how does this sound for a new system..

[astrochimp]

date ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: M2N-E
n Stock $92.99 $92.99


Update AMD Sempron 64 3000+ Manila 1.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model SDA3000CNBOX - Retail

In Stock $42.99 $42.99


2X Update Patriot 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PSD251280081 - Retail

some PCI 7600GT card..

and a Power supply (reusing a case, hard drive, XP install)

budget is $400 max..although cheaper is always good

[sashasmola]

The cpu isnt look too great, if you can try to get a cheap athlon 64, and oc that mofo.

7600 its good, uhh... if you could try to squeeze some cash for a 7800gs or x1900pro.

Should be able to get a good system to hold you off for a while.

Ebay my friend, you can get alot of very good deals, i got my ab9 for 40 on there and its somehow a better overclocker than my asus A5B-E.

Cpu's you could get mabye a x2 dual core for around 60, and if you can do that... try to get 1 gig of ram to free up some cash.

Video card, try ebay...get it used they still have warranty's.. easily for 400 you could get a nice dual core system that will hold you off, overclock it..add some more ram eventually.

[jp197]

Why ebay when you can pcper? -> http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3

I don't mind semprons. Pretty cheap, and run cooler than most.

RAM sounds good to me. VC should be fine for most as well.

Good board, good brand, and as I already indicated, a newer platform helps make future upgrades easier.