Need help upgrading my computah

Hi I\'m looking to upgrade my computer so I can play some of the newest PC games (Max Payne, CM 01/02 etc) but I don\'t know much about computers, and I don\'t have much money either (plus the weak-@ss Canadian dollar is not very kind when shopping for computers). I\'m hoping some of the computer geniuses here can help me out (please).

I have a P3 450 with an Asus P2B-F AGP motherboard with an Intel 440BX chipset (whatever the hell that means). From what I\'ve read I can\'t buy and install an AMD chip in my motherboard which is a shame since they\'re so damn cheap compared to the Intel ones. I could buy another motherboard but the only one in my price range is the \'Elitegroup K7VTA3\' - I\'ve never heard of the company so I\'m not sure how reliable it will be. If I get that mb then I gather I can get an AMD processor and I find that the following processors are in my price range (with the added cost of the no-name momma board):

*AMD K7-1 Giga Hz ThunderBird Cpu ( 266 Mhz FSB, Socket A ) W/ Cooling Fan
*AMD ATHLON-950 384K L1CACHE ThunderBird Cpu ( 200 Mhz FSB, Socket A ) W/ Cooling Fan

Are these two good for gaming? Are there any other considerations I need to take into account beyond the mammaboard and the CPU?

Another option within my price range is to get a:

*Celeron 900Mhz PPGA Pentium II Celeron (Flip Chip, 128K Cache) PPGA 900 Mhz Cpu W/ Cooling Fan

Is the celery any good, and is my motherboard compatible (?) -  it says it has \'Pentium III/Pentium II/Celeron support\' but Asus\' site always crashes my browser.

I\'d be really greatful for any help. Cheers.

I think you might want to get an Athlon CPU for sure,
it will cost less, and the performance is great for the price.
You will need Main board + power supply? new case unless the main  board fits in your current case? i\'m not sure 100 percent, i have not done any thing hardware related since i got my P2-300 4 years ago... i have no idea what the new CPU\'s need in terms of connectors etc...  


A good place to start investigating is: http://www.tomshardware.com

I\'d say go with the AMD 1Ghz and the Asus A7V KT133 Socket A mobo.  The AMD is $71 and Asus is $87 online bringing your upgrade total to $158 plus shipping.  If you have an ATX case everything should install fine.

http://www.pricescan.com

With Athlons being so cheap theres really no reason to get a Duron or Celeron when you can get an Athlon for a few dollars more and have much better performance.
Most KT266 and K133 mobos are pretty good. Check around and read some hardware articles.

Thanks guys, the help is much appreciated. If anyone else has any other suggestions please post them too. Cheers.

Go to http://www.sharkyextreme.com
They always have good PC buying guides and stuff.

Here\'s the value gaming PC guide:
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/theguide/value_game_pc/

And here is the High-End gaming PC guide:
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/theguide/high_game_pc/

you should be able to find some good answers as to what you should choose...

BTW, don\'t ever buy a Celeron! You\'re much better off with an AMD Duron than a Celeron.

Check these places for motherboard/ATHLON combos:

• Newegg
  
• Pricewatch
  
• Directron