Building a New Computer

I'm building my second computer and was planning to overclock it. I've never overclocked before but have read up on it extensively. I hope I'm posting this in the right forum. Here is a list of what I have so far and would like anykind of advice or opinions. I really want to do this right for the first time and have a nice computer and hope it runs smoothe from the start.

First off I have a couple of questions. When overclocking does it decrease the life of the components that are overclocked? Would more cooling help negate this?

So I want to overclock this chip and I was wondering if I have the right components and if I don't what else would you all recommend or suggest? My budget is around $1000 dollars but I can go up a little more if needed.

And now for what I have so far. Like I said nothing is set in stone and I would really like anykind of feedback/advice or opinions on this. Thank you!

Cpu-- Amd Athlon Xp 2500+ Barton $92.00



Motherboard-- Abit NF7-S-- $112.00



Ram-- 2 Corsair 512 PC3200 DDR ram-- $181.98



Case-- Black X Dreamer II Cases with 350w psu- $102.63

- Depth: 18.5"
- Width: 8"
- Height: 17
Computer Case Fans
- 80mm Side Panel Fan: 1 Blue UV Reactive Blue LED Fan(Included)
- 80mm Top Panel Exhaust Fan: 1 Blue UV Reactive Blue LED Fan (Included)
- 80mm Rear Exhaust Fans: 2 (Optional, Not Included)
- 80mm Front Hidden Fans: 2 (Optional, Not Included)





Cd Rom- Lite On 16x Dvd Rom/48x Cd Rom- $35.99


Cd Burner- Lite on 52x/ 32x/ 52x CDRW- $39.99


Floppy/Zip-- Sony Black Floppy-- $9.99


Video Card-- ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128 mb-- $142.99



Sound Card-- Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy ES PCI-- $47.00



Hard Drive-- Seagate 120 GB 7200 Rpm 8mb Cache 8.5 ST-- $98.00


Thermal Paste-- Artic Silver 5-- $12.99


Heatsink/Fan-- Thermaltake Silent Boost High Performance Cooler AMD XP -- $40.99


Total-- $916.55

here. check this out for your HD. http://www.slickdeals.net/#p3764
here is a maxtor 120gb hd for 60 bucks after rebates and free shipping.

looks like a nice system but y dont u get a slk-800 or 900 and a TT Smart fan II

I'd get either a Maxtor ATA133 harddrive or Western Digital Special Edition (both with the 8 MB cache). There are probably better CPU coolers too. The rest looks good.

you should probably not use the PSU that comes with the case and get maybe get a sparkle/fortron 350+

Looks real nice!
I'd suggest a Thermalright SLK-900(A) w/ 92mm fan or Vantec Aeroflow for cooling your CPU. SVC has some great deals. SVC also has Arctic Silver 5 for only $6.99 w/ free shipping!
Good Luck! -Dave

Get a thermalright heatsink (I'm using the slk-800), and put a TT smartfan II on it. Also, you might want to look into serial ATA hard drives, since NF7-S supports it. It's not that significant of a speed boost, but the cable is a lot smaller than those 80-pin IDE cables, giving you better airflow in the case. My system's quite similar to yours, I'm using NF7-S (make sure you get version 2.0) with a 2500+, I can get it to 3200+ speeds and still be under 40C .

This'll probably be moved to general hardware. Remember, the forum names are literal. CPU means only general non AMD/ INTEL CPU, and not cpu + mobo + ram, etc.

Sounds like a fine system aside from the thermaltake heatsink, though its not the absolute worst you can get.

I would get a beefier PSU unless the one that comes with that case is from a better manufacturer such as Fortron or Sparkle as mage pointed out.

First off I have a couple of questions. When overclocking does it decrease the life of the components that are overclocked? Would more cooling help negate this?

Click to expand...

Overclocking does decrease the life of components like the CPU. More cooling will slow this process a little.

Overclocking decreases its life, cooling slows down the process(just as gnufsh said)

Keep in mind that the NF7 comes with.. 5.1 sound I think..so a sound card may not be needed, depending on your wants and needs, but I would take that extra $50 if I were you.

Get a Maxtor Hd..I don't have cooling problems with mine, Seagates tend to break on me..and WD get hott then fry..but those are just my expereinces.You don't need to go to Serial ATA.
Dont get the PSU that comes withthe case either..get a better one..(make another, or read another thread on this).

