Hello Neal,

Wednesday, May 23, 2001, 6:19:33 AM, you wrote:

NC> Primary use for the computer is net surfing and just general
NC> everyday stuff: MS Office, occassional game playing... Nothing
NC> really graphic intensive, but I do like whatever I do or play to
NC> look good. I have a 17 inch monitor currently...

NC> Pentium III at 500 mhz  224 mb of 100 mhz SDRAM  20gb and 30 gb hard drives
NC> 8 mb Nvidia graphics card  56k modem  Ethernet card  40x cd rom
NC> Iomega Zipcd 650 CDRW drive

Your PC is well equipped for office and occassional games,
but here are a few considerations.

The component I'd consider to upgrade on 1st priority is the
graphics card. CPU and MB -- if you opt for it, since P3-500 is
still a good performer.

8 mb of graphics is not adequate for modern games, which often require
32 mb of video RAM for reasonable speed. The refresh rate increase at
higher resolutions (1024x768 and up, which you probably use on a 17")
which the newer card will provide is useful, too.

It looks like that GeForce 2 MX is a best price/performance solution
now, as Chaintech 32 Mb, MX-200 based board is only $80. As the tests
show, MX-400 has no advantage over the 200 that justifies the price
difference, and the benefits of more memory on 64-Mb boards are not
exploited by MX due to its "slow" (compared to genuine GeForce II)
memory bus. So I'd recommend any MX / MX-200 board with 32-Mb video
RAM. TV-out is a bonus if you need it.

NC> I basically just want a faster system..but not necessarily the latest and
NC> greatest. I prefer to gradually upgrade to newer technology, but not all the
NC> way to newest, to save lots of money.

For me, this is "the" way. From recent ponderings on my own upcoming
upgrade, stick to Amd Duron line, with a mobo based on KT133A chipset
if you want some overclocking potential.

For example, Duron 800 + ABit KT7A + fan ($263) looks good to me. With
some luck, it will yield an 1060-MHz system with 133 MHz memory -- a
great performance for a price of Intel's P3-933 CPU. If you don't feel
like overclocking, take a Duron 900 - the difference from 800 is about $30.

NC> By the way, based on another recommendation I found some prices, thought I'd
NC> ask if this was a decent deal.
NC> Asus A7V133 Mobo, AMD Duron 900 w/ cooling fan, 256mb of PC133 Ram, in a
NC> bundle for $288.

Compared to the prices I have the bundle is good. As usual, check
other stores, the web, look for more deals of the kind... - "smart buy" tactics.

You have quite a lot of hardware, and with new MB/CPU/Video you'll
have to get 300w power (40$ = cheapest case, 80$ for a good one).

NC> Would these be a good cost efficient way to upgrade my computer?

At the present time, it definitely would. Good luck with your upgrade!

Yours,

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| Max Timchenko [MaxVT]
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