help me improve my system

Just a FYI I know my way around a computer. Just do not know today what is the LATEST and GREATEST. Here is my current setup as best I know:

Via Apollo PE11-L motherboard specs:
184-pin DIMM Banking: 3 (3 banks of 1)
Chipset: VIA Apollo P4X266
DDR SDRAM Frequencies: PC1600 and PC2100
Error Detection Support: Non-ECC only
Graphics Support: AGP 4X
Max Unbuffered DDR SDRAM: 3072MB
Module Types Supported: Unbuffered only
Supported DRAM Types: DDR SDRAM only
USB Support: 1.x Compliant

P4 2.2 GHZ processor

768 MB Ram-DDR I Believe

Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB vid card

200GB ATA 100 HD
60GB ATA 133 HD

I think that's about all there is to know. What can I do to improve system overall? I'll try and get some benchmark tests for you guys tomorrow morning.

 

what else? Games. I run doom 3, farcry, and sims 2 all graphics up pretty smooth. I want something that is blazing fast. You hit pwr button and a few seconds later system is on. Of course I'm trying to spend as litle as possible. but I do Roadrunner tech support and some of these people I ask htem to restart their computer, and I'm reading an email or whatever and by the time I open my hotmail their system is restarted and it surprises me sometimes.

 

I have XP. what is SATA? And how will a USB 2.0 Mobo help? That will only help speed up like file transfers and stuff but not overall system speed. I believe however that my mobo has a 100Mhz bus which if I got one with like a 200Mhz bus that should make a nice diff.

 

Are you planning on building a whole new system or just improving on what you now have? Is money an issue?

Download Everest it will give you more information about your computer.

 

SATA is Serial ATA. Serial ATA is a serial link -- a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for Serial ATA begin at 150MBps. One of the main design advantages of Serial ATA is that the thinner serial cables facilitate more efficient airflow inside a form factor and also allow for smaller chassis designs. In contrast, IDE cables used in parallel ATA systems are bulkier than Serial ATA cables and can only extend to 40cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter.

 

I am planning on simply improving on my current system. And money is an issue. What do you guys recommend I can upgrade from here to get some nice oomph?