Next best thing to building your own...

My old pc was a PIII 550 with 384MB of SDRAM. I really wanted to build my own PC, but I had a limited budget. I found a Gateway 614-GE system for a reasonable price. I know that Gateway is less proprietary than other manufacturers, plus the system had a lot of good parts in it. I decided just to upgrade various parts as I got the money. That way, I could al least get some satisfaction in transforming this machine from a mid-tier performer to a real powerhouse. Here's a history of all of the upgrades I put into it:

OS: PC came with XP Home. I formatted and did a clean install of XP
Pro. This also got rid of the "no thank you programs" (including Norton, which I hate), and allowed me to put my own image on the computer.

Video: The PC came with integrated s3 Uni Chrome II graphics, which totally blew at playing any games. I upgraded to a eVGA GeForce MX4000 64MB, which was a little better, but still flakey. After I got a little more money, I put in a BFG GeForce MX4000 with 128MB. This was much better with games, but still fell a little short. Recently, I got more money, and upgraged again to a BFG GeForce FX5500 256MB card. This handles my games much better than the other cards did.

Sound: PC came with integrated AC'97 audio. I found the Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit to be a good basic upgrade for the price. I also upgraded the factory speakers from a basic 2 sattelite speaker setup to a Creative 2.1 setup. The subwoofer really adds a kick to playing my mp3's!

HDD: PC came with a 200GB Seagate ATA-100 Drive. I do a lot of downloading, so I added an additional 160GB Seagate ATA-100 drive for storage purposes.

RAM: PC came with 512MB of PC3200 (Samsung). I got a good deal on a PNY 512MB stick, and added it to get a full GB. I notice a big differance now when playing games.

Network: PC came with a 56k dialup modem. I replaced this with a Belkin 802.11g wireless card, and adapted my other computers the samw way, so I now have a high-speed wireless network!

Input: PC came with a standard PS/2 keyboard/mouse setup. I upgraded to a USB optical mouse, and an illuminated slim-line USB Keyboard.

I'm going to continue to upgrade until the time comes to build a whole new system. Any ideas as to what to upgrade next? I was thinking of getting a Sound Blaster Audigy Value card and a 5.1 speaker setup.

I prefer Turtle Beach products over the one you list. Not as much sqealing that most folks can not hear. Sound much better too. Plus I find Turtle Bach to be easier on resources and have less conflicts with the OS than Sound Blaster.

Thanks for the input, Train, but I'd rather stick with the Sound Blaster cards. What benifits would the Sound Blaster Audigy Value card have over my Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit card?

Best I can do is suggest you check out the sound blaster links as depicted at http://www.creative.com/products/welcome.asp?category=1
to see what they have to say.

The Audigy Value looks like a good possibility for a future upgrade. It's not too expensive, and it does boast some features that my current card lacks. I was also thinking of buying a new case/psu/fan setup. My current setup is running a bit warm, and I would like to take the temps down a little. Mt current Gateway case only offers one fan aside from the CPU fan. According to everest, the temps are a little high, but not in the danger zone. I also figure that a PSU with a little more wattage would help with future upgrades. I currently have a 300w Bestec, but would like to get a 500+w PSU by a more reputable brand such as Antec or Enermax.

If I may make a recommendation on a new case, that is to make sure that 120mm fans can be used in it. They are much quieter by far.

My 120s are running around 1300-1400 rpm and the 80's were running wide open. Thusly the 80,s were noisy.

Nice temp drop too. 6C.

I realise that there's quite a difference in price, but if you can possibly run to it then go for the SoundBlaster X-Fi. It's moved sound cards into another league.

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...SubCategory=57

Price is a problem, though. I'm in between jobs right now, and money's tight. I think I'm going to try to get a Creative 5.1 speaker system before I get the new sound card.