updating my hardware suggestions

[Justone]

I have a good old Matsonic Pentium II 500 MHz board, and I think the case is AT type this Rig is running like a tuned clock( a bit slow tho )
with a 256 MB ram, 250 PSU
a 60 GB wd 7200 hdd,
+a 9 GB 5400 Maxtor,
a 32 megs ATI graphic,
Sony CD r-rw,
and DVD ROM, monitor. modem and cordless keyboard+mouse.
So since the prices of board are so inexpensive,
and the case is in mint condition,
I decided to upgrade the board to a 1.3 Ghz. So since I have everything,
all I need is a board and CPU, but my bank account won't let me spend more then $ 135, for board and CPU combined.
Any suggestions for a good and stable board,
Which and where if possible please.
The only worry I have is the CASE, most if not all modern boards today are ATX I'm not sure on how to distinguish between a AT and ATX

[lptech]

Justone-

The quickest way is to check and see if you have a 5-pin DIN or a 6-pin DIN connector for the keyboard! If it is the larger 5-pin DIN connector, it is an AT motherboard and if it has the smaller 6-pin DIN connector, it is an ATX motherboard! The ATX motherboard would have two 6-pin DIN receptacles, one on top of the other! AT motherboards use either a serial mouse or bus mouse (PS/2 type) on a separate slot in the back of the system.

Unfortunately, if you have an AT motherboard, you'd have to change your case and power supply if you want to upgrade the motherboard and CPU. By the way, have you checked your motherboard manual to find out which type of motherboard you actually have? Please check the manual out if you have it in your possession! Good luck.

LPTECH

[rmanet]

lptech's right and I'll bet you're out of luck in using the old case - believe me, once you go down this path you'll become an upgrade junkie and you'd probably need more power too....I'm surprised it's doing okay now with all that stuff

typical cases are only about $25 (get at least 300w PSU) but if you go P4 you need to go with another case - then get yerself a cpu combo and go for it - remember tho that if you will probably need to reinstall your OS and apps (except XP does fine, and I've done 3 swaps using ME and it worked like a charm)

or heck - you could just pull up the specs on that Matsonic -see how far it will go in terms of an upgrade (look for the highest multiplier and FSB options either on the board or in your BIOS) and get the fastest CPU you can put in there and add more ram??

[Justone]

Thanks for the replays I guess I'll have to feed the bank more green, then I'll do it right, you know Case, PSU, and DDR ram . See you