Upgrading for BF2

[NTolerance]

Time to upgrade and stuff. I've done a good bit of research as to what I want, but now I need to do a little fine-tuning. My main goal is to get increased performance in Battlefield 2 by upgrading my CPU, mobo, RAM, and video card. I want to stay under $700 total for the new parts.

Current PC:

P4 1.6A @ 2.4Ghz (150Mhz FSB)
Asus P4B533-V
2X 512MB Corsair Value Ram PC3200 (not bought as a kit)
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

According to this Anandtech article, the X800XL seems to give the best performance in BF2 for a mid-range vidcard. I also know that AMD has the best gaming performance right now, so I'm looking at the Venice line of CPUs. The NForce 4 is the only game in town as far as A64 chipsets, right? I was looking at this article to compare NF4 boards. I don't need SLI. So here's what I've got so far in my Newegg cart:

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: EP-9NPA+Ultra
	$107.50 	  	$107.50

ASUS EAX800XL/2DTV/256 Radeon X800XL 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: EAX800XL/2DTV/256
	$280.00 	  	$280.00

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
Model #: VS1GBKIT400
	$81.99 	  	$81.99

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3200BPBOX
	$190.00 	  	$190.00

Total:   	 $669.81

Questions:

1. My current PSU is an Antec 400W that doesn't have the 12V P4 connector. My current mobo has a molex on the board to substitute for the 4-pin 12V connector. The new Epox board does not. I hear there are adapters to take a molex and turn it into a 12V connector. Will this be sufficient? I can't find one at newegg. Any help?

2. I will be running my current unmatched sticks of Corsair PC3200 along with this new 2X 512MB kit. Should I expect any problems running in dual channel mode?

3. I'm still uncertain as to which vidcard to get. I picked the Asus because it's the cheapest. Any other suggestions?

4. I won't be overclocking right away, but what's the success with this chip and what aftermarket HSFs should I be looking at?

[djstubbs]

1. You will need a new PSU, I would suggest an OCz Modstream 520W.

2. As long as the sticks of RAM are the same speed, they should run fine in dual channel.

3. The video card you selected is fine.

4. I would go for the Thermalright XP-120 and the Vantec Tornado 120mm fan, also you might want to look into the DFI NF4 board, as it beats out the one you selected in many different tests.

Another thing, your CPU may bottleneck your video card so you might want to consider saving for a better one (make sure it's 939 san diego core), like the 4000+.

[lcplsickoll]

1. You do need a new PSU. Don't use the adapters. I did and you don't get the stability you do from the proper powersupply.
2. Memory should be ok.
3. I have and love the X800XL
4. You can OC that chip if you want more performance and stay on budget.

[NTolerance]

Thanks for the help so far. Having to buy a new PSU is going to put me over budget and reduce the quality of this new setup. I'm thinking of just getting a new AGP vidcard. Is BF2 more vidcard dependant or CPU dependant? I'm thinking it's more about the vidcard. What sort of a difference would I see if I kept my current P4 and got an AGP x800xl compared to the A64 with PCI-E x800xl?

[lcplsickoll]

If the PSU is going to put you over budget I'd stick with the 1 gig of current memory you have and use the $80 on a psu. This will keep you under budget and you'll still have a good machine. Just get the 2nd gig later, if you feel you need it. The A64 w/X800xl is going to run better than the P4 w/AGP X800xl.

[ELI]

Get this ram if you can....very fast:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220033