Beginner at building PLEASE SUGGEST UPGRADE ROUTES!

[mvpo.geo]

I am currently using a computer that I bought from a local computer store like 2-3 years ago. I want to upgrade it and get it running alot faster and smoother.

I currently have a

Asus A7V8X-X Motherboard
512 MB Ram
Nvidia GeForce 5200 (I believe could be 5600)
An AMD Athalon XP 2200 I believe but that could be wrong.

Anyway I want to upgrade so I can run multiple monitors smoothly(I realize I already can), I want to use a TV Tuner on this and be able to easily record programs and what not without lag or any problems. Overall I just want to upgrade and take my computer into the year 2007!

Thanks, and PLeAse help me out. I have about $500 to spend on upgrades.

[soybean]

Got An AMD Athlon XP 2200 here, with 512MB of RAM and an FX5200 AGP card.  It also has a PCI video card in it and runs two monitors smoothly. 

I don't know how demanding the TV tuner and recording programs will be.  I'd guess you might be able to increase RAM to 1GB and get a better video card and get along fine with this.  But, again, this is somewhat of a guess.  Those two upgrades would leave you well under $500.

Now, if you want to go further and replace the motherboard and processor, I'll leave that discussion to others here in the forum.  However, this should all fit into your $500 budget.

You know, you could just go ahead and install the TV tuner in your current system and see how it goes before deciding on any upgrades.