Help w/ Northwood Purchase

[dangerpowers]

Hello this is my first post because I'm committed to purchasing a computer this week. I've been reading these boards for a while now. Today my 166mmx is finally getting on my nerves and I would like to build my first computer using the P4 Northwood. I've been trying to do this for 2 years now with an AMD solution in mind but now that Intel has got the upper hand again I'm just disillusioned as to my waiting. okay here is what I've come up with

From NewEGG..
CHIEFTEC Server Chasis (Workstation Tower) Model DX-01BD- IBM Black w/ Two Case Fans $49.00
PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA-BPS/BLACK 40x12x40 CD-RW - OEM $156.00
TOSHIBA INTERNAL DVD ROM, 16X DVD, 48X CD ROM. $44.00
*BLACK* PANASONIC 1.44 MB DENSITY FLOPPY DISK DRIVE, MODEL # JU-257A-907P - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $12.00
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 120GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD1200JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $202.00
Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Keyboard and Mouse Bundle $79.00
Samsung 256MB PC800 NonECC RAMBUS RDRAM RIMM x2 $174.00
ABIT TH7II INTEL 850 ATX MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL no raid $138.00
3COM 3CR990-TX-97 10/100 Secure NIC - OEM $75.00
Antec 430W Power Supply TRUE430 $73.00
Intel Pentium 4 1.6A GHz 512K Socket 478 Processor 400MHz Processor Bus $129.00
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY WITH 1394 - OEM $60.00
Logitech's THX certified Z560 4.1 surround sound system $129
GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4 Ti 4600, 2.8ns, Twin-DVI, 128MB DDR, Power pack and Golden Sample, VIVO. 2 DVI connectors + 2 CRT adaptors + a (3+1)-port IEEE1394 firewire card $375

TOTAL + my shipping $1783.76

This system is just for everyday use (internet, mp3, games) but sometimes my brother needs it for web design stuff and I want to get into some video editing and/or 3d rendering in the future. Until the Hammer comes out and if its successful I wont consider making another system this year so this will be it, I can't wait any longer! =(

I can't use anything from my old mmx [dont laugh!] and i want to overclock the cpu, ram, and video card so I can get my moneys worth. All your suggestions & opinions will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[lhgpoobaa]

looks decent.
lots of overclock lurking in that system.

Today on Toms: Trisexual hamsters, anal applications of peanut butter and Marrage councilling!

 

[dangerpowers]

is there any physical modding involved to overclock? I've never done this before but if i can get from a 1.6A to a 2.4B i'll be happy.

 

[NurseMSIC]

No physical modding invloved, you just use software to increase clock speed (Mhz) on various settings. Voltage increase may be needed through BIOS for the chip though, but again thats just setting numbers on a screen, you dont get on your hands and knees with a screwdriver.

HOWEVER you may possibly want to physically alter things by adding different heatsinks or fans on the chip, RAM etc etc and anything else that gets overclocked as O/Cing will always (to my knowledge) involve electric going through transistors at a higher rate, thus generating more heat (i am just repeating what i read and am not expert), which different components can only tolerate set levels before shutting down.

I have not physically altered anything on my system however, the stock heatsink + fan on my intel 1.6A gets me to nearly 2.2Ghz just fine.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=18108" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=18108</A>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

no... not unless your into EXTREME overclocking

just make sure you have god components that can handle what your gonna do. i.e. 1.6A + sambsung rdram

change the multiplier (maybe core voltage and/or ram voltage) and away u go.

like the other guy said, attaching some extra heatsinks and stuff might be required, but its kinda optional... only if your having stability problems

Today on Toms: Trisexual hamsters, anal applications of peanut butter and Marrage councilling!

 

[eden]

I was also wondering if you were to overclock, since you said Intel has the upper hand but failed to mention it in your main post! If you don't overclock, you WOULD technically save a bit of money with a better performing AMD system. If you are to overclock which you seem determined soon, by all means, good luck, as it is fairly easy. Anyone here will tell you it's guaranteed to reach 2.13GHZ no matter what, anything upwards is luck, and you can always up it for as long as stable it is, as it has the thermal throttle in the event it's too hot.

--
I set my graphics aperture to 1024MB, why can't I open anything now?

