Upgrading for the short term

[Goride]

Ok, i was going to use the other forums for this, but since i covers a pretty broadspectrum i figured this was the best place, heh.

Right now i have this:

Athlon 750@950mhz (i can get up to 1050 stable, but i had to buff up the voltage too much and felt unconfortable )
512mb PC133 ram
GeForce2 GTS 32mb
7200rpm 30gig
Asus K7V motherboard
250w powersupply.
17" .27pitch monitor (i hate it)


Now I saved up $1000 to buy a new computer. But after looking around various sites and forums, i decided not to buy anything right now. Mainly because i feel that 64-bit computing is so close away, and i dont want to get stuck with a 32-bit processor when 64 bit comes out. So i wanted to try to 'upgrade' my current system to last around 1-1.5 years, then make a major switch and go all out for performance. I estimate it will be around that lenght of time before 64 bit becomes as mainstream as i would like.

So for around $200 dollars i could do this, to get me through until that time.

Keep everything i have now, exept buy this.

-Athlon XP 1800+ from my friend for $25. I can't remember what type it was, but I remember him saying it would overclock well.
-Motherboard for around $50. I dont know what kind would be a good kind, but i estimate thats around the price. Any suggestions on the motherboard, I'd like to overclock.
-2 256mb DDR ram. As far as i know it supports dual channel memory, so getting 2 sticks would be better. What kind should i get? (i seen a 256mb PC2700 stick on pricewatch for $28)
-graphics card. Now im willing to spend around $100 dollars on this. I was looking at a GeForce ti4200, i heard those are pretty good for the price. But if I were to get a better card, would an xp 1800+ be able to even take advantage of it?

What are your suggestions for maximum power, while still keeping teh price down. Price is really an issue since im pretty low on money, and i plan on going all out on my next comp, so i dont want to 'waste' too much money.

Also, my main concern is about the graphics card... im having a difficult time deciding what would best suit me. With only an 1800+ (hopefully overclocked) and with my worthless monitor, would getting anything bigger than a GeForce ti4200 even be much of a benifit?

I think my 250w powersupply will be fine.. since i only have 2 cd-rom drives (one is a burner) and 1 HD. Do you agree?

Personally, i would like to just sit and wait until i see where 64-bit processors, applications, OSes, drivers, etc are going and not spend anything until then. But i hate my current set up. And i really need to get a much needed upgrade.

Because of my goldfingerdevice, my powersupply no longer fits in the case, and it rests on top of it, with wires comming out of it and gong into the case.. thus not allowing me to put my side panel on. I have to manually start one of the fans on my processor's heatsink with my hand. And its very loud. And lastly, im addicted to MMORPGs and I really cant play any of the newer ones very well.

Please help
(ps, i found all sorts of good info on newer hardware, but im having difficulty looking up stuff from around this time)

 

[HRslammR]

personally i wouldn't invest too much into it if it's only gonna be for a year or so. what i would do is get a 2500+ barton, gig of pc2700, 9800 pro when the price drops, and an 80 gig harddrive and either a cd-rw/dvd-rom or a dvd-rw

might eat up 400 or so from the 1000 but it'd be a much cheapter alternative. then just use the rest for the next generation of stuff.

 

[[H]ot & [H]eavy]

I like his suggestion, although I think a gig of PC2700 is overkill. 512MB is more than sufficient...but as with all else, get the best you can afford.

 

[mobiux]

you may want to buy the best memory you can now, since that will be the thing most likely to transfer into your new computer