Which Athlon/mobo/mem

< $200

MOBO: ECS K7VTA3-R KT333 <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=13-135-118" target="_new">$69</A>
RAM: 256MB Samsung PC2700 (DDR 333) <A HREF="http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductList.jsp?ThirdCategoryCode=011112" target="_new"> $65</A>
CPU: <A HREF="http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductList.jsp?ThirdCategoryCode=010413" target="_new">Athlon XP 1800</A> OEM (needs cooler) $73 or Retail (comes w/ cooler + 3 year warrnaty) only $80

All parts come from reputiable online retailers that I have personally dealt with.

Note: I have a similar AXP 1700+ system, with a Shuttle AK31a with 256MB of PC2100. The processor overclocks very well with a good board, RAM and cooling. My system is set to 1900+, without any issues. It went up near 2100+, while the chip was fine, the board wouldn't go much further than that. So to be safe I stay at 1900+, even though it was great at 1.67 (2000+). I just play it extra safe. As for RAM, I use winxp PRO and it hasn't ever used more than 80% of my 256mb of ram and I rip all kinds of [-peep-], so you shouldn't have any issues with that amount. You can always buy more if so.

"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one"

"also how does the ddr 2700 compare to the 2100?"

DDR 2700 has a 2.7 GBps bandwidth. DDR 2100 has a 2.1 GBps bandwidth

Knowledge is the key to understanding

Not more than 1%.
You need the 333MHZ to boost that but it's still gonna be low.\

Look dude, 200$ is really low, in fact you failed to specify if that is tax inc. or not, so that would mean you need to pay far less in order to keep below 200$ if you plan to pay all that with tax.
The AthlonXP 1600 is about 7% less performing on average and costs 55$.
You don't need PC2700 to get better performance, it's NOT noticeable, and only runs your money tab.

--
When buying an AthlonXP, please make sure the bus is at 133MHZ, or you will get a lower speed!

Asus a7n266-vm with nforce chipset (built in video,sound,lan) is only $75 with free shipping at newegg. Add to that crucial pc2100 for $68 and an xp1600 for $53. Coolermaster DP5-6I11a for $11 shipped. Total cost will be $207.

why the hell would i want integrated video?

Because you never specified any sort of a video solution and integrated is better than nothing? (And integrated from nVidia is far better than most other integrated, even if it sucks compared to a five hundred dollar video card.)

If you <i>already have</i> a decent video card (better than a GeForce2MX) or have seperate money to purchase one, than for $200 you're best off just getting a VIA KT266a or KT333 mobo, a 256MB stick of PC2100 CAS 2 RAM, and blowing the remaining cash on the best AXP you can get for what's left.

If you <i>don't</i> have a video card better than a GeForce2 MX and <i>don't</i> have the money to get better, then your best bet is something like the above, but with an nForce mobo with integrated video instead of something with a VIA chipset.

And why the hell I'm even being this nice to someone so rude, I don't know...

<pre><A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/comic/186.htm" target="_new"><font color=red>It's all relative...</font color=red></A></pre><p>

how can integrated video outperform my gf2 mx 400 64mb?

All from newegg.com

XP1600+ CPU OEM - $53 - free shipping
256MB Kingston PC2100 CL2.5 - $65 - free shipping
ABIT KX7-333/EPoX EP-8K5A2 - $82/$90 - $4/$10 shipping.
Some sort of good HSF - $xx

With that, you can do some pretty sweet overclocking, although you'll probably do better with PC2700 RAM. If you read the user reviews of the XP1600+, you'll see that most people have been able to do ~XP2100-XP2200+ speeds. That's a pretty good chip!

<i>Past mistakes may make you look stupid, but avoiding future ones will make you look smart!</i>

where can i trade in? ive already asked the local comp store they said they dont take trade ins.

there's better p/p out there if you actually look

Soon enough, Intel will make the i845s...imagine dual channel Sdram...*shudder*

ok so what if i just got the xp 1600 for 52 and a mobo that supports either sd and ddr or just sd, cuz i already have 384 mb sd i could just add on to that