buying new motherboard / processor

[peggy]

can someone recommend a new motherboard / processor / chipset?
my spec is outlined below.
money is tight and support from my original vendor has been real slack (now 6 months out of warranty)
i cannot afford to upgrade to ddr ram and more than say a 1.8ghz processor
i am looking for a solid system (thats all!) that i can use my current hardware and recently purchased ram in
will also consider a 350w psu (they seem cheap enough) as i currently only have a 230w psu.

my spec.....

p3 800mhz
legend qdi advance 10e motherboard with via vt82c694x apollo pro133 chipset (with latest drivers)
512mb pc133 sdram
20 gb maxtor diamond udma hd
60 gb seagate baracuda4 udma hd
m audio delta 66 soundcard
m audio midisport 2x2 usb midi interface
ati rage 128 pro agp x 4 graphics
win xp professional (dual boot for audio and office)
running logic 5.0 plat and reaktor 3.0 music apps
producing various dance stuff....

[saphalline]

You want a new motherboard and processor? Well, the P4 is out because it's performance with SDRAM stinks. The Athlon XP is out because it's difficult/impossible to find a board with SDRAM support. IMO, you should just stick with a Socket370 Tualatin Celeron system. They're cheap and provide more than enough power for most apps.

Tualatin boards are also becoming dirt cheap; you can pick up an Asus TUSL2-C (one of the top S370 boards - based on the i815ep chipset) for under $100. Finding a website with "old" S370 boards is another matter.

Take a look at www.directron.com/ - their prices are a bit high, but their motherboard selection is top-notch. Get your other components elsewhere, but Directron is tough to beat in terms of number of mobos.

Then you can just pick up a retail version Celeron Tualatin at, say, 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz for under $100 as well. It may not be as powerful as one of the newer processors, but you are using SDRAM so...

[BigBlue66]

The MSI K7T Turbo2 motherboard uses SDRAM and currently supports up to an XP 1800+. Rumor has it that a new BIOS update that's either available now or will soon be, will enable the board to support up to a 2200+ T-Bred processor.

If you decide on an XP processor, make sure to get a quality power supply. I use an Antec True Power 430watt for my XP 1900+ with absolutely no power related problems and it's quiet, too.

[EDPPCLI]

You could also check out the ECS K7S5A board. It uses the Sis 735 chip and the latest BIOS versions will accept any Duron or Athlon up to the 2000XP. It takes up to 1.5GB of either SDRAM or PC2100 DDR RAM.
Retail here in Canada is $90 for the board, match that up with a Duron 1200 for $80 and you will blow away any Celeron out there. Over all a really good deal. Check out the reviewhttp://amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=112

[Jhorner1]

Currently TCWO.com has several socket A motherboards that use PC133 RAM for under $75. Also they have Athlon 1800+ (OEM version) for under $100, and 1.3 gig Durons (OEM) for about $50. Add a heat sink and fan (about $20-$30) and for $150 - $200 you have all you need. If you are unsure about using OEM CPUs, retail CPUs cost $20 - $30 more, have a better warranty, and include the heat sink and fan, so your cost would be about the same.