New System - advice

I'm going to be building a system but I'll only be replacing my motherboard/memory, CPU, and case. My PC is mainly used for online gaming and some light photo/video editing (I don't need to upgrade for the other stuff... online banking, internet surfing, etc.).

I'm thinking of a P4 2 for the CPU. Anyone have any suggestions on the motherboard, memory and case? I'm not sure if I should go with RDRAM or DDR, etc. I'm willing to buy good equipment but I don't want to spend a small fortune.


Thanks for any suggestions.

I do the same stuff. Play games such as Counter-Strike, Warcraft III regularly and also do Photoshop for brochures and flyers, website for the company I work for. I'll tell my system specs and you compare if your wanted specs come close or blows out mine.

motherboard - ABIT KR7A
processor - AMD Athlon XP 1800+
memory - 768MB PC2100 DDR RAM (Generic)
videocard - ATI Radeon 8500 64MB DDR
HDD - Maxtor 60GB ATA133 7200 RPM
soundcard - SB Live! Value Digital
Case - Lian Li Mid Tower Aluminum Case
OS - Windows XP Home Edition

My system has been built last December 2001. Right now a lot of new technology and system choices are available. My system performs well on all games. In all the games I play I turn up all settings to HIGH and still do not suffer a slow performance. Working with Photoshop is a breeze, all operations are done fast. When playing online I usually connect faster than most players. I'm always first or second to connect to game servers. I only have DSL too. My rig is fast enough for my needs and judging by your needs something like or better than my rig will be suitable for you too.

I do suggest you get the following upgrades.

motherboard - any of the popular brands of
motherboards that has the VIA KT333 chipset
or
the latest Pentium 4 motherboards with DDR
memory
processor - latest AMD Athlon XP 2100+ but you might
wanna wait for the Thoroughbreds to come out
or
Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz and up. If you are
going for P4 2GHz might as well get the
AMD 2100+
Memory - if you don't have the money don't go for RDRAM
, DDR still is a great performer for a cheap
price. With DDR you might be able to have
1GB using PC2100 or even PC2700
Case - Go Aluminum. I've compared a common stell case
over an Aluminum and Aluminum does live up to
its feature of dissipating heat 3 times better

anyway go read the forums and articles here on THG. I've built my PC getting info on THG and it helps a lot and guides you to choosing what parts are right for you. You just gotta do a lot of research

nothing will ever be greater if there's a new one, still the older one performs well...all about clouding your mind and wanting the best. :^]

1GB of RAM will help his video editing. He did say he doesn't want to spend too little. hehe