I guess the first question to be asked is "do you think a hardware solution
will correct the problems the client has been seeing?"  If the answer is
yes, you will need to rule out cheap RAM as being the cause since it appears
you will be keeping that.  Other than that, your choices seem to be
acceptable - still not the most expensive stuff but offering better
performance and stability for the price.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey Delzer <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, May 6, 1999 8:59 AM
Subject: [PCBUILD] Motherboard upgrade advice requested


>A client brought in a system that's been very unstable and troublesome
>since she had it built by a local shop a year ago. It was built with a
>strong eye toward the budget, but now she wants to trade cost for
>improved stability.
>
>The current system includes a PC-Chips M571 Motherboard with the TX Pro
>II chipset, AMD 233 CPU, 64 MB SDRAM, and embedded sound and video. The
>case is a generic mid-tower AT case with a 250 Watt power supply.
>
>I'd like to replace the current motherboard with a FIC VA-503+. I've
>heard good things about that board from users of this list, and I think
>it would fit in her AT case and allow her to continue to use her
>existing RAM. I also plan to add a Creative Ensoniq AudioPCI sound card
>and a low-cost video card that still offers some measure of 3D gaming
>ability. She's strictly a 2D (text and productivity) person, but when
>her kids come to visit they'd like to be able to play a game or two. I'm
>thinking an ATI Rage 16 MB card would fit the bill. She wants to keep
>the AMD 233, the two hard drives, and the CD-ROM drive.
>

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