Upgrading my PC! (Need part recommendations)

I'm looking at doing a complete upgrade to my current computer (first upgrade to my PC in almost 4 years). I'm not really interested in upgrading my motherboard to one that has a PCI-x16 video card slot, as I'd rather just keep the AGP supported one I currently have to save money. I'm just trying to get the best parts I possibly can for an AGP based PC. I'm hoping to keep my current Power Supply, Hard Drives, and Motherboard, and just get a new Video Card, Processor, and Memory.

I don't really have much of a budget, but want to stay around the $400 area.

Here are my current specs:

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.080814-1233)
Motherboard: Gigabyte 7VT600-RZ (-C)
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) , MMX, 3DNow, ~1.1GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Power Supply: TurboCase Aspire 500w Dual Fan Aluminum Power Supply (ATX-AS500W 12V)
Video Card: ATI 128 Rage

First I want to make sure that I get the absolute best AGP NVidia Video Card I can, the reason I'm wanting to stick with NVidia is because the last NVidia I had worked pretty well and I really enjoyed the easy navigation for the S-Video with Duel Monitors. After looking around, it seems as if the best AGP one that NVidia makes is the NVidia 512MB 7950GT which only costs around $80-$100 on Ebay, which is a pretty good price.

So would the best AGP video card be better than a mediocre PCI-x16 card? Would the best AGP video card for $100 be as good as a PCI-x16 video card for also $100? Because I'm looking to spend around a maximum of $100-$150 for a video card, so for that price, if I'd get an overall better video card with an AGP than I would a PCI-x16, I'd definitely stick with just getting another AGP card, and save myself the $100-$200 on getting a whole new motherboard.

I don't really upgrade my system that often, as I don't use it for gaming much, and just use it for video editing, so me "having to get a PCI-x16 just to stay up to date with the current models" wouldn't really be important to me since I only upgrade my parts every so often.

As for a processor, my current motherboard supports the following processors:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=1763#anchor_os

It looks like the AMD Athlon 3200 Socket A 400MHz would be the best choice out of the list, can anyone confirm this? I'm hoping to get a processor that is pretty damn fast, as the one I currently have is absolutely horrible. It says the 3200 runs off 2.4GHz, is that good? My current is only 1.1GHz, so it seems like this one would be much faster.

As for memory, I definitely want as much as my motherboard can handle. It supports DDR400 memory, so how would 3GB of DDR400 Memory sound?

Any help would be great, thanks.

 

In general, PCI-E is faster than AGP, and still has life left in it. AGP is being phased out; PCI-E is continuously being improved (3.0 is coming soon).

You can stick with AGP depending on your gaming needs, but PCI-E is more future-proof.

IMHO, go for the PCI-E. Newegg offers combo deals on motherboards along with CPU's, GPU's, or RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=20&name=Motherboards

My advice: get a mobo that has at least 1 PCI-E x16 2.0 slot, a PCI-E GPU (2.0 would be optimal), and a decent CPU. Your power supply looks good, especially with the 34A 12v rail, so you should be fine there. Whatever you decide to go for, check the reviews, compare prices at multiple websites, and make sure you know the warranty details as well as the return policy.

 

not much upgrading options with that motherboard, your limited to staying with a old low end single core CPU, AGP graphics and I'm sure the ram is low spec too. Your better off saving a bit more money and getting parts that are worth it

Dacads

 

yea i agree not much upgrading options with that motherboard, spend a little more and get a new motherboard.

 

check this out:

$116 ... ASUS M3N72-D AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI

$80 ... AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz

$56 ... 4x 1gb Patriot DDR2 800

$150 ... EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
........................................................................................................

$402 + tax/shipping.

That gives you a mobo that can handle current and future upgrades to your other hardware and supports sli for down the road when you can afford to add another video card, a dual core cpu stock 3x faster than your current, 4gb of ddr2 800 ram that will smoke ddr400, and a single video card that blows the AGP you linked out of the water (don't forget that you can add another later!). ta-da!

It's always a good idea when you're upgrading an older comp to start with the mobo. If you don't, you're spending money on other hardware that is already dated as a requirement to fit into your dated mobo. even if you're not going to upgrade until 4 years down the road, if you don't upgrade your mobo now and get as close as you can to current tech, in 4 years you're going to have a real dinosaur. My 2 cents, have fun upgrading and gl, whatever you decide to do!

 

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I'll definitely just take your guys advice then and upgrade my entire system, unless anyone else thinks I'd be better off getting an AGP card than I would a PCI-Express for the exact same price.

Does anyone know what the best NVidia PCI-Express card would be for around $150? I really like ScoobySnacks recommendation of a Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16, which is only around $150. The card seems really good to me, I'm really liking that it's 1GB, as my last NVidia was only 128MB. I've looked up reviews and there are a lot of positive remarks about the card, and how it's better than it's previous model, the 9800.

As for the rest of my PC, I prefer to get a AMD Processor that has atleast 3.0 GHz, as for memory I'm still wanting around 3GB-4GB. I don't really have any preferences on a Motherboard, as long as it has a slot for a PCI-Express x16 and runs well, that's all that matters to me.

 

Well, you've opened the geek box for goodies now.:-D You don't play games so even as good as the 250GTX may be, you don't need it. A 9800GT is $50 less on newegg and you wouldn't even notice the difference except on a benchmark, heck a 7600GT would do just as well for your needs. ( I've run both.)

Now a dual-core is absolutely a necessity to future proof your rig, here's a great AMD Athlon II X2 which I'm sure you'll love for $76, when I switched from a single to a dual AMD it was like night and day when multitasking, my motherboard already supported a dual with a BIOS update.

I can't comment on a mobo as I don't have an AM3 rig but ASUS has always been my mobo of choice for stability for both Intel and AMD CPU's, others will differ with my likes of course. I happen to be running an Intel Q6600 quad ATM because I thought after much research that it was the better choice for the bucks over a Phenom X4 for performance, but that's out of your need/price range. All I'm trying to say is both are good, I go after what gives me the best price/performance.