Your Opinions please..im new

[Jeniva]

Ok...Im new here...Im new to Overclocking...I have read TONS of material on O/C'n..so I think im ready to try it. This is where i need your opinions...Im ready to buy a new mobo,cpu,video card, and memory (only if i need to..I have 768 MB of Crucial pc 133 now)
My current system is as follows:
PIII 550E slot 1
(not sure of mobo model but its an abit something)
nvidea gforce2
768MB Crucial PC133
20GB Western Digital ata100 7200
hp Cd burner (cheap..4x write 4x re-write)
300w ps
3com 3c509btx 10/100 nic

I dont want another Intel CPU...I want to try an AMD this time...
any and all help would be appreciated!!

[Placid]

What is your budget for this?

[_Will_]

Originally posted by Jeniva
Ok...Im new here...Im new to Overclocking...I have read TONS of material on O/C'n..so I think im ready to try it. This is where i need your opinions...Im ready to buy a new mobo,cpu,video card, and memory (only if i need to..I have 768 MB of Crucial pc 133 now)
My current system is as follows:
PIII 550E slot 1
(not sure of mobo model but its an abit something)
nvidea gforce2
768MB Crucial PC133
20GB Western Digital ata100 7200
hp Cd burner (cheap..4x write 4x re-write)
300w ps
3com 3c509btx 10/100 nic

I dont want another Intel CPU...I want to try an AMD this time...
any and all help would be appreciated!!

How much are you willing to spend? :D On this does it all depend...

EDIT: placid, you beat me to it! :p

[Kendan]

Opinions you want.

AMD xp 1600+ ( or you could get a 1900+)
KT266a motherboard, pick your flavor.
512 crucial DDR memory
60 gig. IBM 60gxp
plextor CDRW 24x10x40
SB Audigy
(insert brand here) GForce3
mmmm
ohh don't forget the DVD burner, 25 inch plasma monitor, Klipsch 5.1s, 400+watt powersupply for all your overclocking needs, And throw it in a nice and chilly Vapochill.

[Jeniva]

lol Kendan..i think the 25" plasma monitor may be a little out of my budget...but the actul budget i can spend is 1649..and a few pennies..thats what i have saved up at the moment

[RedDeathDrinker]

A nice cheap start would be something along the kines of:

EPoX 8KTA3+
A Duron or T-bird
new PSU (400W Sparkle (or similar)

You can use all your other components.............

Oh, and welcome!

[Kendan]

Originally posted by Jeniva
lol Kendan..i think the 25" plasma monitor may be a little out of my budget...but the actul budget i can spend is 1649..and a few pennies..thats what i have saved up at the moment

Well maybee but the list above it is a good start.

[Jeniva]

I just want to say thanx to you all for welcoming me to the forums, and thanx for the info...I really want a nice fast accurate computer...so..maybe i'll see all the old junk i have sitting around...would 2k get me all that stuff in your list Kendan?..minus the plasma monitor...

[MadGamer]

i think u should go for

amd athlonxp 1600+
lian li case (take your pick between the models)
the new kt266a board KR7A i think its called
im afraid you'll need some ddr mem go for crucial 256 2100 stick
definitely ATI radeon 8500 cheaper and same performance as Gforce ti 500
dvd drive( i recommend pioneer slot loading 106s)
keep the NIC and HD and Cd-rw it's old but it does its job.
more than 300W would be preferred(350 or 400W)
adequate cooling Swiftech MC462 or millenium glaciator.
Do not get anything with a delta they are just too loud and the whine is terrible.

[Kendan]

Originally posted by Jeniva
I just want to say thanx to you all for welcoming me to the forums, and thanx for the info...I really want a nice fast accurate computer...so..maybe i'll see all the old junk i have sitting around...would 2k get me all that stuff in your list Kendan?..minus the plasma monitor...

It should minus the plasma monitor and the vapochill case and the dvd burner. Check out pricewatch.com and then check the vendor at resellerratings.com. I got most of my stuff from newegg.com. That should be a good start.

