New HeatSink and Fan?

Newegg has a coolermaster dp5-6I11 for only $11 shipped. I wouldn't use your old heatsink.

I recommend the ALPHA PAL 8045, Matisaro's experience with it says that it is silent and very good at cooling.
If it is too expensive, go with a nice shiny Volcano 7, still one of the most succesful coolers of the AMD HSFs, or if you want noise and speed control, the Volcano 7+.

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When buying an AthlonXP, please make sure the bus is at 133MHZ, or you will get a lower speed!

Yup, I agree with Eden here. If you plan to do some major overclocking, then get a Alpha PAL8045 with some sort of delta fan. Over at SharkyForums, there's been a big wave people who've boughten that XP1600+ from newegg.com and they've gotten AGOIA Y and AROIA Y stepping CPUs, which can get to near 1.8GHz pretty much guaranteed with a good HSF. I'd suggest paying a bit extra for the HSF and then you'll have a pretty kickin system for quite a bit less with a bit of overclocking.

<b><i>Intel</i></b> if you overclock; <b><i>AMD</i></b> if you run stock.

wut if i dont want to overclock? what do u recommend then?

Buy Volcano 7 or Volacano 7+

A Volcano7 would be fine. It's cheap and at stock speeds it should be quiet.

<b><i>Intel</i></b> if you overclock; <b><i>AMD</i></b> if you run stock.

From newegg:

ECS k7S5A SIS 735 Socket A Mobo = 54.99
AMD Athlon Xp 1600 OEM = 52.99
does a volcano 9 retail work with those? or do i need to spend an extra 15 bux on the volcano 7? AND is it really necessary to get the new hs and f when i have an existing one?

Yes it is absolutely neccessary. Heat is the one thing you do NOT want to mess with. How much of a deal is that package going to be when your CPU melts into a puddle of silicon?

Ok thanks. Now what do you think of the volcanp 9 opposed to 7? 10 - 15 dollars is a LOT to me (no job thx). and ive read that they are identical except the 9 is a lil louder.

The Volcano9 is more expensive??!! I'd go for the V9 for sure then.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...

I just read the V9 and what it does. It's nothing more than a V7+ slapped with an extra self-throttling like the V7, a full max speed and a personal V7+-like adjustement controller.

I don't think it's any better at cooling and definitly not worth it if you're a home user looking for silent operation without much modification hassles. Get the V7+, set it to Medium speed, and it'll be a trade of less noise and adequate cooling.

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When buying an AthlonXP, please make sure the bus is at 133MHZ, or you will get a lower speed!

the v9 is cheaper than the v7/ v7+ and if i were you i would just get the v9 because it is a 80mm fan as opposed to the 70mm of the v7+. The v9 also has manual or auto rpm speed adjust, so u can either have it spin faster for more cfm outta the fan or slower and be quieter. remember bigger fans will be quieter than smaller fans and will give more air flow as well.

I couldn't get anyone to look at my thread in the overclocking section, so I'll post here too.....hehe
Does anyone have any first hand experience with the Volcano 7+ & the Dragon Orb(socket478)? They both show same cfm and heat dissipation on the thermaltake site. The heat sink design is different, so I was wondering if anyone has personally observed the difference between these 2.
....even though I recently discovered a very tastey helicoid cooler by swiftec that I may go with.
Would love to hear your input.....Thanx

Never buy ECS K7S5A.

If you need a rock solid budget board, buy MSI 745 Ultra or ASUS A7S333. Buy the cheaper one between them. MSI 745 Ultra is $64 at Newegg.

I have the ECS K7S5A and I love it, but it's already a year and a half old. I've gotta assume there's better budget boards out by now  

<font color=red>I'd like to dedicate this post to all my friends, family, and fans. Without them this post would never have been possible. Thank you!</font color=red>

The stock is actually pretty good. If you plan on getting a separate HSF for the P4, you may as well only look towards the Alpha PAL8092 or a Swiftech MCX4000 w/ say a Tornado or a Delta fan.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...