[SATLUG] A change in hardware

[Robert J Hewitt]

I am tossing the Idea around about upgradig one of my PC, however I have
a few questions.

1. Processor Intel Processor only please 
   INTEL PENTIUM 4 640 3.2 GHZ EM64T 800MHZ
   a. will this compare with say a 2.5Ghz P4 Socket 478 or will it be 
      faster then it (obviously but how fast)

   b. I have never been a fan of AMD processor and I never will.

2. Motherboard I prefer Gigabyte boards, as I never have problems 
   with them so I trust them most of all. ( am I being to close minded)
   
3. PCI vs AGP 
   a. I know PCIx is faster then AGP bu I could never make sense of 
      the different buses can anyone point me in the right direction
      to better explain the different bus types (i.e. PCIx x1 x2 x4
      x8 x16.....) other then the obvious what is a good card for the 
      best cost.
  
   b. the different connectors are what really confuse me as I have 
      never seen anything accept PCI, AGP, and ISA some of the new ones
      look like the audio modem interface port that I never used.

4. I seem to recall a conversation about problems with Fedora and 
   installation on a SATA Drive is this true or just a Urban Legend.
   I noticed more and more systems with SATA and only 1 IDE channel
   thats why I asked.

Here is what I have looked at so far and for me the price is right but
is this a good motherboard and processor once again I don't like AMD, no
specific reason I was just raised on Intel. Sorta like not liking
European Cars, never drove on but just don't like them.  


Mb Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3
NTEL PENTIUM 4 640 3.2 GHZ EM64T 800MHZ LGA775 
2Gb 667Mhz FSB DDR memory (x2 1GB running in Dual Channel)
the video board is the up in the air problem I don't know what is best
for bang on a budget as I will be looking at about $235.50 before
Shipping on just the Processor, motherboard, and memory.  where do I go
from here.  I will more then likely be running Linux on it but a Dual
boot with win XP is a distinct possibility as I still have some stuff I
like to run in windows and not linux. Of course the possible problem
with SATA and Fedora 7 if it exists is also a deciding factor.


Any thoughts are welcome.


    RObert