General suggestions for my rig

Hi all. I'm new here, longtime reader first time poster. I've been doing modest overclocking since i got my new PC. Here are the specs on it:

2.4 GHZ P4 with stock cooling OC'd to 2.8
(36c idle, 52c full load)
Asus P4PE mobo (nice board)
Radeon 9700 Pro (non overclocked...not sure how to...)
120 GB Western Digital HDD
512MB PC2700 ValueRam by Kingston (not sure on timings...)
2 CDRW's
MAXTOP Black CSX147KBF case with acrylic side window, side fan, blowhole on top for exhaust (3 fans total, 2 intake 1 exhaust). Round IDE cables for airflow.
Dual-Booting Windows XP Home/Redhat 8.0

That's about the gist. I haven't spent anything for this overclock and i'm looking for a cost-effective way to break the 3GHZ barrier. Any suggestions for general improvements to this rig would be great.

Thanks in advance

Alright, what heatsink are yo uusing?

And you have to flash the bios to overclock your 9700.

I'm using the Intel stock heatsink and fan, and unfortunately the thermal pad.

First thing to invest in is a quality HSF for your rig...that and some good thermal paste should work wonders for your 3 Gig Quest...
Take a little time to lap the old heatsink, and you'll see some improvement just from that alone...Cleaning up the interior of your case a little bit may also be an option until you can get better cooling hardware in there...

Keep us posted with your progress...and in case no one else has:

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

You have almost the exact same system I have ...adjust yuor FSB frequency to 161 and that should get you to 2.90 GHz and your current temps