AthlonXP 2400+/2600+ Upgrade

I am researching upgrading my computer (350MHz Pentium II, with 1-40GB HD and 1-30GB HD, a CD ROM, a CDR/RW drive, a floppy drive, GeForce3 graphics accelerator).I'd like to go with the Athlon 2400 or 2600 (Will I notice a difference?).
I have a Gainward GeForce3 Power Pack (Golden Sample Ti/450 TV -- GeForce3 Ti 200).
I was recommended the MSI KT4VL mother board, though I'd be open to other suggestions (I don't want to waste money on an nForce2 board if it won't significantly improve over the GeForce I already have, but economically faster would always be nice).
I was recommended the Vantec VA4-C7040 CPU cooling fan and told to use Arctic Silver II/III thermal transfer material.
I was told to use a copper shim between the CPU and fan.
I was recommended Antec Truepower power supply.
How much RAM is recommended for this system?
My son likes to do 3D animation.
Any suggestions would be helpful. I've had trouble finding someone to help me identify the best parts for my use. I'd like a cost effective, reliable unit that will last me till my 13 year old son enters college.
Barry

 

Hi Barry

BIG question. Probably a million answers.

For what I would do:
First choose your vendor. One reason I chose mine was on the fact that I could get a 3 year warranty if I bought a complete system. That's maybe what you would call "reliable ", considering you will be buying a lot of parts that have only been on the market for a few months. If you get parts from different sources you may have trouble returning them...eg. is the problem in the video card or in the motherboard.
Look at what the vendor has to offer. Generally perfomance etc. goes with price because all the major suppliers have been around long enough to offer competitive products.
Do some research on the motherboards in your price range. Don't get one that offers features that you wont need. (I think a reasonable motherboard with a reasonable video card should handle 3D animation, alternatively say, if you think that your son may want to do video editing in the future you would need quite a lot of RAM and hard drive space.)
Maximum RAM for Win 98 is 512mb, Win XP can run '000's but you won't need more than 1000mb. 256mb runs my system fine and I will add more if necessary (depends on how many programs you want to run and the RAM requirements of your programs).
By "shim" I think it would mean heatsink. I don't think a special heatsink would be necessary unless you wanted to overclock or live in a hot enviroment.
The brands you mention are good ones, but I would talk with the vendor. Maybe you don't require too many special parts. I'm sure there are many standard systems out there running very well.

Do some research yourself and see if there are special things you want the system to do.

Matt

 

Matt,
Thanks for your reply. Actually, research is one reason I am posting this here. I'd love to hear people share their specific experiences in this area. I don't want to rely only on a salesperson's advice. I'd love to hear how specific models worked or didn't work for people. That helps me to know the questions to ask the sales person. I haven't found salespeople able or willing to give me more than what people are buying. As far as tech support, though I am leaning towards AMD, I found that intel support was significantly better than AMD's. AMD takes a long time to respond then beats around the bush rather than answer specific questions, whereas Intel will sit and talk about specifics.
Barry