Time for an upgrade

Well right now I'm running a XP 1600+ @1892mhz, MSI KT3 Ultra, and 512mb 2700 Samsung.
I have about $550 to spend on a CPU, MB, and Ram. I was thinking of running a 2.53 on a Abit IT7 Max with 512mb of PC3200 Corsair XMS CAS2. The CPU will be watercooled and seriously overclocked, I was wondering if there is other equipment of comparable price that performs better?
I am going pretty much soley for speed (3.2ghz+hopefully), so suggestions are more than welcome

(Been lurking for a little while, first post)

Good pics, that would be a sweet setup for overclocking.

And welcome to the forums!


BHD

if i were u get the 2.66 it is the c1 stepping and an awesome overclocker unless u get a dud

I would, but I only have about $500-600 total to spend, and that sucker would blow my budget out of the water
Does anyone know about how much the 2.66 c1 will go down when the 3.06 comes out??

the 2.26b looks just as good, if not better then the 2.53b.

it seems to hit 3.0ghz easyer....

if you must hit 3.2ghz try a c1 steping cpu...like the 2.5 or 2.66

mica

You can also wait....Intel is about to produce the whole range of P4 cpu in C1 stepping.
(1.8A-2.53)

Does the 2.5 c1 overclock better than the 2.53?
I would like a 2.66 c1 but its almost $400 by it lonesome.
TASOS- any ideas when those will be out so I can get my grubby hands on one?
Waiting is not one of my strong suits

The 2.5 has a 25X multiplier, so you can't push the FSB to take advantage of the memory, etc. You'll take a performance hit with the 2.5, but they will usually overclock well. When the 3 gig CPUs hit the market, everything will scale down in price, so the 2.66 will significantly be reduced in price. Like Tasos says, the entire Northwood line-up will eventually be C1 steppings. If you are after 3.2+ overclock, you better invest in a C1 stepping.