+. It will be a .13 micron chip and comes with aheatsink for $63 shipped

Now for the board I would go for a nForce2 setup, but first you will have to give up the Sdram. You need DDR (PC2700 is preferred) if you want to be able to upgrade and keep up with the CPU's.

ABIT NF7-S. It is $148 st newegg.com BUT has 5.1ch Sound card(very good one), firewire, SATA(with adapter to make IDE HD fit it), Ethernet card, USB2.0, and should support future Barton Athlon chips.

So $148 sound like a lot but the board comes with just about everything you need and some. And should support future Bartons, even if they run at 200Mhz FSB (400Mhz DDR)

 

[qacwac]

Thanks Marlin1975 looks good but it's going to be a while before I can get that much money. (mobo, processor, RAM)

When changing a mobo, do you have to reformat your hard drives? If so what about a slave one?

 

[Vette73]

I would back everything up and format YES. The nForce2 boards are MILES a head from what you have now. If the slave does not have a OS on it then no you don't need to format.

But wait until after christmas and the prices should come down on the board a little 10-20dollars

 

[qacwac]

Thanks again. You are being very helpful. Just one more question I believe.

This is more for the learning aspect. Why'd you choose the Abit NF7-S over the AsusTek A7N8X, OPoX 8RDA+, Chainteck 7NJS, and LeadTek K7NCR18D-Pro?

Just general info, I'm not looking for specifics, just "more stable", "I like it", stuff like that.

 

[CaptnKirk]

The changes in technology, especially in RAM have brought us DDR memory - where the signal/response is sent TWICE per cycle - on the upswing and the down swing, yeilding a doubling of the speed.
The old 168 pin SDRAM is not compatible, nor will it fit in a motherboard made for 184 pin DDR.

Another motherboard to look at is the ABIT KD7 series, as they have all the features that are current KT400 chipset technology, including Serial ATA, on board 6.1 sound, LAN (NIC), USB 2.0, and Firewire. It also has the 8X AGP for video, and will accomodate the present and forthcoming advances in computer technology - it should give you 2 - 5 years of service, and provide upgrade enhancements during the next year.
It provides 333FSB, can use the XP1700+ T'Bred CPU, and since the upper level multipliers have not ben defeated by the factory on the CPU, this motherboard would give you the capability to run the XP1700+ CPU as an XP2600+ just by making the appropriate change settings in the BIOS.
You can later upgrade the CPU when the XP2800+ price comes down to a reasonable cost ( It's around $ 400 now)

The 'BIG 3' in motherboard performance and stability are (in no particular order): Asus, Abit, & Epox. They have demonstrated the ability to perform and give the user the widest capacity to work with the CPU to deliver the best performance. A top end motherboard can get more perfomance out of a middle grade CPU than a low end motherboard can get from a top end processor.

From Newegg the prices today are as folows:
Motherboard $ 99.00 + $ 5.00 freight,
XP1700+ CPU $57.00 OEM, $ 61.00 with heatsink, either is free freight.

You will want to read the forum section on CPU's - and pay close attention to what people are getting performancewise from their XP1700+'s.

The rest of your stuff should work fine, but you will need to get a quality brand of DDR RAM, so stay with either the CRUCIAL or SAMSUNG:
256MB DDR RAM, 184 pin
512MB DDR RAM, 184 pin
The motherboard can use the PC2700 - DDR333, so the whole system would be a real speed demon - about 6X as fast as the old configuration.

*NEWEGG is changing their displays, so some of the links may or may not work, you may have to enter through the front door and go looking:
NEWEGG HOME

 

[qacwac]

Thanks. You guys are the bomb.