> I'm proud to annouce to nobody in particular that for the first time in close to a year, I have the case closed on my computer and consider it "fully functional" (at least until the next time I decide I need to upgrade some little component!). I've been having major problems with off-brand boards and devices, so I finally decided to do things right, and researched everything before I bought it. What a difference! Who'd have thought that a computer could actually work correctly after I've mucked around with the interior?
>
> Anyway, I now have (what appears to be!) a fully functional Pentium 233MMX computer, with 64 MB of RAM, a 40X CD-ROM drive, a 2.1 GB hard disk, a 56K modem, a 64 bit PCI sound card, and a really crappy video card and monitor. And it only took me about a year and several hundred dollars to accomplish! But, I consider it valuable experience, and I now feel totally comfortable doing any sort of upgrade to a computer, including motherboard upgrades. I can basically build a computer from component parts without much trouble. A great resume item. :-)
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> For my next trick, I plan on upgrading the video card and the monitor. I want to get a 17" monitor and a Diamond Monster Fusion AGP card. More long term, I want to get PC-100 SDRAM and upgrade to either a K6-2 450 or a K6-3 550 (whichever is most affordable when I get ready to upgrade).
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> People (mostly Sam) ask me all the time, "what the heck do you do with your computer anyway?" My answer is "I upgrade it." And I'm only half kidding. But now that I have a functional computer at last, I think I'll go easy on the upgrading for a few months. I'm planning on buying a few games and actually using some of those excess clock cycles :-)
>

Dave,

You will LOVE a 17" monitor. CompUSA has good ones. Also, you're going to want a bigger hard drive, 64 more MB of RAM, and a faster processor (the Pentium 350 is only $178 right now, if you buy it at the right place).

All in all, though, it sounds like you have a handle on it. :)

Di "More power! ane