rec.autos.simulators

Tax refund time is around the corner, so I'm thinking of upgrading my
system (again), but don't have a clue on the newest components available
right now.  I'm looking to maximize framerates and graphics in racing
sims such as NR2003, F1C and GPL, and various flight sims (FS 2004,
LOMAC, etc).  I don't have a particular budget figure in mind, but I'm
looking for the best "Bang for the Buck", not necessarily the absolute
latest and greatest.  However, the mobo should allow for some
upgradability for the CPU, if possible.

Right now, I have an Epox 8Kha+ mobo with AthlonXP 2100 CPU which I'd be
looking to replace.  I'd like to continue to use most of the rest of my
hardware.  Here's the rundown:

Radeon 9700 Pro videocard
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound Card ( which would go if the mobo has good
sound built-in)
640 Megs of PC2100 RAM
Logi MX Duo Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
Logi MOMO Force Wheel (uses USB)
TSW (original) pedals (uses gameport) -- So the new system would have to
have a gameport available.
2 printers, each using USB.
Cable Modem
2-80 Gig WD hard drives
Generic DVD drive
Sony DRU-510A DVD burner
Windows XP Pro

Obviously, I use this system for more than just ***, but ***
usually is what drives the reason to upgrade.

One last question:  I've read on the Web that it's possible to upgrade
the mobo without having to reformat the hard drive, if you're using
Windows XP (after backing up everything that's important, of course).
It involved a procedure called a Repair install or something like that.
All of my previous mobo replacements required hard drive re-formats, but
that was before I had WinXP.  Obviously, I'd prefer not to have to
re-install everything all over again, so I wonder how true this
statement about not needing to re-format really is.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Check out the asus A7N8X X board...
XP-2500 Barton is about the best bang for the buck...it will easily

Try crucial for good 400 mhz ddr

www.newegg.com

these may help:

December High-end *** PC Buyer's Guide
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
December Value *** PC Buyer's Guide
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

A grt read, ert, thx!

I would wait for the PCI-Express boards to come out.  This is a new
expansion slot spec, and is supposed to also be a replacement for the
old PCI slots *AND* the AGP slot.

ATI has already announced a PCI-express compatible chipset for their
next-gen graphics cards, and most motherboard manufacturers have
committed to products based on the new spec.

Even better, most CPU's currently available will still be supported,
as well as the newere 64-bit units.

Second quarter of next year from what I hear...

Just a thought, but would a bios flash let you run a faster CPU on your
current setup?  A CPU and faster ram would be a good upgrade if possible and
not require a new install of Windows. I'm not familar with what chip set is
on your board so you would have to do a little digging to see if you can or
not.

MadDAWG

You don't sound like a big overclocker, but if you were the Barton 2600+ is
the clear leader here.  See
http://www20.tomshardware.com/cpu/20031223/cpu-guide-21.html

An Abit NF7-S + Barton 2600+ + Thermalright SP-97 + 92mm fan + PC3500 CAS2
memory, will overclock to 3500+ levels easily at quite reasonable temps and
noise levels.

If you don't want to overclock, the AThlon64 3000+ + Asus K8V or Abit
KV8-MAX3 are under $400 for the cpu+mobo, and a fantastic deal now.  It
offers performance almost equal to the 3200+ model.

On you motherboard swap question, here is the guide you need to do it
without reinstalling the OS:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=77909774...

rms

Let me get this out of the way first!

Replacing a Motherboard without reinstalling Windows is FALSE ECONOMY no
matter what you read or what other people say.  You WILL be fixing little
problems forever and forever.

If you replace such a main component as the Motherboard, there is NO
substituion for a fresh, clean format and OS install.

Buck-up, Back-up and just do it.

Ok, I'll step down off the stump now :)

I've become more fond of ABIT motherboards than any other over the last
couple of years.  Though I've never had to use it, I also understand their
support is better than ASUS and most of the other makers.

I was once a hard-core Athlon user (my prevous 5 machines I built were based
on Athlons), but AMD seems to have lost their price-performance advantage in
the higher-end processors, so I just use Intel now until I see that change
again.

If I were to build a system today, it would be with the new ABIT Max-3 Intel
board (I forget the exact model name) based on the 975 Chipset.

-Larry