Well, after doing some research into things and further accustoming myself to computers more so than I already have, I realise that the computers you normally buy from stores actually suck major ass.
Therefore, I have an interesting dilemma. I am unsure whether to just upgrade components in the PC I have or just go all out and build a new one. If i'm honest I really can't be arsed with attempting to change the motherboard whilst trying to keep all my windows settings and documents and shit. Add to this that my motherboard is now 2 years old, with ddr3 here and becoming cheaper i'm gonna be wanting to get a new one of those anyway.

A motherboard i've seen has ddr2 and ddr3 memory compatibility but obviously i'd be paying through the nose to get it.
The graphics card I have my eye on is a 320MB 8800 for £70, I just need advice on a mobo and CPU to get. Other than that i'm sorted.

I'm looking to either Kronos, Lone or Ocean here.

320mb 8800 is an older architecture, u need at least a 8800 GT 512 mb.

Although for the same price I recommend HD 4850 for £80 unless u plan on playing Crysis.

There are better graphics card but mid-range should be enough for Empire and u can always crossfire them later if need be.

If u have a bigger budget, I can recommend Spart's 9800GTX which is very good bang for bucks.

Do not get a MB that can take both DDR2 and DDR3. There is alot of tech problems with those.

I would recommend either an Asus P5Q-E for £100 (make sure its E or better as models below have no heatsink on VRM) or Biostar Tpower I45.

Biostar is better for extreme overclocking but Asus is far more reliable and easier to use.

You need to give us a budget. If u r as loaded as Moose, I would recommend i7 MB for longevity. Otherwise, this is the cheap route for gaming heaven.

btw, make sure u budget for OS and PSU.

if u OS is OEM, u r gonna have to pay another £70 to Bill Gates. There are ways around it, but not easy or reliable.

I know of someone who has ways around Bill Gates and his fucking corporation.
I'm thinking 64 bit too along with 4gb of corsair RAM. I'll look into those motherboards though further, but the P5Q-E does look nice.
Cheers for the help Ocean.

You missed out the plus sign man..its all about the plus sign. 9800GTX'+'
I havent really that much to add here, oceans advice is pretty much spot on really. Personally id stick to an Asus, also i know this sounds wierd, but can you take a picture of the inside of your pc, and the outside. As if your upgrading one of the biggest things people usually do wrong is pop everything awsome they can imagine in, close the case.. load it up then they wonder what that charred smell is coming from the case. Cooling is essential. My current case keeps everything fine and its got that many fans that if i turn it on its side i have the British Aerospace ringing me up trying to charge me air tax. Realistically a decent shaped case for airflow, 2ish case fans plus the fans on your hardware would be enough. But if you only have one fan..then i suggest you look into getting a new case.

And im stressing once more, if you arnt familiar with overclocking. Dont do it. So the biostar is only if you know what your doing. Its not worth burning out everything in your case just to learn a lesson lol

I WOULD be tempted to get crossfire going and get two 8800GT 512mb's , ofcourse you would have to accomidate this with a supporting processor, board and ram though.

Alternatively goto pcspecialist.co.uk i have been getting my pcs from there for a long time now, the customer service makes any other pc store look like a nursery and they money they can save you with the deals can be really worth it (especially if you or a family member has their own company and can claim the tax back )

I was actually looking into pcspecialist but was afraid they were a cowboy company so didn't buy from them, fuck!
But yeah, if I were to try overclocking it certainly wouldnt be on a brand spanking new setup lol.
I'll try and get the pictures up tomorrow after my exam.

budget?

NOTE: 9800GTX+ = lovely

Any update on my shopping list Kronos?
If not don't worry about it, just get around to it when you have plenty of time

Don't know if you decided on a VC or MB yet; but I got a Quad Core Black Edition CPU from AMD, and my VC is a HD 5870 single Card runs pretty smooth for M2....haven't used it much for ETW, or NTW (Really don't like them games) loves mêlée battles. Hopefully this will run good for STW2. and also got a Rapter 10.000 rpm HD.

This has to be one of the top late Reply ever!
A year and half late XD