Hi all I'm in a bit of a muddle about the upgrades that I wish to make.
Currently my spec is this:

Athlon 2800+ Barton
Abit NFS v2
Gig of PC2700(cheap stuff)
Geforce 6800GT AGP(saving grace of this PC!)
4 HDs..Quantum 30GB, WD800JB, WD1200JB, Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB.

I'm one of those ppl who doesnt like to upgrade often...last gfx card I had was a GF3
Couple of issues:
IM playing Half Life 2 (which is installed on the Maxtor)...loading times are obscenely long, both when starting up the game, and the loading in-game...Ive read in Custom PC that the Maxtor is slow at loading games, so IM tempted to get a Raptor 74GB...to place XP and my games on it.
I know some of you may say, why buy another hd just to improve loading times...and basically Im struggling to convince myself to plump for it...

But those damn loading times! I may as well go and make a cup of tea and make some toast in the time it takes to load up to hl2 screen.
Are other ppl experiencing these slow loading times?? Would like to know.

Another thing.
Somewhat pissed about lack of AGP support on NF4. There does not seem to be a decent s939 NF3 board out there with good layout. The Arctic Silencer on my 6800gt I feel would have clearance issues with the position of the MSI K8N Neo2 platinum fan..it looks like it wont be able to fit properly in the AGP slot...**anyone who has a Arctic Silencer with an MSI K8N Neo2, Id like to hear from you.**

I like the Asus A8V deluxe, good layout, but Ive heard that NF3 mobos provide slightly better performance with Geforces...Is this performance diff just a few frames or something significant?

Looking to pair the new mobo with a 3500+ Winchester...kinda annoying that it looks like ill be stuck with this mobo until I move to PCI-E..but at least it mean
less money will have to spent as cant be tempted anyways...


I guess this is just a ramble...before I buy anything I tend to go through blood sweat n tears, and countless reviews!

PS...I guess ill need new ram too... do like the Corsair PC4400...

Its hard being married and a pc geek