updating/building a new pc...

[JaMeS]

I am currently running an intel P3 500 & sr440bx board...i have decided it is time to upgrade the thing...i have decided to go with an AMD 900 T-Bird...i was looking on pricewatch.com for a cpu+mobo& found one with this processor for about $152...i want to use the same HD & use Ram i have now(a bit more ram though) i have a 250W power supply so i am pretty sure i am going to need to get 350+ for the larger processor...i want a G-force 2 video card...i intend to overclock this new machine so i was wondering which mobo would be a nice accent to my new computer...thanks for the help

[Megahurtz]

I can almost unconditionallty recommend the Iwill KK266 as a good choice for a motherboard...there are people that have issues withe the Creative sound cards. However the Turtle Beach cards seem to rectify this issue.

IMHO, you are less likely to have issues with this board than nearly, if not all of the other KT133A/686B equipped boards available today.

You should really give some consideration to a 1Ghz 266Mhz processor. The reasons for this are many.

1) avoidance of the 'Multiplier issue". See the "Cpu" and "Motherboard" sections on this site for details.

2) it is available at a minute price premium from the 900Mhz processor, and you are far more likely to get a premium 'stepping code' for a successful overclocking experience.

3) *speculation* future proofing. AMD is rapidly doing away with their 200Mhz T-birds, By a model 'C' now, and have the highest likelihood of a good match with future motherboards.

A quality PSU is almost a must if overclocking. 300 watts minimum, with a lot of power available at the combined (3.3v + 5V) rails.

You should do the three 'R's as well. Re-partition, re-format and re-install. This will give you a nice clean drive to work with.

Some of my thoughts,

T

[Oni]

I really like my Asus A7V133 board. It has all the features that I need, like Raid capabilities, ATA100 chain, support for gobs of ram, and the KT133a chipset. Its very stable, and if you fubar the BIOS, a quick reset and you're back to defaults

The Abit KT7A-Raid board is also very popular around these parts, but I havn't dealt with it.

Good luck!

[DuronManiac]

I love my MSI K7T Turbo-R. Good performance comparable even if not better than an Asus board. Got a good system so far, future plans are 512MB ram, Athlon-4, and GlobalWin cooler.

The Turbo-R even has a BIOS for OC'rs. Unsupported, yet allows you to step down the multiplier to get higher FSB. Works great.