If there’s one thing I really hate, it’s slow computers.
With all the recent price cuts in the CPU world, I decided it would be a good time to upgrade my Pentium 4 3.2 GHz system. It was fast, but when one multitasks like I do, nothing is fast enough.
I decided to go with an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU paired with an ASRock 775DUAL-VSTA motherboard. As the motherboard supports both DDR and DDR2 RAM, I went with an 1 GB (dual channel) Mushkin EM2 DDR2-667 4-4-4-12 kit. What’s unique about the ASRock 775DUAL-VSTA is its ability to support both AGP and newer PCI-E video cards, as well as DDR and DDR2 RAM (read: one or the other). The motherboard allows for greater flexibility when upgrading existing systems, allowing one to upgrade to newer technology over time.
My new hardware configuration quenches my thirst for speed. Point. Click. Done. That’s the way it should be. A real-life example: 52 Windows XP updates installed in 2 minutes flat. Impressive.
Next, my youngest sister’s computer. Athlon XP 1900+ with 512 MB of RAM. She said she was perfectly happy with it, but I knew otherwise. I decided to get her an AMD X2 4200+ CPU paired with an ASRock 939DUAL-SATA2 motherboard, while using 1 GB (dual channel) of Samsung DDR400 SDRAM from my P4 3.2 GHz system. Again, the ASRock 939DUAL-SATA2 is an unique motherboard in that it allows one to upgrade to newer technologies over time. In the future, I can throw in an AMD AM2 upgrade board and add some DDR2 RAM. With the availability of both AGP and PCI-E slots, the aging AGP video card can be upgraded to PCI-E in the future, if need be.
Now, the cost. Two systems upgraded for under $900 CDN, including shipping and taxes. Not bad 
PS. I take back my previous comment on ASRock (a division of Asus) motherboards. Three ASRock motherboards later, I’d still buy another Kudos to ASRock for going after a niche market of PC upgraders!