A Soldier in Need (Upgrading old comp)

XanthouS

I've just returned from six months of Army training and am completely out of the loop when it comes to computer hardware. Three summers ago I ordered and built my own gaming rig (top of the line at the time) and now I'd like to upgrade mine before I leave for my duty station (and eventually the Middle East).

Before I go too far, I wasn't sure where to post this, so please move it to a more appropriate forum if need be.

I'll start off by listing my rig's current specs:

ATI Radeon 8500+ All-In-Wonder video card
AMD Athlon XP 1800+
Soyo Dragon Ultra KT333 Mobo
512MB stick of PC2100 RAM (don't remember manufacturer)
Antec 480w power supply
Western Digital 120GB HDD

I'd like a rig that runs Doom III great and will be able to handle the FPS's coming out in the next year or so. It doesn't need to be top of the line, I'm looking for 'bang for my buck'. I'd imagine I'll need a new mobo, processor, vid card and atleast another 512MB stick of RAM.

Money isn't a HUGE obsticle, but like I said I don't need the best gaming PC in the world, but something that will last me atleast a few years and something that will run today's great FPS's well.

I also plan on ordering all of my parts from www.newegg.com , as I have always ordered from them and have always been happy with my purchases. Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions.

SSR_06

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537
mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236
video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122201
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146883
PSU: keep current (still a good PSU )
HD: keep current
Total=$562.63

you can change the mobo to another board if you wish, i just like epox. if you get an AGP board though be sure to get a different card than the one i specified, as the NF4 chipset uses PCI-E. as for cpu, for another $46 you can get a 3200+. if you feel confortable OCing, i would get the 3000+ venice and OC it.

there's my suggestion. i hope it helps you.

XanthouS

SSR, thanks for taking the time to reply. I had given up on this thread and tracked down a couple old friends for help. Here are the links to the parts I ordered. Oddly enough, you suggested nearly the EXACT same system I ordered, I just went with a more expensive Mobo. I believe I made a good choice then, if you suggested such similar items.

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131517

ASUS EN6600GT/TD/128 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121178

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103501

CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX1024-3200C2PT - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450

I was very interested in the SLI technology, and this video card was tailor made for the mobo I picked, so I'm going to give the Geforce a try (even though I traditionally buy ATi and have never had any problems).

SSR_06

that system will do what you want it to it will perfrom great compared to your current system. the 6600gt was a great choice for a video card, it has the best cost/perfromance ratio out there. the SLI means that you can get another 6600gt and add it on later for better perfromance. 2 6600gt's in SLI perform similar to a 6800gt. looks to be a solid build. good luck