confused about motherboard purchase

hi all this is my first post here

i currently have a msi k7t266 pro ru-2 (6380 v2)
i have 3*256ddr (pc2100)
xp1800+ palomino (locked)

im thinking bout upgrading but not to much as later on im gonna get a 64bit system

so the question is this would i get compareable performance by just getting an xp2400+ (266 bus) and prob locked

or by getting a nforce2 ultra 400 / kt600 motherboard and a barton 2500 or thorton 2500 and oc it to 3200 (even though my ram is pc2100

if i would see a noticeable improvement with the nforce2 / kt600 chipset which one should i get

i have bout 75 max for the mother board to spend so here is what i have found in the nforce 2 chipsets so far

Shuttle nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "AN35N-Ultra" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-150-045&catalog=22&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

ABIT nForce2 SPP Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NF7" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-127-144&catalog=22&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

ASUS nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X-X" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-131-468&catalog=22&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

DFI nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NFII ULTRA-AL" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-136-124&catalog=22&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

MSI nForce2 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "K7N2-V" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-130-444&catalog=22&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

those are all under $75.00 us dollars

and i havent got to far into the kt600s

note: i might be wasting my time researching this stuff if an xp2400+ (266) can be close to an oc 2500+ to 3200+ with pc2100 ram

so there is alot of questions there but i would appreciate it if you all could tell me how much of a performace i would gain if any by going the 2500+ route

i have an ati 9800xt and play mostly games with my system
thanks again for yours help

help

help please

Is there any game your 1800 Pally and 9800XT can't play at decent FPS? Is there any software you have or plan on buying B4 late summer or fall that your rig can't run? If not then wait, don't spend a dime, a quality 64bit rig is gonna cost some coin, start saving now so you'll have enough $ to get what you want when the time is right. I'm planning on doing the same thing, no upgrades til Aug\Sept at soonest. Just my $0.02!

Regards, Balrog

i luv my a7v600 great board with all the bells n whistles,but i have asus n2 board that is a great ocing board just like my a7v600 with my unlocked barton 2500.