 

[AMD_Man]

change the multiplier

The P4's multiplier is locked. You have to up the FSB.

<b><i>"A penny saved is a penny earned!"</i></b>

 

[slvr_phoenix]

It looks pretty good to me. I can only make a few suggestions:

1) Consider getting some extra fans to either mount directly over the RAM (I've got a cool case at work which does this) or to add to the front and/or back of the case to increase airflow. True, it probably won't be necessary. However even when not actually crashing, heat still stresses electrical components. So the better your cooling, the longer your investment is likely to last. Plus then even if the air conditioning cuts out in the middle of a hot summer (or other such bad luck) with extra cooling you never have to worry.

2) You might want to look into dust filters for your air input fans. It might be an option, it might not. It isn't exactly vital, but I like the filters. Dust in PCs sucks after all. Dust degrades heat transfers as well as shorts paths if not taken care of regularly. My case at work has a dust filter and it really makes a difference. As long as I keep cleaning the filter, I rarely have to blow dust out of the inside of the case.

3) Get one of those insured and really good surge protectors. Both lightning and deductibles suck. If you can, you might even want to consider getting a UPS which regulates voltages. Then you don't even get screwed whenever lightning strikes or the power goes out. Again, it isn't really a necessity, but they are nice to have.

4) You might want to consider a retail version of the Audigy for the software that they ship with that OEM versions generally don't have. Just a thought. Free software is pretty easily available though, so it isn't a big thing.

5) Put the CD ROMs on the secondary IDE controller and the hard drive on the primary IDE controller to maximize the data throughput for ripping and burning. At least, that's what I've heard works best because then each IDE controller can run at peak efficiency instead of having to share between the two devices in constant use.

6) Eventually, one day, when/if you really do use it for video editing and/or 3D rendering, you might want to up the RAM some more. 512MB will probably work, but with such data-intensive apps, 1GB is always nice to have. Swap files suck.

7) Also, at that point you might want to move to a SCSI card and hard drive if you're realling pressing the data transfer rates of your hard drive to the max. Just some things to keep in mind for the future.

<pre><font color=orange><b>du hast den Sweater verkehrt an</b></font color=orange>
Oh my!</pre><p>

 

[FatBurger]

I can't use anything from my old mmx [dont laugh!] and i want to overclock the cpu, ram, and video card so I can get my moneys worth. All your suggestions & opinions will be appreciated. Thanks!

Last few lines.

Dangerpowers, that'll be a nice system. You might consider getting the RAID version of the board and two 60GB 120GXPs in a RAID 0, but that's your call.

I'd recommend the Santa Cruz or Game Theater XP instead of the Audigy, Creative still hasn't gotten their drivers sorted out.

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>

 

[dangerpowers]

thanks for all the suggestions so far! I will definitely look into the dust filter and maybe adding some fans but i dont want the system to be too loud. Since this is my first build and overclock I'm not trying to push it to the extreme because i want it to be reliable for at least 2-3 years.

Does the choice of sound card (audigy vs turtle/game theater xp) really make a difference? I'm looking for something that sounds great but won't have compatibility issues with the system. btw, I'm planning to use XP Pro.

Any other things I should know?

When I have everything, my process would be to do a minimal installation only (cpu, mb, ram, vd, hd on primary cd-rom on secondary IDE, install XP) then install the sound first then network then the extra firewire from the video card?

 

[FatBurger]

Yes, a sound card makes a huge difference, sound cards have notoriously buggy drivers (second only to video cards). The Santa Cruz has the best drivers of any sound card around, and is a great quality card to boot. That's the one I most commonly recommend.

The only reason to buy the GTXP over that is for the external rack. I love it, not everyone does. It's just personal preference.

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>

 

[dangerpowers]

Alright its on its way, I have taken your recommendation and got the Turtle Beach instead of the Audigy. I feel bad for spending much on the nic.

Also I added 2 more sticks of samsung to make it 1 gig
and 2 enermax 80mm fans (i guess to add to the front)

Fat Burger,is it possible to oc all 4 sticks to make them 1066mhz?

When I get the package I'll come back for step by step instructions. Thank you!

 

[FatBurger]

I'd go for two 512 sticks instead of four 256, or just stick with 512MB and upgrade later (I don't even really need the 512 I have).

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>