Requesting cpu, mobo, and memory upgrade advice...

[Metallica_Band]

Hey there...OK...I need some advice...I have 512MB Rambus ram and Iit sux now...Rambus memory is freakin' expensive and I wanna upgrade to 1 GB of fast ram...now if I change from Rambus to regular memory that all you ppl use then that means changing mobo's...and if I change mobo's then that means possibly changing CPU's if you ppl convince me enuff...this all means $$$...

Now I have a Gigabyte 8IHXP mobo and 512 Kingston ECC Rambus ram (why the hell did I get the more expensive ECC ram??? ) and 2.53GHz Intel Pentium 4 CPU...

Now I want the new hardware to be of equal or better performance...and the new CPU to be at least a 3.0GHz...AMD is cheaper but when I started off I wasn't fond of AMD...don't know why but since I have enuff parts to make a 2nd rig out of the parts being replaced then it doesn't matter I guess...OH...and no boring ugly green PCB mobo board...and I don't OC my rigs cause I'm too chicken...

As for money, it doesn't matter but then again it does...I am not looking for the best of the best this time cause I don't have the money for those parts...and I'm not looking for the parts that's low in quality...for example...if I was requesting a GeForce 4 card back when the GeForce 4 was hot, I wouldn't want the 4800 since that would the best of those cards and I wouldn't want any of the MX one cause they were crap...the 4200 and 4600 would be the choices...get it??? Just an example...so I'm looking for good-great quality but not excellent since that would require a lot more money...sorta like loking for a 3 or 4 star rating hardware out of a 5 star rating system...understand what I'm after now???

THANX
C'YA

 

[gamekid]

AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-502&depa=1

Patriot Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR PC-3200 w/ XBL Technology - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-220-033&depa=1

MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1

this will coost u about $600, but it will be very easy for u to get different parts and knock it down to about $400

 

[tcraig_4096]

1 gig of "fast" memory isn't going to give you much of a performance boost over 512 if you are looking to use your same processor.

What are you upgrading for? Faster everything? Apps? Games? Programming? What exactly "sux now" about your system? Don't let someone bullshit you into thinking that good RDRAM is the culprit (not saying they did).

Depending upon your current configuration, there are many different options if you need to upgrade. Knowing nothing about your system, maybe it needs an OS cleanup/wipeout/reinstall? A clean install of windows on a clean HD is a cure for many a "generally slow" type problem.

If you are thinking of gaming performance, what is your current video? Also, setting a money limit for upgrade/replacements can really help us help you get the best bang for your buck.