A question for any computer guru's out there! I am running an ASUS A7M266 motherboard with a 1.3 thunderbird cpu, 512 Mh of PC2100 ram and an Elsa 64 mg GF3 with a creative live! drive sound card. I am running this in a server case with a 400W Pwr. supply, and plenty of cooling. My OS is Win-Me. Is it worth it to upgrade my cpu with this motherboard and ram settup, or should I wait for the next advances in MOBO and cpu? Thank's From Jim

If I was you, I would do this:1. Get a new motherboard. I would stick with Asus, since they are my favorite (very reliable, full of features, and good quality). I would suggest the Asus A7V3332. Get a new cpu. Run, don't walk, away from the Thunderbird technology to the recently released 2.8 Athlon XP. It's about 300 dollars cheaper than the Pentium chips of comparable speed, and I find them to be more reliable because of their bus timings.3. With the new motherboard, you might want to upgrade to 512mb of PC2700 ram. I don't know (or think) the difference is huge, but it might be worth it. While you're on the memory thing, I would suggest that if you are using Generic ram, try to get the real deal (Micron, Kensington, or Samsung). I just had a stick of memory generica fail on me, and I had to do a full-reinstall of everything. Huge time waster and I only saved 50 bucks on the ram. Lesson learned!4. The Creative SB series relies heavily on CPU time to decode sound information, slowing the system down (especially with multiple channel sound like is used in FS). If you were so inclined, I would suggest a card with more hardware decoding capability. I purchased a Hercules Fortissimo II for this, and I love it. Much better quality and speed than with my last SB card.5. I don't know how happy you are with your vid card, but now might be a good time to upgrade. With ATI releasing it's new 9500 cards, it's pretty easy to get a good deal on an older, but good, card. I just got an ATI Radeon 8500 128mb for $250, and it's an excellent card.To sum up, I would definatly upgrade the mobo and cpu if possible, the ram if needed, and then the other stuff if so required.My $0.02 :-)

Thankyou for the reply! I guess I will have to upgrade the OS also :-(It look's like I will have to by a new computer!

Well, that's how upgrades always end up- with a $2000 dollar price tag! :-lolDon't feel pressured to buy all components at once. Get the mobo and cpu, and when you feel ready, buy the rest. If you wait, a new component will come out that is better for the same price!As for the OS, I would "downgrade" from XP to Win2000. I use 2k, and I prefer it far more. (mostly for the privacy issues)

Will you be sticking with AMD or are you considering ann intel chip this time around? If you want to go with AMD I would recommend getting the NForce2 chipset, it has built in Dolby 6 channel sound and a 3COM NIC. Not to mention faster RAM and bus speeds. I have a NForce2 system I'm currently designing it's at http://www.progresssystemsinc.com/behemoth.htmlIf you want to go the intel route you need to decide on RAMBUS ro DDR RAM, each has their own advantages but DDR is a little cheaper. Another factor to consider is if you want to get a hyperthreaded CPU or not. Currently the 3.06 is th eonly one available with a $600 price tag around itAMD systems are still cheaper to make.Get Windows 2000 or XP...so much mroe stable than Me

It's a no brainer on the MOBO/CPU, Athlon all the way! More power for less cash!