Fixng/upgrading Athlon 64 PC

[johngoodwin]

Hi all,

I have an Athlon 64 3200+ machine w/ 1GB Mushkin (2x512) DDR533 Registered memory. Mainboard is Albatron KX800 ProII if I remember correctly.

The problem is my mainboard ATA drive controller is bad, and the mainboard won't power on unless I power up the PC, then reach in, and unplug, and replug in the ATX power source by hand.

Anyhow, I'm looking to fix it, by either:

1) Look for an exact replacement mainboard (cheapest)
2) Get mainboard + CPU + RAM at cheapest price which supports AGP, but is at least a step up.
3) Get mainboard, CPU, RAM, and <$200 video card.

Anyhow, any advice on those options, and components to match.

I already have a Radeon 9800 Pro w/ Zalman heatsink cooler, and such. It's a decent PC if the mainboard worked right. Not to mention that Mushkin memory was darn expensive at 2-3-3-5 timings.

Thanks ahead,

John

 

[elpresidente2075]

For AGP? ASrock 939 Dual SATA II. It has an upgrade board with AM2 support. It also has AGP, PCI-E and a plethora of other features, all for less than 100 bucks.

As for the rest of the options? You need someone else to tell you that, however I will mention that there are many very good PCI-E video cards out there for less than 200 bucks.