Help on planning new system

[Guest]

i am planning to get a new system but i cant decide on which processor to go with. the xp 1700+ is $169 at the local store (im reluctant to buy online since i seem to have bad luck when it comes to faluty computer products, dont wanna go through the rma hassle) anyways, the 1800+ is $215, from reading the posts on this board, it seems to be that the athlon xp is a good overclocker. so should i get the 1700+ and overclock it? and what kind of speed increase should i expect, im planning to use just a 20 dollar heatsink/fan, but i'll have at least 3 case fans in the case and i'll be replacing my case too since my old one is only 250 watts, is 350w necessary? or can i get away with a name brand 300w case/power supply.
i will be running 2 hds, a dvd and a cdrw.
the current 250w is running fine with those items and a p3 600 with a katmai core.

also i havent decided on which mb to get, the ones that im considering are:
asus a7v266-e
abit kr7a
MSI K7T266 Pro2
Epox EP-8KHA+(don't know the difference between the plus and the regular one)

my budget is about 500 bucks for the processor, mb, case and a stick of 256 ddr ram plus some accessories like cpu fans.

thanks in advance and have a happy new year

 

[Guest]

Let me throw a good word about MSI board you listed.It may not be the fastest board out there but so far is the most stable board I ever owned. You can overclock it by raising FSB from WINDOWS ! yes, don't even have to mess with bios or pencil trick !(overclocking is limited ) It comes with all the cables and 4 USB ports. BIOS update can be done from Windows as well. If you enjoy looking inside the computer, this board is painted red, and it looks very cool ! I wouldn't risk using 250W PSU on Athlon. The downside of this board is that it doesn't have an ISA slot just in case you care .
There is a version of this board with USB 2 and Raid just in case you care.

 

[Crashman]

Can you get the Iwill XP333-R locally?

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Guest]

i dont think its available, but could u shed some light on this board

 

[error_911]

Well, I can't help but agree that the MSI board you listed is an excellent board, and at great value. As for RAM, try looking for some Kingston Value RAM, good enough quality at a cheaper price (otherwise go with Samsung - reliable for overclocking and nicely priced). As for the CPU, you can do what I did. I bought an XP1600 with a good heatsink (a Vantec Aeroflow) and then some nice case fans (two Vantec Tornados and one 120mm Delta modded over the chipset) to cool it all nice when its overclocked. Remember though, you can only go so far increasing the FSB, unless you're willing to unclock the CPU with some super-glue to fill the gaps and then some artic silver epoxy to link your L1, or some other combination... Otherwise, your combination of components means you've got about 275Watt power need, and I wouldn't go with anything less that 350W in that case, because a "300Watt" PSU is 300Watt MAXIMUM, so spend the extra $10-$15. Otherwise, what are you planning on as for a video card? .. have fun