I'm looking to build a new computer to replace my ancient P3. I'm not familiar with overclocking at all, although I'm willing to learn. I was looking at a PCChips M860 socket 754 (800fsb) with a Sempron Processor 3100+ / 1.80GHz - Cache Size: 256KB. Should I look instead to a socket A with an Athlon XP barton core instead? I'm going to be using this for moderate gaming and general web usage and I have a limited budget. Which would be the best bang for my buck? Many thanks in advance!

The other system I was looking at was chaintech 7NJL6 (400fsb) with an athlon xp 3000.

Best bang for your buck would be a S754 system. Personally, I'm not a fan of PCChips products. The Geforce3 250 is the best chipset for the S754, with the VIA K8T800 running a close 2nd. Avoid boards based on the SiS chipset. Newegg.com has the Sempron64 3000+ Palermo (retail) for $90. They also have the Athlon64 2800+ Newcastle (OEM) for $115. A decent nForce3 250 or K8T800 board goes for roughly $60... Here's a combo at Outpost.com for $150. S754 Athlon64 3000+ w/ECS K8M800 board. The K8M800 chipset is basically the K8T800 w/integrated graphics http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4465546 ASUS A7N8X-X Athlon XP 1800+ 8.5 x 200MHz 1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7 Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

I can't thank you enough for that reply! I didn't think I could put together a 64 system for that little. Priced out plus shipping, I can get that board, a decent case with 420ps, corsair 512k, and a midgrade ATI Raedon 9200se for 2 dollars cheaper than the sempron bare bones kit I was looking at on tigerdirect. Unreal! Thank you so much :) Here's a question...would the integrated graphics on that board due well enough that I wouldn't need a 128 graphics card right away? Save a few more pennies and make the wife happier. LOL Jason

The integrated graphics would be OK for basic computing (web surfing, word processing, etc), but definitely not for gaming. The 9200SE is not a good card either...it'm not mid range, it's very low end. I highly advise against it. Where are you buying your parts from? I suggest getting the video card from Newegg.com. Since you obviously don't wanna spend much, I'd suggest this FX5200 128MB/128-bit AGP card for $42: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133144 If you're willing to spend a little more for a better card, here's a Radeon 9550 128MB/128-bit AGP for $56: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814149002 ASUS A7N8X-X Athlon XP 1800+ 8.5 x 200MHz 1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7 Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

BTW, newegg has 512MB PC3200 CL 2.5 RAM for about $45 ASUS A7N8X-X Athlon XP 1800+ 8.5 x 200MHz 1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7 Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

Jam, thank you again for the info, I've lined up that system and the graphics card you recomeded, and now I'm getting ready to do research on that mobo and see what I need to download for updated bios, etc. After I get it up and running I'll start looking into overclocking it if necc. If you have any more pointers I'd be happy to hear them, you have been an invaluable asset to me. Again, my thanks. Jason