If I were you, which I'm not, and other people will argue, is I would get different RAM, even though yours is FINE..I would get some beefier ram(also go to another thread to learn more)

And the last thing I would do differently is spend the extra $50 savedfrom the sound card on getting a Radeon 9800whichever..I remember seeing one for $200 before..once you get that you can get a better heatsink on it..maybe a P4 cooler..mod it a bit..add a nice big fan..and you'll be running at very nice speeds.


Argue with me if you must

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

if you overclock without increasing voltages, then the CPU will not die out faster by any significant margin.

For example, if you run a 2500+ at 3200+ speed, its life will be shortened, but only to that of the 3200+'s lifespan at 3200+ speed.

But if you increase the voltage to the processor, the shortening of the life is more significant.

If you keep your temperatures reasonable, and don't go too crazy on the voltage, your processor should be past obsolete when it dies on you.

Cooling helps slow down the deteriation of your components, but its effects are limited. If you go crazy with the voltage, cooling won't help it that much.

I'd say get a DVD-ROM rather than the CD-ROM. You'll be able to watch movies then.

Also, the seagate is not the fastest hard drive. The fastest is the Hitachi/IBM 7K250.

Here's a comparison of the SATA versions of these drives. regular PATA versions of these drives exist as well:
http://www.storagereview.com/php/be...&numDrives=1&devID_0=250&devID_1=242&devCnt=2

The Hitachi/IBM 7K250 is the fastest 7200 rpm drive at this moment. It is faster than the fastest of Maxtor, Western Digital, and Seagate. But then, it is the newest.

The Silentboost might be a good cooler, but the much safer best is the SLK900, like all the other people have pointed out. Also you can get them for $20, which is an amazing deal, as they are worth more than $40 (and cost $90 here in Belgium)

And the sound on the NF7-S is quite good, just remember to cool the South Bridge actively. Otherwise you will hear cracks.

So I think if you could put the money from the soundcard into the price of the graphics card, you can nearly double your 3D performance, by getting a 9800 Non Pro. (Make sure you don't get the 9800SE, as it is a crippled 9800)

I don't know much about the case, but if its power supply is not very good, the Fortron 350w is very good.

I was thinking of getting the 9800se..but not anymore..lol

this is a direct comparison of the fastest 7200rpm drives from Hitachi/IBM, Maxtor, Western Digital and Seagate:
http://www.storagereview.com/php/be...&devID_1=250&devID_2=245&devID_3=242&devCnt=4

Foxie3a:
I do not recommend the 9800SE, as the chance of finding one that can be modified so that all 8 pipelines run (normally 4 are disabled) is not that good, so it's not a risk worth taking.

But, qbas pointed out to me one instance in which the 9800SE would be a very nice purchase. It is if you can find a shop which actually pretests the 9800SE card, and can guarantee you it runs with all 8 pipelines enabled. Problem is very few shops would be willing to do this.

qbas said:

Some 'puter stores sell pre-tested 8 pipeline cards that works, but it depends what 'puter stores tests them.

It's funny that when i check my card it says it is Connect3D Radeon 9800 Pro AIW card (it has a sticker saying that)

Click to expand...

qbas said:

In those cases you would get 9800 Pro (maybe a bit slower) for much cheaper.

Even with only 4 pipelines the card performes great compared to 9600 Pro, 9500 Pro the 256-bit version loses to 9700 and above cards.

Click to expand...

comes from this thread: http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=241782

if you want to game on this machine go get a 9800 pro and just a 1800 xp and oc it. You will still be less then 1k

here this is one crazy sys:

P4 3.0C $270
ABit IC7 $115
512M Buffalo PC3700 [2x256] $120
Radeon 9700 Pro $250 (not built by ati ex. saphire,powercolor, ect)
CDRW/DVD (2 drives) $60 [get Liteon]
Wd Raptor $136
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy $47
Chieftec full tower w/ PSU $80
SLK900A $40
Panaflow fan $8

-----------------------------------------
$1116

If this is too much get a 2.8C instead of the 3.0c

best places to buy online
- www.newegg.com
- www.excaliberpc.com

DO NOT BUY FROM TIGER-DIRECT!

first i would not get a soundcard for nf7-s it has a great integrated card do more than u can handle secont put more mony into and get an 9700 pro card at least for around 250$
third get like a 3500 or 3700 mem instead of 3200 and i would get watercooling but if it is too expensive get slk-800-900 with tt smartfan or tornado with fan controll.