so what should I look for in a motherboard

[Aerozord]

after seeing what people said about my dragon age issues it appears I need more RAM, unfortunately my current motherboard is nearing its max. so what should I look for in a new motherboard/CPU and how do I know which RAM to buy?

[Nikose Tyris]

I would consider this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5317365&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4222288&CatId=3411

For note: This Motherboard is definite limitations, but for price and the fact it's a Mobo/CPU combo, I'd consider it. I also picked it because it uses DDR2 RAM.


If you have a bit more money to spend:

RAM:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5210464&CatId=3361

MOBO/CPU:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5371836&CatId=4721

Both Motherboards should be compatible with your Windows ME.

[MasterOfMagic]

Will you be wanting to keep the rest of your current parts? Or will this be from scratch? 'cause that'll matter quite alot.

[Aerozord]

well, fairly certain HDD and my DVD player is compatible with all. Only thing that really need to keep is my AGP video card

[MasterOfMagic]

Keeping the dual core processor? If so, is it AMD/Intel? Which model?

If you want to keep your drives we need to know more about their connections. Are they SATA, or IDE? (small sturdy cable or very wide, usually grey, flat cable?) If they are IDE, do you intend to upgrade them in the future? Any other devices you might plan on getting eventually (more hard drives is popular for storage)?

How much are you planning on spending on this upgrade?

[Aerozord]

last time I got just a motherboard it caused issues, so I wanted a motherboard CPU combo

I actually have a 360 gig HDD that I have yet to install. Figured I'd wait until I swap out the motherboard.

Soft capping the motherboard/CPU at 200, abit over is fine

[MasterOfMagic]

Keeping the AGP video card will really limit your choices, and force your upgrade to be fairly small and/or negligible. As a for-instance:

This is all of the motherboards newegg carries that still have them. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280+1073407577&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=280&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=) (AMD motherboard searches don't even list it as an option anymore.) You'll note that the maximum supported RAM for all of them is 2Gigs.

So, to do this you'll more than likely end up buying a graphics card too. Is that a deal breaker?

[Aerozord]

gonna have to get a new one then, whole point was more max memory, and 2 gigs isn't gonna cut it

[synkr0nized]

If you don't mind / can spend the money, dropping AGP will definitely open up your options.