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[LostArtofRolando]

Hey guys!  I'm upgrading the processor and motherboard in my pc to an Athlon 64 3200+ Venice.  the motherboard won't support AGP slot video cards, which is what my Radeon 9200 is.  I'll have to get a PCI Express most likely.  I'd prefer at least a 256 mb card, and wouldnt rule out goin up to a 512.  I'd also like to stick with ATI, theyve been nothing but good to me in the past.

Any suggestions as to what to go with? 

Also, when I get a new one, anybody else want my 9200 128mb card?

[elmono311]

Do what the people who post after me say

[jitspoe]

I'd suggest getting an opteron.? They're server-grade, so they're extra reliable (also extra overclockable), have more cache (so they're faster), and when I got mine (the opteron 144), it was about the same price as the equivalent amd 64.? The venice chips used to be the "bargain" chips, but they've stopped dropping in price long ago, and better cpu's have come down to the same price, so getting a venice really isn't worth it.

I've had bad luck with ATI, so I got a 7800GT (which came with a "free" motherboard).? It's great and so far has been 100% stable.? I built it at the beginning of the year, and it has yet to lock up/crash/blue screen.? The machine I had before the ATI card also had an nvidia geforce, and I ran it for over 32 weeks straight once before the system memory finally failed and screwed it up.? The fan on it's broken, even, and it still runs.

Here's my complete system, with prices (prices are a few months outdated, so you may be able to get this stuff even cheaper now):

eVGA 7800GT + mobo + Quake4: $355.69 + $4 shipping
Opteron 144 (64bit, 1.8GHz, 1MB L2 Cache): $149.99 + $8.07
Transparent case: $36.99 + $16 shipping
Thermalright Xp-90 Heatsink, Panaflo fan, and shipping: $40.95
SeaSonic S12-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply: $124.99 + $6.99 - $25.00
Lite-On DVD Burner ~$40 (already have one)
2x512 (1GB Dual channel) OCZ PC3200, $55 AR
250GB Seagate: $129.99 + $7.99 + $9.66 - $60.00

Total: $901.31

Edit: One thing I did wrong with this machine, though, is get only 1 gig of memory.? Get 2 gigs (2x1GB dual channel).? I added 2 gigs later, and it runs slower with 3 gigs (4 cards) than just 2 gigs, so now I've just wasted 50 bucks on memory I'm not even using, and actually it was more like $70, because I never got the rebate (grr -- bastards timed it so it was almost impossible to get the rebate in on time, a... ok, not going to go into a rant about that now).