Hi, I have an oppurtunity to replace my ailing PC/Chips M598 m/b with a far better Soyo SY-5EMA+. They are both Super Socket 7 boards, and as far as I am aware, the Soyo will support an AMD K6-3+. (Lower voltage than the standard K6-3 I have now, more overclockable, potentially up to and if the gods are happy, above 600 Mhz.) I plan to add the max of 768 megs SDRAM to the Soyo board, as both a hedge against getting outdated so fast, and a performance improvement. Otherwise the system would keep my existing ATI Xpert 128 16 meg PCI video card, and both of my HD's, a 14.2 gig Maxtor and a 12.1 gig Western Digital. I'm also planning a DVD-ROM drive and later, a CD-RW. The Soyo m/b is AGP 2x capable, would it make much difference to use an AGP 2x video card versus my current card? I play some games on this PC/Chips that lag, albeit slightly, depending on where I am in the game. Opinions on this board, system configuration, suitability for running XP Home, and future chances are requested.. Thanks.

Hi- Can't imagine you'd have any trouble with XP on that: I was runing it on a P3-450mhz just fine. Main issue w/XP is plenty of memory- 128mb just for XP to hog, extra for your system programs. I can't comment on that board- maybe go to motherboards.org? Or check it out on Google? Face the fact that in PC's, everything is obsolete within a year (or less). Just get what's best for you at the time & don't worry about it. From personal experience, I have never regretted adding a PCI-based controller card for my hard drives (lets them run at their best speed)to run off of- which freed my two opticals (CD-RW, DVD-ROM) to run as master on their own channel. This lets you make drive-to-drive copies "on the fly"- no writing to the hard drive. Yes, your gaming would improve if you utilize the AGP slot (dedicated & designed for graphics). Since the board is only 2X, I wouldn't jump for the most expensive board but maybe a 32mb (or GF3 or mid-priced Radeon)? Check the reviews at 3dgameman.com. Sell your PCI or keep it as a backup. Watch the Officemax Sunday sales flyer (better yet, go to their site & sign up to get it in your email)- within the last three months I've gotten a 16x DVD-ROM for $0 & a CD-RW (48x12x48x) $10- after rebates. The brands Cendyne & Verbatim are actually name brand units in the box- turned out the burner was Lite-On & the DVD was Pioneer. FYI on that. adkmom