PC upgrade. Which motherboard, processor and RAM to opt for?

[aryayush]

Hello!
I am upgrading my PC. The current specs are as follows:
INTEL D101GGC motherboard
Intel HT P4 2.66 GHz processor
512 DDR (Hynix - 330 MHz) RAM
Western Digital 250 GB (SATA 7200 RPM) HDD
XFX GeForce 6600 GT 256MB DDR3 graphics card

I don't think my motherboard supports DDR2 RAM. So which motherboard should I buy that comes cheap and supports DDR2, SATA and PCI-Express? Which processor should I opt for that is better than my current one? Should I buy AMD or Intel? And how much RAM should I upgrade to?
Can anyone help me out with these questions? Thank you!

[kaustav_geek]

Hi,
Are you in need of a mobo upgrade alone?? Am not particulcarly sure about the available Intel choices but you could go for a 945G based mobo from Gigabyte.It doesn't have onboard VGA but again that might not matter since you already have a 6600GT.It indeed has support for DDR2 and SATA II.Ofcourse it has a 16X PCIE slot.It retails for about 5.8 k.

[teknoPhobia]

wait a couple of months... you don't need to upgrade rite now, by then conroe and AM2 should both be out

[aryayush]

No, I HAVE to upgrade right now. In fact, tomorrow!
So what are the choices available.

Originally Posted by kaustav_geek

Are you in need of a mobo upgrade alone??

No.

Originally Posted by aryayush

Which processor should I opt for that is better than my current one? Should I buy AMD or Intel? And how much RAM should I upgrade to?

I need to upgrade the motherboard, processor and RAM.

[yogi7272]

look buddy , the upcoming conroe processors from intel are damn good .. so dont spend too much now .. keeping that in mind .. if u want to go for a cheap dual core then

1. processor - intel 805- 2.66 ghz 533 fsb 2 mb cache dual core cpu -- it does overclock well upto 3.4-3.5 ghz .. - 6.5 k - only prob is heating which u can solve by applying some artic silver 5 or ceramique

2. mobo - either asus P5LD2 OR P5ND2 SLI -- price not known ..but both are good for overclocking this processor -- first choice should be P5LD2

3. RAM - CORSAIR VALUE SELECT 512 MB X 2 -- TOTAL 1 GB DDR 2 667 MHZ RAM -- go for 667 mhz ram .. avoid 533 mhz ddr2 ram..

now ram and processor are cheap .. only thing is that mobo should be costly here in india .. third option is gigabyte GA-8N-SLI --


also if u want single core cpu then go for intel 631 - 3 ghz 800 mhz fsb 2mb L2 cache - 65 nm fabrication process -- these new 65 nm fab processors have much less heating problems ..

if u want amd then othes pls help him ..

[aryayush]

According to you, what should be the approximate total cost if I upgrade to 'intel 631 - 3 ghz 800 mhz fsb 2mb L2 cache - 65 nm fabrication process', 'asus P5LD2' and 'CORSAIR VALUE SELECT 512 MB X 2 -- TOTAL 1 GB DDR 2 667 MHZ RAM'? Just give me the approximate. Thanks!
I am not opting for the dual core processor you suggested because overclocking is, unfortunately, not my cup of tea and 2.66 GHz is rather low.

Edit: Is it worth opting for a 64-bit processor? Are they very expensive?