NOOB OCer needs help building 1000$ PC

OK here is what I have on my list so far:

Corsair TwinX 512MB 32000LL (2x256) $193

AMD XP 2500 333 FSB $179

ATI 9500 Non-Pro 128mb (red) $158

Soltek SL-75FRN-L $92

Western Digital 40 GB $81
7200 RPM 8MB cache

Antec True 430 PSU $78

Thermal Right SLK-900 $52

Zulman ZM80A-HP (GPU Heatsink) $35

Case Estimate $30

Arctic Silver III $4
_____

Total so far $902

Items I still need to pick if you can help me figure them out:

2 case fans (Front/Rear)
one heatsink fan
operating System

I have been in the forums for about 2 weeks now and just combing everything I could for what I should get. If you think I should change something or add something please feel free to let me know. I am totally new to overclocking and this will be the system that I will start OCing on. Do you think this is a good start point for a NOOB OCer?
I was also wondering how I could totally transfer my whole 12 GB hard drive to another hard drive including operating system and all. This is the bind I am in, I currently have windows 98SE (No CD's ) on my HD and lots of important documents and stuff, and I wanted to know if it was possible to just totally copy everything onto the new 40GB hard drive I will buy including the operating system so I don't have to buy another operating system. If think involves RAID or anything I would be willing to buy a controller.
Thanks, I hope we can all be involved in this project of mine and bring it to fruition together.

I'd make a few changes.

Abit NF7
2100+ T'bred B
SLK-800
TT SF-II or 92mm Tornado (whether you want loud or really loud)
Maxtor 80Gb ATA133 8Mb Cache

You can copy the entire contents of your drive to another drive using a disk ghosting utility like Symantec Ghost.

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!!!

this is a great place to learn. I think funkz is on the right track, you're better off going w/ a proven OC'er like a 2100, it's much cheaper and they have an established track record, whereas the 2500's are relatively new...

Also, why the $35 GPU heatsink? that seems kind of expensive...i can't remember if the 9500's have ramsinks or not, but you may want some of those too. Also, it seems a shame to put all that nice hardware in a $30 case. That's purely my personal opinion, I really like a nice looking case, and there are some good ones in the $40 range, but I really like something like an antec/chieftec, they're very well built and easy to work on.

anyways that's just my half-educated opinion, enjoy your stay here at OC.

go for a better mobo maybe an asus or an abit. Yeah that xp 2500 seems overkill should buy the tbred 2100 people get great overclocks with those.

I would go a little better on the case. All the sub $50 cases I have ever used have inspired grief and tantrums.
Since you have some left over, I would ditch the aircooling and go water. It should still be under 1000 after you take off that HSF.

Thanks

Why the Abit NF7? I don't know much about this board. I guess I will comb the boards for info. Also what kinda case should I get. I am looking for something rather user friendly How many bays? I am going to fill the bays with a CDRW, FAN controller (maybe) CD player and an A drive. What is enough room to feel comfortable? 6 bay, 8 bay, etc?

I definitely agree with nealric about the case, why spend almost a grand on parts and buy a cheapo case. The Antec/Chieftec cases are really nice Check out this one http://www.directron.com/da01bld.html

but I definitely wouldn't mess with watercooling, thats a whole different animal and not recommended for a noob

thats a whole different animal and not recommended for a noob

Click to expand...

Nah- thats just the thing to get em hooked and convert them to our side- MUHAHAHAHAH

Really tho, wc really isnt too hard for a noob- especially these days. He could get a chepo fan for a temp, read up a bit and then watercool.

Do you need help getting a list together? I'm a pretty speedy Newegg shopper.

OK here is what I have on my list now, what do you think:

Corsair TwinX 512MB 32000LL (2x256) $193

ATI 9500 Non-Pro 128mb (red) $158

Asus A7N8x-DX $134

Maxtor 80Gb ATA133 8Mb Cache $112

amd Athlon XP 2100 T’bred B $93

Antec True 430 PSU $78

Thermal Right SLK-900 $52

Case Estimate $100 (including fans)

Arctic Silver III $4
_____

Total so far $924

As you can see my processor, MB, and Case changed. Also I took off the Zulman GPU heatsink. I won't get that till later.

