My comp list

ok, im building a new computer here in like a couple days, all i have to do now i purchase the stuff, and this board has helped me a lot and i was wondering what you guys thought of my list, so here it is and any opinions and suggestions would be awsome!!!!

-AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - OEM
-ASUS "A7N8X-E Deluxe" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL
-Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
-Arctic Silver Premium Silver Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound, Model "Arctic Silver 5", 12-gram( 5 cc. ) tube
- Antec 480W Power Supply with Blue LED Fan, Model "TRUE480BLUE" -RETAIL
-Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST3120026AS, OEM
-Thermaltake EXTREME VOLCANO 12, All Copper. 2 Adjustable fan speed controllers, installs in expension slot or in the front (in 3.5" drive bay) for AMD Athlon XP up to 3400+ -RETAIL
-3 Thermaltake 80mm LED Fan for PC case and CPU fan, Model "A2016" -RETAIL
-NEC 8X Black Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive, Model ND-2510A BLK, OEM BULK
cables i beleive i need:
-Alpha Digital 6-Inch SATA Power Adapter (15-Pin) to Power Supply (4-Pin) -RETAIL
-Alpha Digital 18-Inch 2-Head Red SATA (SERIAL ATA 150) Cable, Model "CATA150-182"
- Thermaltake BLUE ROUND 24" IDE(ATA66/100/133) cable, Model A2053 -RETAIL

total: $764.69 (before shipping and tax)

so, other than a case, keyboard, mouse, and monitor look good? oh ya, and i have a ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP that i got for super cheap through a friend that work at best buy, i think he said it was like just over $200, so what do you all think? should i make any quick changes before i go buy this tommarow or monday?

 

oh ya, and ill be over clocking the processor, and ive been told that the 2500 over clocks pretty nicely and easily, plus it was cheap, but id be willing to go up a little bit if you guys think otherwise

 

Well, you should never plan on something overclocking and being stable. That's why I don't overclock anymore.

If it were me, I'd go with the XP 3000+ or XP 3200+, since they actually have the 400MHz FSB you need to fully utilize PC3200 RAM. That seems OK for $50. I don't overclock, however. So my remaining suggestion of going Retail over OEM processor won't fly. You're going to void the 3-year Retail warranty as soon as you get it, and you'll want something more than the stock HSF since you're not running at stock speed.

Oh, and keep in mind that round cables have been known to reduce overall transfer rates. Ribbon cables are ribbons for a reason.

 

the barton core on the 2500 really dosent overclock to well, go for a t-bred

 

so what? something like the AMD Athlon XP 2700+, 333MHz FSB, 256K Cache Processor - OEM??? that has Thoroughbred core, does that overclock better???? and it is $24 more??? should i get this? or the 2500 or something else????

and i should get a ribbon cable instead of the round one? it really does matter? never knew that, guess ill look for a ribbon one right now

 

anyone? which processor should i get, i really wanna buy this like tommarow!!

 

the bartons have proved nto to be great overclockers... but they still outperform the Thouroughbreds.

you'll be happy with the 2500+ or higher, and can still overclock a bit. I am running a 2800+ (also barton) and thought i havent pushed it, it clocks to 186mhz fsb perfectly stable with default voltage. (372FSB). My goal is 400fsb, but i'm too lazy to push it and stress test it and the works.

so definetly go barton-- 2500+, 2600+(barton version) or 2800+ are all under $100. or as da chicken said... get a 3000+ or 3200+ that come with 400mhz FSB already, you can just up the multiplier for a higher clock rate and remain pretty stable while utilizing the full DDR400 Ram.

in any case... be warned that the Thermaltake Volcano series sound like 747's in your case. if yoy dont mind the noise, go ahead.

 

I agree with Da Chicken, go for the 400Mhz FSB processor. I have the 2500+ Barton and at 200Mhz FSB it will only startup about half the time. I could have just gotten a crappy one though.

As far as the Thermaltake HSF, it's not that bad, especially on the low setting, but yeah if you crank it up it is VERY loud. I have the Volcano 9 and it is hard to bear on the highest setting. (at least for me)

 

Sorry, this seems a bit *BUH* to me... Bartons perform BETTER than Thoroughbreds. Bartons don't overclock as well. Why go for a Thoroughbred and put it under unnececary stress if you can go for a Barton which will perform better stock anyway!

In any case, the stock vs. overclock debate is very much worn out.

I'd agree if you have the Ultra 400 chipset (which I have myself) you can get optimal performance by running all components at 400FSB (CPU, a Barton 3000+, PC3200 ram... etc.). !But! that means that you can't overclock any, as the northbridge will probably fail if not adequitly cooled. (since its maxed out at 400). I'd go for better stock performance over overclocability any day, though

 

ok, sounds good to me, and i also found out i can save a bunch of money on my hd cause best buy has it with a bunch of rebates so its like $70 so ill go for a better processor

AMD Athlon XP 3000+ "Barton", 400 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - OEM

and what kind of fan should i get then? id perfer quiet, whats a good one then???

thanx for the help!!!!

 

It's not actually the same HDD, because the one Best Buy has is IDE rather than SATA, just to let you know. If it were me, I'd go for the IDE drive as well since it's a good deal.

 

ya, but what kind of fan should i get??? anyone???

 

so is there a quiet and good fan that you guys would recommend other than the volcano? or should i just stick with that and keep it on low unless i need it?????

 

if you have the money, one of the best you can get is a Thermalright SP-94, and add a queit fan on top of it.

for more of a budget fan, the Vantec Aeroflow is pretty good bang for the buck--if you pair it with some Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (a good idea for whatever heatsink you get.)

 

ok on the volcano it says this for noise:

Noise(dBA): 21 at 2000 RPM, 48 at 5500 RPM

so when i am running it at 2000 RPMs, does that mean its going to be pretty quiet??? and for normal use it 2000 RPMs enough with the Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound????

 

Enough for what? Overclocking? No. Normal use? Yes. The stock HSF that comes with the retail processor is fine for normal use.

 

ok, when i do overclock it, how many RPMs will i need to run it at? and how loud will that be???????????

 

It depends on how far you overclock it and if you need to increase the voltage or not. And it also depends on what the temperature is. Download Motherboard Monitor 5 or some similar program and watch the temperatures, if they get up over 60 deg. C on full load, you may want to turn up the fan.

 

ok, sounds good, but on average is the volcano loud? as long as its not on full blast is it withstandable???

 

It depends on much noise you can stand. Some people would say it is pretty loud. On the medium setting, I'd say it's not too bad.