Cooling nub needs some help

I'm new to overclocking, but very interested also. I've read up on it, but the only thing that worries me is cooling. Everything I have in my comp is stock right now, and my question is: Is it worth it to buy fans, water cooling etc to increase the performance of my comp, and if so, any basics that I need to buy just to start off?
Any input appreciated.

Yes cooling is worth the money. What are your specs?

AMD Athlon XP 2000+
512 MB DDR ram... forgot the pc of it and I'm away from home
Currently Geforce 2 integrated, but I'm bringing in the Radeon 9700 Pro
Not sure of the mobo :/ Have to check
Wait, I just realized - If I had Geforce 2 Integrated Mobo, that means I have to get different mobo for the Radeon?

Anyways, I was looking at some cases at www.coolerguys.com and I'm thinking of grabbin this one http://www.coolerguys.com/Merchant2...oduct_Code=840556045496&Category_Code=CS-Wind
Not sure what else to include... I'm tired.

How much money are you willing to spend on your cooling?

You might need a new motherboard you might not. If you open your case and look at it do you see a brown/red/blue slot thats offset like this?:

{SPACE} ____ <agp
___ <PCI
___<PCI
___<PCI

If you have the agp slot you probably wouldnt need a new mobo. However if your mobo isnt too good for overclocking anyways i might suggest a 100 dollar investment in an epox 8rda+... Unless you dont have the correct ram for it... If you are in for serious overclocking the best way to go (My opinion im not pushing this as fact) is epox 8rda+, some good ram, and either an slk900 with a big loud fan over it or watercooling.

Yeah, go with what Excelsior said, go get the SLK-900 w/92mm fan or, if you are willing to spend the money, look into watercooling.

I have a question, it this like a name brand computer, IE: HP, Dell, IBM, or Compaq or something. If so, you are more than likely gonna have to change no only mobos to get a good performance increase, but your case as well. I upgraded a friend's computer for a small price (all I wanted was food to eat when came over). He had a Compaq, but didn't tell me, so it took awhile.

Just to inform you, when it comes to overclocking, you are really overclocking through the mobo with RAM and other hardware. If you want a good overclock outta what you got, then I suggest that you may to upgrade that mobo, RAM, anbd various hardware. But this all depends on how far you to push that proc to get what performance you want outta it.

Just my opinions on the matter.

I know that I have an extra AGP slot, or else I wouldn't have even thought about buying the Radeon. I wasn't sure about mobo compatability, but I have no worries about that anymore. Anyways, I went over to the ATI board to look at what mobos those guys were using, and they all use the Asus A7N, which I was thinking about getting. Also, the case which I posted the link for comes with four decent fans with it, but I still may upgrade those. I'm definitely out for watercooling, since I've heard too many horror stories of pump shutdowns, and can't afford to buy another PC.
Anyways, yes, I have a name brand PC. It's HP (I bought it before I even knew that much about computers)
Anyways, I do have one more question. When we're talking fans, are their sizes generally universal? Like could I replace one 80 mm fan with a different 80 mm fan in the same place, or would I have to drill depending on the second fans size?
Edit: Also, any fan recommendations if I can mix and match?

mounting holes for the same size fans are the same ...
there's a lot of fans out there ...
panaflo, delta, vantec, sunon, ys tech, etc ...

it just depends on how far you can tolerate noise levels

I'm thinking of getting a new case, SLK-900 and a 92mm Tornado, but I've heard that some mobos require bending the capacitors to fit the SLK, but I'm not into that. I don't know what mobo I got, and I can't check right now because I'm away from home.

slk-800 is smaller and i think you can fit 92mm fan in it...