Here's the situation--one of my friends put together an Athlon 500 for me about 4 years ago. I have had probs with it on and off, specifically with the m/b, but on the whole I am relatively pleased with the system as it meets most of my needs. However it is no longer functioning and I need some advice about getting the situation corrected. I have a limited knowledge of these types of problems--meaning just enough to open up a case, mess around with a few components, and very likely make things worse--but I think I have pretty well established that it is not the RAM or the video card. I suspect it is not the motherboard either b/c I had to buy a new one just over a year ago. So my dilemma--do I buy a new Athlon 500-ish processor and just pop it into the motherboard, just start over with a new motherboard and processor, or take it to a tech. I do not really want to spend more than about $70 fixing this, so I guess taking it to a tech is pretty much out. I believe I am leaning towards an Athlon Tbird 950 with a new motherboard and have been looking around at places like Pricewatch. The other prob is that I do not really know what I am getting just from looking at the specs--meaning I do not know if my vid card, tower, and hard drives will go with the bundle that I have in mind. The specs are:

Athlon CPU+Fan preistalled and tested with MSI-6389 Motherboard
This Socket A system board made by well known MSI for Gateway computers.
Excellent quality motherboard for system builders or for upgrading your existing
computer. CPU Support:
AMD Athlon processors up to 1400 MHz 200/266 FSB
AMD Duron up to 950MHz
VIDEO and SOUND:
Built-In
Chipset:
VIA KM133
Slots:
3PCI/1 4x AGP
Memory:
PC133 SDRAM DIMM system memory
100/133 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB)
Controller:
Ultra ATA 33/66/100 drives

What I would essentially like to know is--would this go well with a large tower, will I be able to put my own video and sound cards in, will this support my cd drive and cd-rw drive, and for $69 is this a good deal? Appreciate any help--thx.

Nope, it’s not that good a deal. Its old technology.

The least I would look at would be a KT7Pro2 and that’s now old.

My entry model would be the K7T Pro2 as it will take today’s CPU's

... and this board will keep up with the times KT4 Ultra as it is SATA ready.

Get the right "foundation" now and it will save you money in the future. Also ensure you get a 450watt PSU, today a 300 may not deliver enough power.

… aint I free at spending your money.

Don't forget there are other MB manufactures out there that are just as good as MSI, however, it is my personal opinion that you cant go too wrong with an MSI Motherboard.

Ok...appreciate the advice...still not sure what I'll do--I'm mostly just looking for a quick fix that will get me through the school year and possibly a little longer. Thx