Worth buying anything now?

[BadBadNeil]

Hello I am curious because I dont want to get screwed over.

I bought a PII400 (which I have now) back in 1998. One month after getting it PIII came out and my mobo didnt support any newer chips beyond the PII450

I am looking into a new mobo now (XP1800+ most likely) but want it to be upgradeable in the future. I have seen that the XP2000+ is already out. Does anyone know how much further AMD will go with the currrent bus speed until they change over to a faster one so I know if its ok to buy a current 266 Bus MOBO or should I just wait for a faster speed one if its in the near future?

Thanks

[dathenv]

Intel switches their mobo architecture very often. AMD mobos will stay longer.

[warfish]

Puters are like HI- FI in the respect that now is always a good time to upgrade. Finding lasting Zen in hardware is as elusive as those damned white elephants, if ya know what I mean. Shop for the best deal on current technology spend about 800 bucks for a good case an athlon XP 1800 or somewhere thereabouts. Get a mobo that supports DDR 266/333 plus all the other doo-dads you need and call it good. then in 3 years build another machine. you'll save at least that much over buying the pinnacle of technology today that will be tomorrows boat anchor!

Best Regards

[suprsheep2]

go Athlon XP if you have the cash, but I didn't so I built an overclockable celeron system and it's sweet.

[BadBadNeil]

Oh i didnt know there was a mobo that supports DDR 333 at the present time. i figured 266 was all that there was at present time. Hmmm well that opens options for upgrading.

I'm surprised my little old baby has lasted this long so far....

[warfish]

ECS has the K7S6A which supports DDR333 I saw it for around $70 at http://www.newegg.com/ It has the new SIS 745 chipset on it. http://www.ecsusa.com/K7S6A.cfm is where you can get the lowdown on this mobo. I built an XP-1700 system based on the K7S5A for my sis and it just rocks. not much for tweakability built into the bios but she is not adjusting her multiplers on a daily basis anyhow. I didn't have any problems with the board and neither has she.

[missiveusa]

Iwill also has a DDR 333 solution with the XP 333, fairly priced and very OC'able. However, I don't think the 333DDR platform is mature yet.

The way to go now seems to be an Athlon XP on a VIA KT-266A chipset. Asus, EPoX, Soyo, and MSI all make excellent boards based on this chipset.

MHO: A system based on these components will perform well for at least two years, perhaps longer. That's all you can ask for.

See this piece on new VIA chipset and AMD's plans for XP platform
http://overclockersclub.com/