Can my system be upgraded?

Understood, thanks for the help.

I am going to do some searching and then post my results and hopefully you guys can let me know what you think before I buy them.

 

Ok, here are some of the things I am looking, PLEASE give me some input, I don't want to buy the wrong things and screw my computer up. Thanks so much for the help on this.

-Mobo-
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-509&depa=1

-CPU-
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-342&depa=1

-Video Card-
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-344&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-412&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-193&depa=1


Can you guys go to the top of this thread and check out the specs on my memory and stuff to verify that my RAM and other components will work with this mobo. Plus, of the 3 memory cards I have listed there are they all pretty much the same or what? Also, should I upgrade my power supply? If so, what is a good number to get, I think I have like a 350 or something like that.

 

I suggest getting a different mobo because it only supports 333mhz RAM so you'll probably want to get something like an Abit NF-7 rev.2 which has plenty of oc options.

For the price of the Radeon 9600XT I think you'll be better off getting something slightly more expensive but will last a lot longer in terms of performance. The problem is that you need a PCI-E mobo for the high end cards. The only AGP 8x Geforce 6600GT card is $240.
The Athlon 2700+ is a good CPU but if you want to play games then the extra cache of a barton will help in games. Get a mobile or normal 2500 barton which is really good for overclocking. However these chips are running out as they are being discontinued.

[url="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-150-080&depa=1]6600GT[/url]

2500 Bartons

 

Man this stuff is confusing..............!

 

He's right. Even if the clock speeds are lower, a Barton-core AthlonXP is a better CPU. Especially for games, and other mathmatically-intensive operations. And I wouldn't recommend a Radeon 9600 under any circumstances, especially if you want to game with it. For the same price, you'd be better off with an FX5700. Or, for just a few more bucks, you can get a NV6600, which is an awesome card for the money. You just have to get a motherboard which supports PCI express.

 

I'm assuming PCI Express is something new in mobo's?

 

Yeah, it's the next generation expansion buss, aimed to replace both AGP and PCI. Currently, PCIE (PCI Express) is 2x faster than the fastest AGP, and the cards for it are cheaper for some reason. If you get a motherboard which supports PCIE, you can use better cards for less money.

 

Hit the nail on the head!

 

So, seeing as how I am going to be building a new computer, I would be stupid if I didn't buy a mobo that has PCI-E right?

 

not really, but AGP is dying. So if you want upragadeability in a year or two, buy PCIexpress.

 

Ok cool, makes sense.

Thanks.

 

just come back here if you need any help with putting it all together or troubleshooting and everything!

 

Unless you had a really killer AGP card already. But since you don't, PCIE is probably the way to go.