This won't leave much room for buying that CDRW and CD. I guess I could canabalize my 20X from my old PC. What do you guys think now? I don't think I will mess with water cooling till much much later, don't want to mess up and flood my brand new computer......yet .

Well I got to hit the hay. I am sooooo beat. I have been doing nothing but hanging out on OC boards, jumping around and looking at all the eye candy. I have lots of time, just got laid off . Hope you guys help me some more .

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I like this case. Only $80 shipped

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$69 on that Maxtor drive at Office Depot

Use the $20 of $75 coupon ...

http://www.officedepot.com/offers/r...=-1&SID=PGP1WFKHE1CJ9LNPGKC0MVWU6RS32T85&PP=0

Then use "Order by Item #" for item 678133, which is the Maxtor 80GB 8MB Cache drive priced at $129.

Your total is then $129 - $20 coupon - $40 rebate [Exp 3/1]

Link to rebate:

http://209.69.149.201/printrebates.asp?filename=1&i=rebates/25552-1.gif&SID=&item=2945

Final Cost: $69 Shipped

WOW that leaves room for more goodies

Damn you guys know yooooo ****e...hehe. Thanks I will try to order it before 3/1/03.

Hey could I get 2 of those deals from Office Depot and just use them with RAID-0?

If you order them seperately and use different name and shipping address. The coupon/rebate is limited to one per household.

Since you are opting for air cooling to start with, consider the coolermaster HHC-001 with heat pipes set up. You could save $10-$20 dollars off your proposed setup. Definitely canabalize your CD from your old system. Also keep and use, even if as just a backup, your old Hard Drive. Keep your old floppy too. you can save a reasonable sum of $$ just by keeping old parts and using them again. As to the case, I'll swear by my Lian-Li aluminum case when it comes to cooling and cool looking. My ambient temp overall dropped approximately 10 degrees Celcius when I upgraded to my Lian-Li case (I will admit the 2 additional case fans may be helping the situation). Also, they don't cost that much more than normal, but rounded cables for your IDE and floppy drives can do a great deal to improve airflow in the case and help with cooling. Look at buying parts and components from Ubid.com. I've gotten some excellent deals from them in the past (such as a 19" refurb Viewsonic monitor for only $42.00 including shipping and a new 22" Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200u monitor for only $19.00 plus shipping). Good choice in Mobo, drive, RAM and CPU. Consider the ATI 8500 video card. You can save some $ there as well. Granted the 9500 may out perform it some, but not by nearly as much of a margin as the next step up, the 9700. I love my All-in-Wonder 8500 and will not consider dumping it until I can buy a All-in-Wonder 9700 pro for less than $200.00. Good luck in building your system, let us know how it turns out. Welcome to the forums!!

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I will canabalize all my old stuff from my other computer and use the hard drive too. I will keep an eye on Ubid.com as well. I do have a 8500 ATI radeon in my old PC that I will just transfer till I get something better. At least I think it was the Radeon 8500 (has 64MB DDR right?) Not-AIW. I will look into that case as well. Sounds good. thanks.

Hey FUNKZ I clicked on that 20$ coupon link and it doesn't seem to work. Is the same thing happening to you?

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Sorry, i just love those cases. I would get this one: http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?UID=PW-9369332&SCriteria=A14424&bop=and . Also, I would just get an 8rda+, that way you wont need sata to IDE thingies. In the end you would save. Also, I would ditch the antec PSU and go for a 350-400 watt Sparkle. Might save some money there. Then, use the saved money to buy a 9500 PRO card here: http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/doSearch.hmx?bop=and&scriteria=ati+9500+PRO+retail&UID=&CID=&Back=&n=1 also, for the 8rda+, buy that here: http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/doSearch.hmx?bop=and&scriteria=8rda++PCI&UID=&CID=&Back=&n=1

I think that would be best.

o ya, ditch that ram and get this: http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85013

it is not only cheaper, but will give you higher FSBs. Remember: DUAL CHANNEL WILL DO NOTHING WITH PC3200!!!!! IT ALL A MARKETING GIMMICK FOR NOW! (Except maybe on p4 boards.....)