System upgrade??

I'll say it again. Not everyone wants to run a game at such high resolutions. 1024x768 is more than enough unless you have a huge monitor. And again I will say it. A 2.0ghz with 512MB of PC2700 and a 9700 Pro will not have a problem running HL2 or Doom 3.

I only have a 2100+ 1.73GHz, and I can bet everyone here that this system isn't going to have a problem with either game.

We will just have wait like you said. When that day comes in September when HL2 comes out. I'll be sure to rub it in your faces. :-D

the 9800 256

does not post a significant improvement over the 128 version............in fact, it's virtually none.......the 128 is about a 80 more than the 9700 now.......while, on the other hand......the fx does scale to meg size, making it the top gun in my book, for now (tomshardware.com substantiates these statements, several articles)............this is just my call bro'.........i'm goin' for the bigger gun :grinthumb action sequences, yes, on an alpha build, brought you downnnnnnnnn to single digit fps.....fun though

Yea the guy is on a budget though, so we have to help him make the decision based on what he needs and can get for the right price for him.

Those are my opinions on where I stand at this point in time. Six months from now technology will be much different and prices will be that much different.

Intel makes fantastic motherboards that are quite stable. You won't go wrong with an Intel board at all! However, I prefer to support the 3rd party motherboard manufacturers. They usually perform ever so slightly better and the larger manufacturers are just as stable. Also, since the manufacturers don't have cpu's to sell, they provide very advanced overclocking and memory tweaking options in the BIOS. Instead of the Intel D865PERL motherboard I suggest you take a look at the ABIT IS7 or the Asus P4P800, both of which are the 865PE chipset. I prefer Abit more so than Asus but thats just personal preference. I usually shop at newegg.com (a US based company) as they have great prices and charge very fairly for shipping.

Here are some quotes taken from various forums on Doom 3 alpha performance:
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WTF is wrong with Doom3?

I have Dual P4 3.06GHz (=6.12GHz)
With 2GB DDR Ram
and a Geforce FX5900.
And D3 only runs at 16fps
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G FORCE 4 TI 4600 128MBV
AMD 2100+
1 GIG 2700 DDR
DX 9
MSI KT4 MOBO
IT RUNS HIGH 1024 BY 768 30-50 FPS RUN AWSOME
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Hey guys, I got an INTEL P4 2.4 GHZ,512 MB DDR & I bought an ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 128 MB and i downloaded directX 9.0 & latest CATALYST 3.2 drives. I was playing DOOM III ALPHA and i got 13 to 25 fps when walking, 10 to 8 fps when shooting & when there is a monster comes i get 5 to 7 fps on maximum quality with shadows on & 640X480 resolution.
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since it's an alpha the performance level on the best systems out there is pretty pitiful (~30 FPS with NOTHING moving on screen at 800x600 on a 2.4 GHz GF4 Ti 4600 comp).
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Looks as if a high end card like Radeon 9700 Pro will probably be ok on doom 3. Even the Half Life videos were captured on a Radeon 9800 Pro and they were fine. Lower to mid-range cards will have problems, especially when there are a lot of objects onscreen, but high end cards should be fine.

Also, I do agree with acidosmosis; HL2 will not need uber equipment to run well and look good. Anything in the middle ground should be fine. I personally think that my GF4 Ti4200 will be able to play HL2 decently (decently being around 60fps) at the medium settings.

i guess the best

way to summarize this, would be at what point, you pull the trigger...............it's only a matter of months before the 9800 will be at the 9700's price. of course, by then the price of the 9700 will have dropped proportionately to the drop of the 9800. so, if the 9700 is in his budget, and right now is when he needs it, then, i say get it.............if, he can wait that few months to coordinate with the release of those games, then, i'd say wait until it comes into his price range. :grinthumb and, about half life? you're right, but, just for that game. other games will be more demanding...........it just depends on where you do most of your gaming.

I guess what one person decides is decent, may be inadequate to another. By way of example, I have a GeForce 2 Ti, and when I play Heavy Gear II (an old game) I get very good frame rates with no slowing apparent. However, when the action heats up and there are a lot of things happening onscreen my framerate drops to levels that are unplayable (i.e. my game controller seems stuck in a time warp and response is very poor). If you wish to maintain smooth gameplay when the action is happening, then those previously acceptable cards, will become a serious drawback. Also, what's the point in having DX9 when you're forced to turn off the eye candy and lower the resolution just to get acceptable framerates? I for one want it all maxed out at 1280x1024, which is the native resolution of most 17 inch TFT panels that I have my eye on. Just a thought.

I get 60 fps minimum on Counter-Strike in OpenGL mode. I use GF4 MX 400.

Yeah you get 60fps in CS but that is half-life 1, Im talking about Half-Life 2. Big difference there.

Also, with that Abit IS7, is there any difficulty with the ide cables being plugged in? In my case the harddrive actually goes over the ide port, making it extremely hard to plug in or unplug. That is the other problem with mobos these days. Their getting so wide... and the dimm slots are way too close to the agp port...annoying!!

Sounds like you need a new system case as well.

Yeah, well i've been looking at the Antec SX635BII (Black one) which runs for 82 bucks right now. It looks good and isnt too expensive, now doed anyone know if it has enough room for those big mobos? Or of another case that would do me well?

link to product-- http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_details_enclosure.php?ProdID=80637

Looks like a good case. You shouldn't have any problems with Antec, as they are normally well designed. That particular case is a good size, so you shouldn't find it cramped at all. Go for it.

Here are a few reviews of that particular Abit board:

http://www.ninjalane.com/display.aspx?docname=abit-is7

http://www.hexus.net/review.php?review=572

Edit: Here's another review of the Abit board as well as a roundup of 20 motherboards:

(Page with the Abit IS7)
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1831&p=4

(Starting page of the whole roundup)
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1831&p

The abit is nice, but I have found a board that also seems to be nice. Its Aopens AX4SPE-N. looks nice, and has some features the abit doesnt have. http://www.aopen.com/products/mb/AX4SPE-N.htm
I like aopen and have used their mobos for my past two systems. Cant find any reivew on this tho, if you can plz let me know. Let me know what you guys think about this board. Thx.

Looks like a well specified mainboard. Not sure if there is a bios mod to enable PAT on that board, but its likely one will be available. If not then its going to be quite a bit slower than other similar boards.

Uh, Pat, that is an unsupported thing in the 865's. Intel isnt too happy about board makers inplementing it, they said it can cause instability....

Intel aren't happy because it will lose them money in reduced sales of 875 chipset mainboards (on which Intel makes 3 times as much profit: $60 for 875 vs $20 for 865). No other reason.

Intel steaming over Springdale PAT

The Aopen AX4SPE-N seems like a fine board. They do cater to the oem croud more so than they do to the consumer/enthusiast croud but that shouldn't an issue at all. I, too, can't find any reviews on it. Just out of curiousity, did you read about all 20 of the motherboards reviewed in that roundup from Anandtech?

no, havent had the chance yet, but will soon. Ill see if anything sparks my interest, but performance isnt all im looking for. Good board layout is just as important. The ide slots need to be at the botttom or I'll probably just disregard it. These things do matter to me.