Barton Rig

I'm updating my current rig with a new motherboard, processor and ram, but at the moment I'm not sure what products to go for.For the motherboard I'm between the Asus A7N8X Deluxe (rev2) or MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR, I've looked about and both seem to be good products but I'm not sure which one to go for, is there much that sets these two apart?? For ram I was planning the TwinMOS PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB Twin Pack. My real problems are which processor and fan. I was going for the AMD Athlon XP3000+(Barton), but I was told that the AMD Athlon XP2500+(Barton...again), can easily be clocked to the same speeds as the 3000+, but comes around 200 euro(229.74 US Dollars) less. Would there be much of an improvement splashing out on the 3200+ Barton, having the 400 MHz bus speed, around 300 euro more then the 2500+, thats almost 344.61 dollars.Would another Barton, do any better bang for bucks?? I can't really order from further afield so I'm stuck with these prices.

As for the fan I'm caught between the Spire CPU-Fan WhisperRock IV and Thermaltake Volcano 9. Its this area that I haven't had much experience in, so any information would be great.

Incase you're interested in seeing what I'm working with http://www.komplett.ie

First of all, definitely get the 2500+ Barton, as it is quite easy to run at speeds in excess of the 3000+.

I'll update my post as I go through that website you gave.

How much overclocking experience do you have? If you could let us know then we can help you better. For example, I would not want to recommend to you a particular motherboard which is very good for overclocking, but could easily damage your CPU and RAM if you did not know what you where doing.

For the motherboard:
I would recommend the Abit NF7-S over both of those, but if you must choose between them, choose the A7N8X Deluxe.

For the processor:
Newer Barton 2500+ CPU's can be easily clocked up to 3000+ speeds, and with an nForce 2 motherboard that supports 400FSB, you can bring most Bartons to the speed of a 3200+ or higher.

For the heatsink and fan:
I would heartily recommend the Thermalright SK-7 and a Thermaltake Smart Fan II. That combination can get you the best bang for your buck. I avoid Thermaltake's heatsinks. Their best product is the Smart Fan II, and everything else is mostly hype and marketing. If you want better cooling, it will come at a price, but Thermalright's SLK-800, SLK-900, or SP-94 are the top performers.

EDIT: Ack! shiyan beat me!
I don't see any Thermalright products on that site. Is that your only source of components? If you MUST go with one of those, do the AERO 7 or the Volcano 11.

Abit NF7-S v2.0 is the motherboard I meant. For someone with a little overclocking experience, it is fingerlickingly good.

A lot of spare space around the CPU socket for large heatsinks, and a large choice when it comes to voltages. The option to adjust the chipset voltage is not offered by Asus.

But the CPU voltage option goes up to some insane values... 2.3v. At that voltage I'd be surprised if the processor lasts a month.

I'd pick the Asus over the MSI though.

What are you going to mainly use the computer for? Gaming? Video encoding? Server? 3D Modelling?

Not sure why you are going for all that RAM. 2x 256MB will overclock better than 2x 512MB, and I'm wondering why you need the 1GB.

Edit:

I agree with Restorer on the HSF issue. Don't ever get ThermalTAKE heatsinks. Every one of their heatsinks I've tried have been bad. The only decent one is the Volcano 7+. I bought a Volcano 11+, and although the Smartfan 2 on it was a nice fan, the heatsink itself, which looks very pretty, was beaten by the stock AMD heatsink!

On the processor side: get the BOXED 2500+ Barton. Only a little more expensive, but a much better warranty, 3 years.

Although the 2500+ is 166FSB, you can run it perfectly at 200FSB. I think that without any modding to the 2500+, you should be able to freely choose your multiplier and FSB with either the Abit or Asus.

Mainly 3d modelling and gaming, its the modelling that makes me look for the 1GB.

I can order from some English sites as well but with the high Sterling it soon proves to be too costly(that and most carry high postage charges for outside the UK.)

Makes sense then. Then I'd agree with your choice for 1GB of RAM. Where are you located by the way?

If you have to get stuff from that shop, then I'd say that if you have a little overclocking experience, get:

Abit NF7-S v2 (SATA or not depending on your choice)
2500+ Barton Boxed
1GB Twinmos PC3200
Coolermaster Aero 7+.

Ireland

Isn't the K7N2G-ILSR better then then K7N2 Delta-ILSR?

Could very well be. I'll have to check a few reviews though. Before I start talking out of my ***.

I must admit that I did not read many reviews of the MSI board.

After having a lot of MSI boards, I've been left with the impression that they are pretty solid products, just not that special overclocking wise. Bit like Volkswagen or Ford I guess.

The Asus' main problem is the lack of space around the CPU socket area. But the Aero 7+ will fit no problem.

I take back what I said about preferring Asus above MSI board, as I still need to read a few reviews of the MSI. But I do prefer the Abit to both, as that's what I have.

I'll go with what you suggested, shiyan, thanks ya've saved from wasting money. I'll post up how I get on once I have everything together.

Thanks all

Great. Good to hear we helped.

