What to BUY,,,,

[Twofan]

Well, I am getting a refund from Step Thermodynamics, and will not be getting one of their combo packages. So now I need suggestions. I want a DDR board and will probably go with the Epox EP-8K7A for the base. I already have an Enermax Whisper 431w so power is no problem. Also already have a Geforce3, a SB Live Platinum, PlexWriter 12x10x32, Pioneer 16x DVD, and 2 Quantum Fireball Plus (40 & 30 gig). What I need suggestions are for the processor, the ram, and maybe h/s&fan.

1.Ram first, I want 512 meg so that means 2 x 256. What brand should I look for? I have seen some people have had problems with mixing certain brands with certain m/b's.

2. Processor next. Which one will be best and go the highest? Is the 1.4 the way to go? Or which of the 1.33? I do not care about the cost difference, I care about performence, ONLY.

3. Cooler. I already have an Alpha PEP66 on my PIII-800. I have both a Black Label Delta and a Sunon H/O 26.3. Running the Sunon to cut down on the noise. Do I need to get something different? What is there that would be better? I will be getting a non-conductive spacer to use. I figure the copper spacer I have on my PIII will not be the same size.

If you have a reason as to why the Epox would not be a good choice, please post why.

If you can also point me as to places to get the right models of cpu's I would most greatly appreciate it. There you go guys, fire away with your opinions. I am interested in them all.

ps. This machine should really Kick A..

[William]

1. Crucial all the way. Great prices, great ram, nuff said.
2. Umm not sure. Heard some iffy things about the 1.4, get a 1.33 and OC to 1.6ghz.
3. If cost isn't an option, either water cooling or the Swifttech 462 with the delta. For a very similar performing HSF then the Millenium Glaciator is very very good too. Both are much better than the PEP66. And yes, a P3 spacer should not be used on an AMD chip.

Hope this helps.

[Ferg]

if cost isnt an issue, go to overclockerz.com, no relation to this site and buy there max overclocked t-bird which is currently a 1580-1700 Mhz, but if you call they might have something better. That 1580-1700 t-bird goes for 200 bucks. As for memory i dunno. Overclockerz Copper Gladiator is pretty good hsf too.

[Twofan]

I see that Overclockerz sells both the AXIA and the AYHJA. At first everyone raved about the AYHJA being the best overclocker. Now I see posts about it being locked and people having problems o/c'n it. The price tonite was down to 179.99. William, I see Crucial has 3 different kinds of DDR - 256. 32meg x 64, 32meg x 72, and 32meg x 72 Registered. Can you explain the difference in them. Being as uninformed as I am I would guess get the Registered version, but I don't know why.
I have spent the night searching for heatsinks. The Millenium tweaks my interest as it has a quieter fan than the Delta. Already been down that road. I am surprised at the lack of posts. I had hoped to see more opinions but it could just be a slow night, too. I thanks both of you for your thoughts.

[Twofan]

Made my decision, and my purchase. Thank's Ferg for pointing me to OCZ. Picked up an I-Will KA-266 wit 512 meg of pc-166 and the 1580-1700T-Bird and the copper Gladiator. Decided to stay away from the DDR until maybe the 2nd generations of boards and bioses come out. Thank's for your imput. I can't wait till the stuff gets here. This 'puter should scream! :-)

[tandeme]

sorry to hear that, but you bought the wrong type of ram for that motherboard. iwill ka266 is a DDR mobo!
should of went for the epox im loving it! btw i need to change my sig

[Twofan]

I meant the KK266 board

[Phil]

Processor: AYHJA these are the best overclockers

Motherboard: Not much choice in the ddr market but I think the MSI K7T266 Pro DDR seems to be quite a good board based on the via kt266. If you can live without ddr then definately the Iwill kk266 or kk266-r

Memory: crucial, good price and great for overclocking.

HS/F: I would either go for the thermoengine with a delta, the taisol 760 with a 40cfm+ 80mm fan or the millenium glaciator if you can wait for delivery as it may take a while

[Ferg]

Twofan (Jun 15, 2001 12:58 p.m.):
Made my decision, and my purchase. Thank's Ferg for pointing me to OCZ. Picked up an I-Will KA-266 wit 512 meg of pc-166 and the 1580-1700T-Bird and the copper Gladiator. Decided to stay away from the DDR until maybe the 2nd generations of boards and bioses come out. Thank's for your imput. I can't wait till the stuff gets here. This 'puter should scream! :-)

Anytime Twofan! Sounds like good decisions. I will point out that when i bout a 950 duron that was the max it would run before your system would lock up. So you may want to run a little slower than 1700. I would bet that 1700 is the max it will run and 1580 the highest with good stability. But i wish you luck with overclocking!!!

[Twofan]

After all the reading and such, this seemed to fit what I wanted the best. Just once I wanted the FASTEST I could build. The I Will with non-DDR will attain a higher speed than a DDR board. I do realize that maybe it would be equal as the DDR is a little faster ram. But it seems that I build about every 6 months and the DDR boards and memory should be much more stable in 6 months. Besides, it gives me an excuse to upgrade,,,,,,again. I really considered getting the Glaciator. Concept looks good, but most of what I read people are not getting the results they had hoped for. The Gladiator came in second in some tests I checked out, just behind the Swifty. that ai't bad for half the money. I already have a Delta fan if I need it. I might play around with an 80mm adapter on the Gladiator to see if I can cut down on the noise a little. I have to have a machine that is stable 'cause my wife also uses it alot. That's why I don't want to go water-cooled. Later

[Trinity]

Congrats, hope you enjoy it and I hope it runs stable :)