building a new pc

I am getting ready to build a new pc, and i would like some advice. My current system is a Dell dimension 4400 P4 1.7ghz, 512mb pc2100 RAM, 40gb hard drive, ATI Radeon 9600se at AGP4x. I do alot of gaming and i really want to upgrade. I definately want to go with an AMD cpu, i just dont know which one. Money is a big issue, as my budget is tight, so the cheaper the better. I was looking at the AMD 2500+ barton, oc'd with pc3500 ram, and upgrading to an ATI 9800xt. I already have an ATX form case w/400w power supply, and case has 3 fans already in it. I just want to get some opinions on what would be a good way to go for cheap, so ill be able to play games like Half Life2, DOOM 3, etc... I also already have a monitor, 19in Dell monitor running at 1024x768 @100hz refresh rate. Please help me go with the right stuff so i dont have to spend alot of money to get the performance i am looking for.

The 2500+ barton is a good idea, and so is the PC3500 ram. Just make sure the latencies are tight and it's from a reliable company, like corsair.
I don't think you should even think about getting a 9800xt card if you're on a budget. Sure it's fast, but this is THE WORST time to get one of those. I mean at one time, a couple of days ago, they cost as much, even more than an x800pro (almost twice the performance of the 9800xt)!!! If you want to spend that kind of cash for a vid card, get a x800xt... the best.
Maybe you should go with 9800pro, it's very cheap on newegg, and you could flash the BIOS to 9800xt, and there you go, you just save more than $100.
This card is just like 9800xt, but it's underclocked:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-505&depa=1

Then, you'd need a hard drive, you could do RAID 0, but since you're on a budget, a nice Seagate 160GB would be nice. You could get less than 160GB... like 120GB

For sound, get something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-166&depa=1

If you game a lot and you plan on overclocking, it'd be nice to take some pressure off the cpu by adding a sound card.

For a motherboard, this one would be perfect:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-166&depa=1

This pc would play all games perfectly.

that barton - chances of you getting an unlock one for O/C'n is slim - maybe consider a 2500 mobile...


as said above 9800PRO is your bets option right now if money is a concern.

yeah 9800pro is def better for a lower end budget but if you are still willing to pay as much as you were planning to for that 9800xt then go to the x800pro ... a lot better performance for just about the same price as the 9800xt .. you can even find the x800pros in stores like bestbuy for even cheaper ~$400 even

for sound cards... i would buy a pci sound card and not use the onboard sound on your mobo... if youre gonna be gaming, look at a lower end audigy sound card like this if you think thats too expensive, downgrade, but personally, for gaming i really like better sound

well, i ordered the motherboard that terminator recommended, and will soon order the cpu, i am going with the mobile xp 2500+, and was wondering what a good cooling setup would be for the cpu since i will be overclocking it. there are so many to choose from i dont know what would be the best option that is not going to be overly loud. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My Two Cents

If money is a real concern then I would follow many of the recomendations given and consider the following:
1) I would use the onboard sound from the Abit board it is very nice and fits a budget.
2) I would shop hard and find a 9800 or 9800pro.This will give a lot of preformance for the buck(of course here is where to spend the bucks if you can stretch to the X-800).
3) I would also shop hard to find the best Thermalright heatsink I could afford and use a strong fan(keeping in mind the noise level you can tolerate).
Newegg can give you a base price but other sources for the fan and heatsink might give you a better price.(probably within the range from a SLK-900A,the SLK-947 thru the SP-97).A review of the heatsink reviews as found on the home page of overclockers or Toms Hardeware would be worth your time.
Good Luck

I'd go with a mobile Barton, a 9800 pro, and 1GB of Kingston Value RAM. That would be more than enough to play any current game, and wouldn't break the bank.

i have been looking into video card prices and the 9800 is a little too much. I was wondering what people think about the 9600xt w/256mb RAM, made by sapphire, i can get one of those for about $160. It looks like it would be a good card for the money, i just want to get the most bang for my buck. Also, i am gonna get a new hard drive, but i will also move my existing hard drive to the new rig, so i wont lose any data. How hard is that, i play star wars galaxies alot and i dont want to lose any of that info. If i use the old hard drive as drive 2, can i get all that info onto the new rig without any big problems? thanks for any advice.