Time for a upgrade, CPU, MB and possibly GFX :)

[Trash Man]

I've been out of the loop for a while now as far as hardware goes and I'm more than a little lost at the moment as to what to go for. I know I want an AMD 64bit CPU but there are lot of them to chose from. So I have a few questions and would be most happy if someone could help me out

I gather from reading some of the reviews on hexus that 939 is the one to go for but what's the difference between the Newcastle and Winchester core? And what does the 90nm or 130nm mean after that name? Is the HS that you get with the retails packages any good? Or would I be better off getting a separate HS?

Also can anyone reccomend a new MB to go with the CPU. I have always like Asus in the past and have never had any problems with them so I would like to stay with Asus if possible, so they make a good 939 board?

I see a lot of MB's are PCI-Express, does that mean they have no AGP slots? If so can anyone recommend a GFX card for around £200 that's better than my current 9800 Pro.

Last question, will my PC3200 RAM be alright, or will that need to be changed as well?

Many thanks to anyone you can be bothered to answer one or all of these questions

[BUFF]

I gather from reading some of the reviews on hexus that 939 is the one to go for but what's the difference between the Newcastle and Winchester core? And what does the 90nm or 130nm mean after that name? Is the HS that you get with the retails packages any good? Or would I be better off getting a separate HS?

The difference is largely the process that they are built on - Winchester uses 90nm & Newcastle 130nm.
Winchester is very slightly better - however if you are going for a 3000+ or 3200+ on 939 they are all Winchesters.
The stock HSF is really pretty fair but that doesn't mean that something like a Zalman or Thermalright wouldn't be better again.

Also can anyone reccomend a new MB to go with the CPU. I have always like Asus in the past and have never had any problems with them so I would like to stay with Asus if possible, so they make a good 939 board?
A8V rev 2 or they have a new nForce4 range coming out - A8N.

I see a lot of MB's are PCI-Express, does that mean they have no AGP slots?
Yes
If so can anyone recommend a GFX card for around £200 that's better than my current 9800 Pro.
6600GT is probably about the same/slightly better. Next jump up would be a 6800 series.
Afaik there is no comparable ATI card (iirc the 6600GT is better than the X700)

Last question, will my PC3200 RAM be alright, or will that need to be changed as well?
Should be fine.

[Phalanx]

the Asus nforce 4 sli board is supposed to be pretty good but then again, thats the only one which is currently available atm, for £200 get a 6600gt, they are much more powerful then the 9800 and you will definately see an improvement (especially in Doom 3)