new motherboard and memory

hello

im only looking to spend under £150
my current system is
amd3400+ 64
k8m800-m2
1gb ram 2x 512 elixir pc3200u
bfg 6800gs agp
maxtor 6l160p0 160gb

im getting 1gb ddr ram for sure been looking at this
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23531

will be upgrading from k8m800-m2 to somthing like http://www.shopping.com/xPF-MicroStar-K8N-Neo-Platinum

I know the memory is going to make a difference but will the motherboard improve gaming, and do I really need to upgrade it at all? Other than the fact I would have 3 memory slots so I can stick in the 2 512s with the 1gb and have 2gb instead of 1.5gb?

I have been told using two sticks of memory slows the speed with the k8m800-m2 but I am not really sure what that is about but if true must be hurting my games.

I am finding it hard to find socket 754 motherboards on the online shop sites I know, all I have really been looking for with them though is to have 3 memory slots, most of the shops just sell the newer am2 or 939 socket boards or the 754 boards just have 2 memory sticks. I got the k8n-neo platmuim board from just searching on google for best 754 socket motherboards.

any advice on motherboards would b great or just tell me I made the right choice to make me feel better as i normally pick the wrong stuff.

thanks

 

For what it's worth, if I had to upgrade my gaming rig (my 'new build' specs below) with £150. I am not sure if I would opt for changes in mobo and ram.

Candidates for change at the top of my list would be VGA and cpu, probably in that order. However, with AGP GS7800 OC cards at around £175 and cpus at £100 it kinda blows a hole in the budget. Also just noticed that you say you are on s754 and am not sure about your cpu upgrade path.

Tough choices. I am sure that other informed users will also have opinions on this but my suggestion would be go for a VGA upgrade (slightly over the budget) and o/c your current cpu by 20-25%.

Good Luck

 

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWeb/Produc...LanID=9&DetailID=455&DetailName=Specification

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8N_Neo_Platinum

Socket 754 & 939 don't mix. You can't use the old cpu.

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=22913
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23695
http://www.asrock.com/product/775Dual-VSTA.htm

Total = 90

THAT will give you a speed boost. Plus, you can keep your agp video & ddr memory. Seriously, the ram you choose to upgrade to is the same as the one in your pc. No speed bump whatsoever. In fact, 2 sticks of the same ram will run in dual channel - double the bandwidth.

The Asrock board is used by many going for Conroe. You can use the P-D 805 dual core for now. Upgrade to C2D, PCI-E video & DDR2 later.

 

thanks for the advice
I am thinking now of going with what akhilles said

one more thing i will have some cash left over and might be able to add some more, would an extra 512 ddr2 work with my normal ddr memory I have already? or should i look to be upgrading something else first

also i saw that the processor is good for overclocking should I just get a better heatsink and fan to take advantage of that? or would it come with good cooling? I have never overclocked a processor yet so wouldnt try to much

thanks again

 

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=20729

This is one of the most popular cpu coolers. Cools well & runs quiet.

You don't have to o/c it. Just snap it on. Stock speed is good enough.

I read the mobo manual. You'll be limited to either ddr or ddr2 memory. Can't install both at the same time. I suggest you use 2 sticks of ddr for now.