Upgrading Mobo/CPU/Memory

[GazNofx]

Hi guys,

Being a skint student upgrades are few and far between, therefore i'm going to upgarde my rig in parts, first of starting with the Mobo/CPU/Memory.

I've been impressed with the MSI P35 Neo2-FR board, and was going to throw a E2140 in there, as well as some G.E.I.L. Black Dragon DDR2-800 2GB (2X1GB) memory. Sooner rather than later i'm gonna upgarde my PSU and fan so I can overclock. However, my questions are;

1. What's everyone's opinion on the mobo? Is the MSi a more overclockable board than Gigabyte/Abit?
2. I've currently got a GeForce 5600 FX GPU, and as i don't really play P.C. games i'm not too bothered about upgrading. However, does anyone know if a. that GPU is AGP/PCI-E? b. Does the mentioned mobo have a AGP slot?
3. If I do need to upgrade my GPU, i'd be looking to spend £40-50 max, what is recommended in this price range?

Many thanks.

 

[semi-pro waster]

1. Afraid I don't know all that much about it but generally all the P35 based motherboards are fairly decent for overclocking.
2. It will be AGP.
3. 7600GT. I know you said you aren't a gamer but this card is fairly near to the bottom of the range now and would offer you the potential to play some games if you wished. I've got a 6800GT still which is pretty similar in performance and it plays Half Life 2 more than acceptably. If you don't want to spend even that much then perhaps something in the ATI 2400 range would suit.

 

[GazNofx]

Very helpful mate, thanks for the advice.