Building new comp, any advice?

[Wiggin]

After weeks of research I think I finally have all my components picked out for my first machine. Nothing is concrete yet though, so i'm more then open to any suggestions that you think might give me more bang for the buck, or help the computer run better. Here's the list i've came up with so far:

-P4 1.8a
-Abit BD7II mobo
-Samsung 512mb PC2700 DDR
-GeForce4 TI4400 128mb (Either gainsward or Leadtek)
-Lite-On 12x CDRW
-Lite-On 12x Dvd player
-Seagate 40gb hd
-Chieftec case w/ 420watt ps
-Encore network card
-Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card
-Logitech z-560 speakers
-19in Samsung SyncMaster 955df
-Artic Silver 3

I'm aiming for a high oc beneath 1.7v. since I want this pc to last me for a while =). Depending on what oc is possible beneath 1.7v, I wouldn't mind getting a quiet heatsink/fan combination. Otherwise i'll use the stock fan and heatsink with the Artic Silver 3 if that works well (looking for advice).

I hear some people saying Asus p4S533 is better/faster then the abit board, but I also hear it messes with the bus speed of some components (soundcard, lan card, etc). Thanks in advance for advice given =).

 

[lhgpoobaa]

not a bad setup, allthough u know that maximum performance is only obtained with PC1066 rdram right? (too costly i imagine)

AS3 with the stock heatsink is a grand idea,far better than the stock thermal pad.
and i reccomend a faster CD-RW drive... you can get 24x drives for faster for very good prices.
same with the dvd, go for the lite-on 16x.

one final thing...depending on what you are doing, a 40Gb hard drive can get filled amazingly quickly. mowerdays for gamers and movie buffs i reccoment 60 or 80Gb.

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CPU forum, here i come!

 

[chuck232]

Hey sounds a lot like my future computer.(without the monitor and speakers and some other stuff)

Well, I've been reading around, and it seems like the 1.6A seems to be able to reach 2.4 real easy (1.55-1.6V) and can usually get to 2.66GHz with a 166MHz FSB. I still think that the 1.8A is a bit better (cause you'll probably be able to hit 2.7GHz) but there's something to think about.

Falling down stairs saves time

 

[buddry]

Are you sure you only need a 40 GB HD. The 60 or 80 are not that much more expensive. They might be worth the additional money. Everything else looks pretty good to me.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=white>bless</font color=white> <font color=blue>the</font color=blue> <font color=red>U</font color=red><font color=white>S</font color=white><font color=blue>A</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

Never heard of those problems on the P4S533, but can tell you that the SiS 645DX chipset is significantly faster than the i845, and has more options for overclocking.

<font color=blue>At least half of all problems are caused by an insufficient power supply!</font color=blue>

 

[chuck232]

But ABIT has some of the best overclocking features of any board. The ability to lock PCI/AGP speeds is a really great feature. Also, if he overclocks his CPU to 133FSB, then runs the FSBRAM ratio at 3:4, he'll get better performance than DDR333. He'd be running at DDR354, and then Samsung can usually do CAS2 at those speeds. (BTW, I think burning in the Samsung may give you better overclocking results)

Falling down stairs saves time

 

[Crashman]

Well, any parts should allow the overclock from 133 to 150MHz FSB. I will go as far as to say you'll reach at least 133FSB and at most 150MHz FSB. At 1/4 PCI and 1/2 AGP you won't see any part crap out. And the SiS gives you more memory ratios, including 3/4, 4/5, and 4/6.

<font color=blue>At least half of all problems are caused by an insufficient power supply!</font color=blue>

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Ok one thing on the system I think you might wanna look into using Thermagic instead of AS3. Here are a couple quick reviews.

http://www.monster-hardware.com/reviews/thermagic.htm
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/thermagic/thermagic.shtml

Another suggestion is to go with the 60Gb drive, its better for the money.

 

[Crashman]

No thanks, My CPU runs cool enough at 45C full load.

<font color=blue>At least half of all problems are caused by an insufficient power supply!</font color=blue>

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Well if you already have Arctic Silver 2 or 3 then just use that but if you don't have any heat compound yet, I would suggest looking at Thermagic as an alternative. It has been getting good reviews since it came out.