Greetings OC'ers...
Been a forum fan for many moons and finally registered. So here it goes:
I've been milking my ol' i440BX since '98. Learned about slockets and got a Cel 1.2 G Tualatin when they came out. I'm not getting the most out of my ol' rig cuz the OEM mobo won't let me make adjustments, has max ram of 384 and is limited to 2x AGP.
After much searching, I found a Soyo board (SY-TISU) for $59.00. It has the i815EP-B chipset, 512 RAM, 4x AGP and SOYO's "Combo Setup".
It arrived yesterday and I've been backing up my files in preparation of a blissful upgrading day. Lo and behold, I open up today's fishwrap to see Fry's (that ubiquitous Western US place O' gadgets) has a 2.4G Cel and ECS Mobo combo for $80! I'm not a big RMA'er, but my knee-jerk reaction is to run down and get the Fry's combo.
The ECS's L4VXA2 is a low-end P4 board with the Via Apollo P4X400 chipset:
http://www.ecsusa.com/products/l4vxa2.html
Any recommendations?
--The Soyo/1.2G Cel rig is ready to go and barely cost anything.
--The Frys' ECS/2.4G Cel would require DDR RAM and a CPU cooling investment...an I'm hoping my 200w PS will do it.
I'm saving my pennies for WIN XP Pro, a super fast i875 board and P4. Apologies for the novella, but would appreciate some advice. Thanks in advance!
Been a forum fan for many moons and finally registered. So here it goes:
I've been milking my ol' i440BX since '98. Learned about slockets and got a Cel 1.2 G Tualatin when they came out. I'm not getting the most out of my ol' rig cuz the OEM mobo won't let me make adjustments, has max ram of 384 and is limited to 2x AGP.
After much searching, I found a Soyo board (SY-TISU) for $59.00. It has the i815EP-B chipset, 512 RAM, 4x AGP and SOYO's "Combo Setup".
It arrived yesterday and I've been backing up my files in preparation of a blissful upgrading day. Lo and behold, I open up today's fishwrap to see Fry's (that ubiquitous Western US place O' gadgets) has a 2.4G Cel and ECS Mobo combo for $80! I'm not a big RMA'er, but my knee-jerk reaction is to run down and get the Fry's combo.
The ECS's L4VXA2 is a low-end P4 board with the Via Apollo P4X400 chipset:
http://www.ecsusa.com/products/l4vxa2.html
Any recommendations?
--The Soyo/1.2G Cel rig is ready to go and barely cost anything.
--The Frys' ECS/2.4G Cel would require DDR RAM and a CPU cooling investment...an I'm hoping my 200w PS will do it.
I'm saving my pennies for WIN XP Pro, a super fast i875 board and P4. Apologies for the novella, but would appreciate some advice. Thanks in advance!