i'm turning to amd and nvidia

[code_azn]

I'm a die hard fan of intel and ati for years now, when ever someone ask me to biuld or recommend something, i alway go with intel and ati. So today I'm crossing over to the dark side (i'm not saying its a bad thing i just want it to sound dramatic ^.^ ) A friend who is on a pIII 700mhz and gforce 5200 128mb ask me for an upgrade solution and i tell him:

p4 2.8 w/mobo and radeon x700 256mb for about $230
I'm only concern with these 3 cpu/mobo/videocard. I dont' have a clue where to begin with amd and nvidia can someone post their suggestions? something cheap or equivalence.

[BipolarBill]

Ironic- AMD just *bought* ATi.

That's a good price on a combo.

Here'a good baseline for AMD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103537

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130491

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130020

That's about the same price range witha better video card. You can save another $20 or so by getting a Sempron 64 instead of the Athlon. I'd rather have the Athlon for the L2 cache.

Still, your package price seems pretty good unless you need a cooler running rig.

[code_azn]

Your setup is way better as it is 64bit ready and has pci express, but is it full x16? the cpu and mobo combo i choose was so cheap because it uses sis chipset >.<

http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetail...&ProdID=10855#

Thx for the help BipolarBill , this is my first step into a whole new world, bye intel and ati.

[BipolarBill]

Yes it's full x16.