thinking of gettin an AMD and a MOBO

[extreme_gamer]

i feel like upgrading my P3 866Mhz computer to, well, something faster. i've been looking around at Fry's for awhile and it's just so tempting! i'll just need a little advice from you on what to get, i have some links:

well here is the website for the store itself

keep in mind i have set this up so i have enough money to get what i'm looking for, cant get anything more expensive. around $280-$300 MAX

combo:

in the Ad there is an AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Processor and a GigaByte GA-7VT600-L KT600 Motherboard combo for $159.99, (you cant find the actual combo on the site tho), but then i'll just stick in some RAM if i were to get it... $20 savings, the deal ends tuesday.

then there is the 'get the processor and motherboard seperately' deal:

the AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Processor, which is the only stand out processor to me

then i see two motherboards that look interesting:

the Abit KV7 KT600 Motherboard

and the Albatron KX600 Pro Motherboard


i think all of those products are pretty good quality
and i'm open to your opinions and try to give me the pros and cons and better deals of the hardware you find

thanks!

[SoSl0w]

Well that processor should be a good one regardless of what board you get. The question is however will the board and CPU matter if you get junk ram (i.e not DDR 333). What are your plans for a graphics Card?

Why not get the 2500+? I attached a thread that might help shed some light on saving money but getting so much more.
http://www.techimo.com/forum/t92144.html

[extreme_gamer]

so how does this sound?

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Socket A Barton Box Processor

Kingston 512MB PC3200 400MHz 64x64 HyperX DDR Memory

and you said that the motherboard doesnt really matter for the processor i'm getting, right? so just as long as i get it with 400Mhz memory support, like the Albatron i had posted earlier

good?

*EdiT* that memory to me seems to be about $20 too much, so can i combine, say 333Mhz memory and 400Mhz memory? or should i just get a 400Mhz 256Mb memory stick and add on when i get the money?

[woodbutcher]

Personally I would opt for an nforce 2 board.

This Biostar is a good chioce or perhaps this Shuttle board, also a good chioce.

If your not going to overclock then the 333 mem will be find allthough IMO, I would opt for 400fsb mem as this will allow you to go with a 400fsb cpu later on without having to buy mem again.

WB

[extreme_gamer]

SHUTTLE AN35N-ULTRA Motherboard ....... $5 cheaper

so it sounds like i'll get the 400Mhz 256MB module and get a big page file along with that...

that really brings the price down and i will be happy

[HeadBand]

just to make sure...your old computer is not from a big manufacturer right...those usually have problems with compatibility with other motherboards other than theirown...also your psu might be too small

[extreme_gamer]

built by myself, only things put together were the case and the motherboard, along with the PSU

the PSU is............. well i cant find any sticker on it that tells me but i'm pretty sure it's 350 watts, and we also have a 400 watt psu sitting around somewhere.

[woodbutcher]

Actually, the Shuttle from Newegg includes shipping, the one from Outpost does not.
Outposts shipping is high IMO.

WB

[extreme_gamer]

well i am planning on driving to outpost (aka Fry's) so shipping is not necessary

[extreme_gamer]

so would you say the plan is a go?

the SHUTTLE AN35N-ULTRA Motherboard, the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Socket A Barton Box Processor, and the Corsair 256MB PC3200 400MHz 32x64 XMS DDR Memory

i will buy more RAM later, but i have a few extra dollars and will get two of the round IDE cables