Edit: Lian Li cases are nice I have pc 60. I got it at pcmods.com
just research everything for compatibility. If you decide on the Abit KR7 then check out this site. http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kg7kr7/kg7kr7faq.htm
It was so helpfull with my KG7.

[nikhsub1]

Well let's see, I'll do the math:

AMD xp 1600+---------------------------------------------------- $113
1900+ ------------------------------------------------------------- $244
KT266a motherboard, pick your flavor - Epox 8KHA+ ---- $100
512 crucial DDR memory---------------------------------------- $106.18
60 gig. IBM 60gxp------------------------------------------------ $120
Would recommend the new ATA 133 Maxtor Though
plextor CDRW 24x10x40---------------------------------------- $144
SB Audigy---------------------------------------------------------- $55
VisionTek GForce3------------------------------------------------ $308
431 Watt PSU (Enermax)----------------------------------------$79
Swiftech MCX462------------------------------------------------- $69
LianLi Case-------------------------------------------------------@$175

With XP 1600 = $1269.18 (minus shipping & tax)
With XP 1900 = $1400.18 (minus shipping & tax)

Id say you would have a system anyone would drool over... and it seems to be within your budget:p

[Dissolved]

hell, for 2k she could get a dual althon mp system if she really wants to go crazy. thats gonna be my next system after i get a job of corse. :beer:

[Jeniva]

Well..I O/C'd my current system (see the top of this post to see what i have currently) and these are the results:

lol...i know its not good or anything..but this is my first attempt...
my PIII 550E system got to 735Mhz (not PR)..i took it up to 825 and it was very unstable..I have not tried to up the Vcore yet..but i was excited to get it to 735(pr of 882) even though the PR is not real...I was happy anyway...I have 2 fans on my CPU H/S..and my temp after a burn in (sisoft sandra) was 92F..i thought that was bad..so I shut it down let it cool off and backed it down to specs at 550..Sandra says its running @ 561..Is this a decent first attempt..With my bios i can change FSB and Multiplier...when i tried to change the multiplier to 4.5 with a FSB of 150 it still said my multiplier was 5.5@150..so I guess that means my multiplier is not unlocked or my bios cant change it..any help would be gladly taken...oh yea..im ordering my new parts tommorrow...cant wait..
Im going with a AMD athalon XP 1900+, an Asus A7V266-E KT266A Chipset 266/200MHz FSB Motherboard with Raid , and a gforce3 vid card,Crucial 512mb pc133(2x256 sticks),swiftech MCX462 HS/fan combo,sparkle 400watt PS,all in a Lian_Li PC60 case with 3 90mm fans...may go liquid cooling if I have enough money...im going to use my current HDD,NIC,and cd burner for now...does this sound ok?

[the edit is here]..ps...im not sure how to post the sceen shots i got of my current stats with Sisoft Sandra,,,and WCPUID..any help here would be greatly appreciated..thanx

[Dissolved]

Originally posted by Jeniva

Im going with a AMD athalon XP 1900+, an Asus A7V266-E KT266A Chipset 266/200MHz FSB Motherboard with Raid , and a gforce3 vid card,Crucial 512mb pc133(2x256 sticks),swiftech MCX462 HS/fan combo,sparkle 400watt PS,all in a Lian_Li PC60 case with 3 90mm fans...may go liquid cooling if I have enough money...im going to use my current HDD,NIC,and cd burner for now...does this sound ok?

sounds good to me.. but xp's are a bit hard to unclock as ive heard. thats a nice sink, but its a lil more then id wanna pay. id go water cooling fi u have the money.

[Jeniva]

If i go liquid cooled....what water block should I buy, and should i build a Evaporative cooling tower system, or a enclosed system?..Im pretty impressed with the Tower design though Im not to sure about always filling the tower back up..maybe i can build a large holding tank on to it...Im pretty good with building stuff..so if anyone has any ideas or comments about Water Colling let me know, and give any links to sites where i can get good quality water blocks please...I also want to cool the northbridge and my new video card GPU as well...

