Firsttime overclocker HELP?

I'm sure others will disagree with me on this, but if you're starting from scratch and not into the hottest system out there, you are better off buying the whole system from some place like Dell (not that I like Dell or any other vendor like them). The advantages are:

1. It's probably cheaper in the long run. I'd price the separate parts and compare them to a preconfigured system. Don't forget to add in every little thing including the price of the OS and any other software (like MS Office, Antivirus software).

2. You at least get some type of toll-free tech support, which is usually not available from the build-your-own places.

3. Your whole system will be under a fairly long warranty.

To be honest, I kind of hate these type of vendors, and I don't think they really care about their customers unless the customer is a good sized business. But I do recommend them to people who don't want to keep messing with their systems and who want the "security" of a comprehensive warranty and the tech support (for what it's worth).

Mike

After I blew out my athlon 750, i vowed to never overclock again. IF you are a first timer, just be careful, or u will end up with a nice paper weight.

"upgrading is no longer an option...it's a necessity"
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--SoulReaper =)

for your intended purpose, i would get the duron and save yourself about $30 (although if you do mpeg-4 encoding the t-bird would be better). since the t-bird and duron are the same platform (socket-a), there would be no problem popping in t t-bird if your future needs change. as far as the mobo, i have an epox ep-8kta+. it's a bargain at about $115 including shipping, has onboard audio, and allows for overclocking (make sure you get the plus (+) version for overclocking). or, you can get the ep-8kta2 which has ata/100 support for about $15 more.