ASUS A7N8X Deluxe - Need some help guys.

So I've got a a7n8x deluxe and i really dont feel like im fully optimizing this great mobo.
ive got 2 256 ddr sticks in it with an AMD 1.2gig processor and a Geforce 4 TI 4200 with agp 8x video card, im really lagging behind when it comes to playing games and even lately running programs gets slower and slower, i havent upgraded a thing on this baby for years now and i think its dire time for me to upgrade.
Anyway my question is, what would be the cheapest and easiest upgrades I could get/you would suggest i get to help bring me back to my gaming glory days.

-P.S- I'd especially love to be able to play battlefield 2 on high settings flawlessly.

If running programs seems slower, maybe you have too much spyware etc running? As for playing BF2 (and other games) flawlessly, I would recommend selling ur processor, video card, RAM and motherboard and getting a brand new mobo like the ASUS P5B, an NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT, a minimum of 1GB of DDR2 RAM (2GB dual-channel kit recommended), and a Core 2 Duo E6300 or E4300. Shouldn't cost you more than $800. And that PC would be more than capable of playing BF2 maxed out quite smoothly. Here are some links:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN, 12cm FAN, version 2.2, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 450W Power Supply - Retail
(for that new video card)

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

OCZ S.O.E 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2SOE8002GK - Retail
Grand Total= $610 after rebates
I hope it helped!

P.S.-> I assume you will be using the HDD, keyboard etc. from your old PC so I haven't linked you to any. But if you want, I can do that too.

ah i was actually hoping to salvage the rig i was on, is it that outdated that i cant upgrade cheaper, or would buying a whole new rig really be the cheaper and better way to go?

It seems lots of people have problems with PCs running slower and slower, which is often caused by spyware, viruses, etc. How about posting a HijackThis log?

You rcomputer is massively behind. Everything in your PC is about 3 generations old.

So it is far better to build a new computer than to "try" and upgrade your current setup.

i have a a7n8x deluxe with an athlon xp 2500+ (1.8ghz)and 2 sticks of 512 ram (they arent dual channel, ones 333mhz the other 400) and a radeon 9800 se 256 mb. i can play call of duty 2 smoothly and i can run encore dvd, photoshop cs2, and premiere pro without a problem.

i would keep your board and your 512 memory, buy a 8x geforce 7 series (would work better with the nforce chipset than an ati i think) and upgrade your 1.2 ghz to an athlon xp 3000 or somthing. buying the video card and processor would probably be over 200 bucks and your machine would last another 2 or 3 years.

i would also backup your files and nuke windows so that you had a fresh start with no spyware. i nuke my machines about every 6 months because windows is a very messy o/s and gets very unefficient very quickly.

and my 2 cents on the core 2 duo machine, they are very nice and quick, just make sure you get memory with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 and stay away from SATA hard drives, ive never had good experiece with them. the e6400 core 2 duo is the best bang for your buck, but a killer system will run you about 800 bucks. i would redo the asus machine before trashing it and buying a new one.

I recommend an upgrade since AGP cards are more expensive than their PCI-E counterparts. Also, DDR RAM has now become a lot more expensive than DDR2, which is the main reason I suggested an upgrade. If you cannot afford an upgrade, then try onesmart*****'s suggestions out. But to just play a game, and play it with all the graphics settings turned up are two different things. You just have to decide what you want.

a decent video card like a top of the line AGP and a cpu upgrade to a 3200+ would cost around $200. You should get more life out the board. I would add another 512 (1gb). But ensure it is two matched 512s.

yes, newer parts are cheaper than old parts. pci is faster and about 1/3 less than agp in price. so if you want the fastest system on the block then build a new machine. but its more logical to soup up what you have than to build a new one (unless you sell/ part out the old system)

i personally like maxing out my machines before i build new ones. or else id have like 50 machines

yeah i really dont wanna trash the mobo just yet, i think ill try taking onesmart*****s advice and see if i can take advantage of my dual channel's with two 512's
any reccomendations on what kinda processor i should get? and video card?
ill go shopping on new egg to see what theyve got.

the 7800 GS would be a good video card, although not inexpensive. (not giving links) if that is a 754 socket board, which I think it is, at least a 3200+ or 3400+ if one can be found. You also need 2 gigs of ram. (PC3200mem)and that could be wrong as I have not studied that board.

A 7800GS would be quite bottlenecked by any Athlon XP processor. I would recommend this 6800GT or this 7600GT from Newegg and this Athlon XP 2800+ from ZipZoomFly.

What you could do if upgrade the graphics card that would give you a major boost any agp graphics card will work, you can buy an Athlon XP 3200+ on ebay for about £50 (runs at 2.2ghz) as well as another 512ram would be good, you will need to flash the bios tho before the board will run the 3200+.

To add, my old rig was Athlon XP 3200+ 1gb Ram and Radeon 9600 Pro 256mb card with the Asus A7N8X Deluxe motherboard, If you are upgrading the cpu I recommend you get a very good fan as well as 2 case fans for optimal performance, all in you are talking about £220 if you ebay the parts about £280 if you buy new, my old rig was able to run battlefield 2 on low graphics, and counterstrike source everything on high and day of defeat source on medium with solid 60fps.

Rage_3K_Moiz, I would agree with you on the bottleneck for the 7800 GS, but I am running one and like it very well on the system in my profile. but that 7600GT is a good card too and I know he would be proud of it.

hm, so from what im getting, 1 gig of ram, 7600 gt video card and the Athlon XP 3200+ should set me up pretty well?

Yeah, I think that should be enough. The 7600GT seems to be losing out on paper but in real-life tests, it wipes the floor with the 6800GT. So I think that and the 3200+ would be ur best bet.

Athlon XP 3200

Yeah by todays standards athon xp's are nothing special, but they are still a powerful CPU. The only problem is going to be finding one. Most retailers that still have them charge a small fortune basically because they dont make them anymore and people in you situation need them. ZipZoomFly wants $159 for a 2800+ for Pete's sake !!!!!!!! Those where just $95 3 years ago !!!!

Id see if I can find a deal on Ebay one a 3200+

Athlon XP 3200+ On Ebay

The eBay deal seems quite good. I'd take it if I were you.

anyone know if the xp 32 works for my mobo? once again A7N8X Deluxe
oh and thanks guys for all the help, with my tax returns coming soon looks like im going to invest it into making my decades old rig into something more than decent once more =D