[Dissolved]

Originally posted by Jeniva
If i go liquid cooled....what water block should I buy, and should i build a Evaporative cooling tower system, or a enclosed system?..Im pretty impressed with the Tower design though Im not to sure about always filling the tower back up..maybe i can build a large holding tank on to it...Im pretty good with building stuff..so if anyone has any ideas or comments about Water Colling let me know, and give any links to sites where i can get good quality water blocks please...I also want to cool the northbridge and my new video card GPU as well...

www.dangerden.com has some great waterblocks.
i got the Z4 block from overclockershideout.com bec i liked how it was a nice on top sliver color. just depends what you want. id go with a bong cooler as they call it, that will give you amibent temps.

[Placid]

Post in the cooling section if you want help with putting together a watercooling setup so the experts in that area will see your post.

[Jeniva]

well..i got impatiant and went ahead and order'd some stuff.. :)
lol..i want it now..i had it overnighted :)

[Dissolved]

Originally posted by Jeniva
well..i got impatiant and went ahead and order'd some stuff.. :)
lol..i want it now..i had it overnighted :)


lol geez, i can brealy aford 3rd day air at times.

[Silver]

Good Luck and welcome. If you like this sort of thing (and apparently you do) then this can be alot of fun. Wish I could afford one of those Lian Li cases but am happy to get a Q4 for Christmas. In my house this has become almost an obsession(sp) and there is not a soul that understands. Thrills are mine and mine alone when I get a faster processor speed as all look at me with that blank stare. Oh well, at least it keeps me around the house. It's mostly about having fun.

[Dissolved]

Originally posted by Silver
Good Luck and welcome. If you like this sort of thing (and apparently you do) then this can be alot of fun. Wish I could afford one of those Lian Li cases but am happy to get a Q4 for Christmas. In my house this has become almost an obsession(sp) and there is not a soul that understands. Thrills are mine and mine alone when I get a faster processor speed as all look at me with that blank stare. Oh well, at least it keeps me around the house. It's mostly about having fun.

what is this about? i dont see what your talking about..

[Silver]

Up top...New here...New to overclocking...Ring a bell...

[Jeniva]

lol....well i think im hooked...I was a little worried about the temp my cpu was running (92 F)..so I backed it down as I said earlier..but I've built an Evap Cooling Tower out of some pvc..got the idea off the Hints&Tips section on OverClockers.com. I just ordered a water block.(danger den MAZE2 for my NEW AMD XP1900+)..cant wait until it gets here...And im saving up for a block to cool the northbridge and the GPU as well...My fiance just doesnt understand why i get excited about getting even a little bit faster..Silver..I think were in the same boat....Ive recieved everything now but the Proccessor and the water block...I wont change my sig until i've built the new system and have done a burn in test...

[Silver]

Good for you! What was the name of that movie, heart like a wheel? Oh well, finished my first block, a water sink and seems to work alright. No great improvement but a really good learning experience in aluinum over copper and the different thermal dynamics. Also figured out that the socket can be taken apart and modified allowing the use of a much larger heatsink/watersink. Have to find/design a more efficient cooling solution as this chip almost gets in under safe mode at 1.792 with the present setup. Need to be able to dissipate 140 or so watts. At stock settings the present setup never exceeds 30c under torture tests. BTW the bong (evap) cooler dissipates enough heat to get to roughly 7 degrees below ambient. This varies according to weather conditions. Sometimes only a couple of degrees and sometimes (last night) as much as 10 degrees (celcius). Presently 7.5 as rported by radio shack thermometer after the watersink. Went ahead and ordered a shuttle board and q4 case last night. Wife still thinks I'm a little "off key" and me, I'm Happy.

[Silver]

One more thing,

below 45c - good overclocks
45c to 50c - look for better cooling solutions
50c and up - back it off or find the problem

Get a good temp program (i.e. Mother board monitor - free) and check the temps as soon as the computer boots. Sometimes the Danger Den blocks do not seat correctly. Also the Arctic Silver can pancake under the sink. Try to be careful (it lessens the financial loss) :)