Now that I have just bought my ASUS A7N8X motherboard, I’m thinking of buying a new processor and graphics card. Currently I have a 1Ghz Athlon and a Geforce 2 MX400 that are getting on a bit and I could use then to rebuild my older computer I originally took them from. I would like your opinions on which Athlon XP processor to buy bearing in mind of cost. Also is it worth paying extra for a retail version with an approved heatsink and fan, AMD logo sticker and 3year warranty over the OEM one. Also what graphics does everyone recommend I should buy, I hear that ATI make some good cards now comparing to the Geforce 4. And finally, if I were to buy an ATI card would it work with the A7N8X because it has a nVIDIA chipset?

I can tell you that preformance wise, Nvidia is the way to go. I have used their GPU's for years and have great results. Theyre boards include twice the amount of transistors than the P4, wssentially making them faster. ATI's are okay but cheaper, so if cost is the issue, then resort to ATI.

First of all about the video card ATI has the best market on video card right now. Their best card the Radeon 9700 Pro is "a lot" faster than nvidia's best card which is Ti4600 under any circumstance turbo/more ram or not. HOwever, this card goes for 320 bucks and usually 399 is the retail price. If your on a budget I still wouldn't recommend any nvidia cards. 2 month ago maybe I would've bought an Ti4200 over any ATI card just because of the value. However, now that the Nvidia released their Radeon 9500 Pro targeting nvidia's MX market and going for about 150-180 bucks. However, it is consistently performing better than the Ti4200 and catching yp to Ti4400 Radeon 9500 Pro will be my recommendation and they do work with A7n8x boards. The only problem that I've been hearing from people using the A7n8x with AGP 8x compatible cards is that once you install it the BIOS will lock the card at 8x only and will not let you switch to 4x or 2x. Now, I don't have this problem because I have the newest beta BIOS and if you buy the board make sure the BIOS is as new as possible. Now for CPU if you want a fast one go for XP 2400+. I wouldn't recommend any higher ie 2600+ or 2800+. They are too expensive and 2400+ can be easily oced to 2600+ or even 2800+. 2400+ is about 160-190 dollars and runs smooth. Of course if you want to take your 333 fsb advantage than 2700+ or 2800+ is the choice but just remember they are extremely expensive that this time 300+ dollars. I don't see the reason paying extra bucks for Retail version. The fan they provided is not that great and the sticker is useless. They do come with 3 years warranty but I doubt you will keep for that long before another CPU upgrade. Remeber CPU's gets relatively cheap after a while like I got my 1700+ for 50 dollars when they are over 200+ dollars before. OEM's do come with 1 year warranty and that's about all you need. CPU do not break that easily especially with A7n8x board they have circuits protecting OC overheating. Btw is your Deluxe versioN?

The XP processor I'm looking at is the 2100+ but I found that the 2000+ are $17 cheaper. The speed difference is very minimal so I’m thinking is it worth paying that much extra. Also the board I have is an A7N8X Deluxe.