One piece of advice though. When/if you overclock the 2500+, don't go too crazy with the cpu voltage. I'd say stay at 1.8v and below.

First read up, and see how much you can overclock the processor without increasing the voltage at all. Then increase the voltages in small increments.

the k7n2 delta ilsr is better than the k7n2 ilsr. the k7n2g should be the one with integrated gfx, again, the delta model would be better as the delta refers to the north bridge being the nforce 2 ultra 400 w/ 200fsb support as opposed to the plain nf2 chipset that only officially supported 166 and could not do 200 reliably

i own a k7n2 delta and its a solid board w/ a few minor quicks but i can all but guarantee the abit will do a higher fsb oc with more voltage options, my k7n2 delta is limited to 2.7 on the ram, and i have yet to find a mod for it

New rig.

I have the EPOX 8RGA+ with the Barton 2500 and it rocks OC'd on air 2.0GHz. They didn't have the new one out yet or I'd have bought this one:
Epox Motherboard for AMD Processors 8RDA3+
Retail $110. at newegg.com
Specifications:
Supported CPU:AMD Athlon, Athlon XP, Duron
Chipset:Nvidia Nforce2 SPP Chipset + Nvidia Nforce2 MCP
** FSB:400MHz **
RAM:3 x DDR SDRAM PC3200, 3GB max.
IDE: 2 x E/IDE Ultra DMA/133, 4 drives max.
Slots:1x AGP8X and 5x PCI 32bit
Ports:2xPS2, 2xCOM,1xLPT,4xUSB and Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Sound C-Media CMI9739 6-channel full duplex
Onboard LAN: Dual Realtek 10/100 Ports
Onboard SATA: Promise Serial ATA controller, with 2 ports More... Model#: 8RDA3+ Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping
Notice it has the 400FSB.

My friend who has been into OC'ing a long time has his 2500 on a EPOX 8RDA+ OC'd 2.5 GHz on liquid and says it is the best MB he has ever had.

Oodles of good OC'ing MB's out there but the 2500 Barton is almost to good to pass up and with the 512 cache it rocks.

Enjoy your new rig!

See my sig:
Asus one works great and the barton is at 3200+ too.
Definatly go for the barton 2500+!
Most people here say the abit is the way to go but i haven't encountered any problems with this great asus mobo!

I hear the abit is some bucks cheaper but over here it was a question of 10 bucks and then i rather go for asus but that's only a personal taste i guess.
If you want to safe a bit: The crucial ram is cheap and performs well.

If you ever played Star Wars Galaxies you know why you NEED 1 gig ram btw.

About MSI: I read a lot of articles about leaking capacitors and stuff. I also had a MSI board in my old P4 system and it sucked.
There were com ports only working when they wanted to and similar stuff.

Roger all that mustrum. I run Crucial 2100 and it works fine in my EPOX or Soltek boards. Like I said, there are oodles of good MB's out there and it is just a matter of taste and to each his own.

I know one thing: If I bought a 3200 or 3000 then saw where some Geek OC'er had a $90. 2500 Barton running at the same speed as my $350. CPU I would be some more ticked off.
(Geek is a compliment and I absoultely LOVE IT and feel honored when someone calls me a Geek!)

People have so many fallacies about OC'ing and say it'll burn up your CPU and flame your 'puter and you and I and all the other OC'ers know it just ain't so. As long as you stay away from changing voltages there is little to no chance of burining up anything as long as you have an OC'ing MB. On my EPOX I set the advanced chip set features to Expert, fsb 182, mutiplier 11, memory Auto, and WHAM, my 2500 runs stable at 2.0GHz on air.

I can push it on up but find 2.0GHz is fast enough for me plus I have the 2100 RAM and if I get 2.0GHz out of a $90. CPU I figure I got the most bang for my buck I could ever want.

When I talk OC'ing with someone and I see the doubt in their eyes it reminds me of the old adage, "You can lead a Horse to water but you can't make 'em drink." That's cool and I understand because I was once one of those OC'ing skeptics. But, OH GLORY, I DONE SEEN THE OC'ING LIGHT!
HeHeHeHe . . . .

Ya'll run 'em cool and have a super Sunday.
OldBird

Hehe honey! Well said.
Lets just enjoy our cheap badass systems and laugh when we see all those P4C systems with 3.2 ghz (maybe faster but for what price!!!).
OC isn't that risky as some say if you don't overdo it and it's a lot of fun.
I have twice the fun with a 3200+ i got for 90 bucks than i'd have if i'd just bought a 3200+ stock CPU.

There you go, saved a bunch of money, learned a lot and had a hell'ava lot of fun and a god time doing it.

Do the OC Boggie, yeah, yeah.

Well said huneycutt!!! I too have the barton 2500+ and asus delux 1.06 running at 11x200 in dual channell with matching geil 3200 memory! cpu running at 1.7 volts and 38c idle, 40-42c under load. 42-44 after 3hrs of serious gaming. I'm sure I could go higher in single channell with crucial xms, but there is a sig. difference in bandwidth and hd performance. Both asus and abit are awsome boards. I think you will be satisfied with either one you choose.