It's been about two years since I last upgraded my system, so I'm REALLY out of date on current tech. I currently have: Intel 1.0 GHZ processor, Tyan Motherboard, Geforce2 Vid card, 1 gig pc133 RAM. I have enough money to upgrade my Processor and Motherboard, but the RAM is going to have to wait. I was wonding if I could buy a good Motherboard and Processor and use my old PC133 RAM until I can get some good DDR. (In 3 to 4 weeks.) Are the new Motherboards backwards compatible? Am I screwed and have to buy the motherboard, processor and RAM all at the same time? What board and processor should I get? (I've got about $300 free from this paycheck.) Thanks everyone!

Umm.. Just as a followup on the motherboard I want, I don't want ethernet or sound built in. I'd also prefer to go with AMD rather than Intel. At least 2 usb ports are a must, and I'd prefer 4.

I would just wait the 3 to 4 weeks, but I know Asus have some SiS based boards that support both; www.asus.com and have a look for these boards, the P4S533-X for the P4 and the A7S266-VM for the Athlon.

http://www.ecsusa.com/products/k7s5a_pro.html

Sorry, didn't see the $300 mentioned...you can get a decent setup for that amount. nForce2 mobo for about $75, Athlon XP2500+ for about $100, 512 DDR RAM for about $100...then upgrade your video later...

Calmiche: Very few motherboards currently in production support both DDRAM and SDRam. Those that do, do not support the fastest DDRAM or the fastest processors. The two I know about are the ECS K7S5A Pro and the Biostar M7VIG Pro. I suggest you do extensive Internet searches on whatever you buy. People have reported problems with both of these. For personal reviews: K7S5A: http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?item=13-135-126 Also, I suggest you do a search here: http://pub140.ezboard.com/bk7s5amotherboardforum for the pro version of the K7S5A M7VIG: http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?item=13-138-217 I'm sure there are many other sites with reviews and opinions of these motherboards. I have one of the M7VIG Pro boards and have never had any problem with mine. So, it partially depends on how you define a "good Motherboard". I am not going to try to do that for you.

unless you need that upgraded system right away and would downgrade from what you could get because you need it, then i would wait till you had some money to spend on a little ram, heck you can get 512 2700 ddr for right over 50 bucks with newegg.com, so i don't think you will have to wait that long, but if you buy a mobo that supports both then you are going to be risking getting a board that is not as upgradable as you could get, so it will cost you more in the long run, hope this helps