Intel Newbie, Please Help - Mobo and System Recommendations for 1.6A

[Fishmonger]

Hello Everyone,

The last 8 systems that I have put together have all been AMDs, now I'm trying to help a friend build an Intel-based system. What I know for sure right now is that we are going to try to overclock it, but only using stock heatsink and fan for now (try to keep it quiet). Unfortunately, I don't know much about Intel chipsets and such, and I was wondering if you guys could be of assistance (it's greatly appreciated). After sifting through a bunch of forum posts, this is what I came up with:

1. Intel P4 1.6A Processor (seems like the best overclocker/best value)

2. Epox 4G4A+ Motherboard (seems like the best overclocking MB) Also considered Abit BG7. RAID is not really a needed feature. Would like to have onboard LAN and USB2.0. Are there any other suggestions for a solid overclocking MB under $150?

3. VisionTek Geforce3 Ti500 64MB

4. Samsung PC2700 256MB DDR Ram from Newegg (I heard this Ram used to be really good for O/C but not the latest batch? And how does this compare to Crucial PC2700 and maybe the cheaper stuff from Mushkin and Coasair?)

5. Evercase w/ 300W PS from Newegg (is 300W sufficient? I've heard lots of good things but this case being a great value)

6. Maxtor D740X Quiet 40Gig HD

7. Lite-on 16X DVD or Lite-on 40X Burner

8. Will be re-using his SB Live! soundcard and Floppy Drive

Is this a good setup to achieve a 2.4Ghz overclock on the 1.6A chip? I'm open to any suggestions/recommendations/changes, but the system has to stay around $700-$750 because that's my friend's budget.

Also, I have some cooling questions if anyone would like to help. I still have some ASII left over from my last AMD machine. Should I use that in place of the thermal pad that comes with the CPU? And if I was to shop for a better HS/fan, which one would be quiet and still gives better performance than the stock? My friend would like to keep this system quiet. And how many case fans do I need, if any? I'm considering maybe 2 Panaflows.

I know there are a lot of questions here, sorry I'm just a dumb newbie when it comes to Intel systems. Any help on any of these topics would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[CrazySaint]

Good choice on CPU and motherboard. Btw, you can get the 4G4A+ at MWave for about $115 + SH, which is about $30 cheaper than Newegg. As for the Ti500, its a decent card, but overpriced considering you can get a gF4 Ti4200 128MB for the same price. As for Samsung RAM, the DTL RAM seems to be really hit or miss in regards to OC'ing. Some people barely get over DDR333, while a few people get around DDR430, whereas the CTL RAM consistently OC'd to around DDR410. Unfortunately, newegg no longer guarantees which part you'll get. Also consider that if you get a 256MB stick of RAM now, and want to upgrade your RAM later, you may need to replace the 256MB stick with a larger one or risk sacrificing your OC since that board has trouble OC'ing with two sticks of RAM. That 300w PSU might be a problem as you start increase the voltage, especially if its not a very good one. You might consider the Cheiftec case (same as Antec SX630) with a 400w PSU for $50 at newegg. Only thing is, that the PSU is a Foxconn, and I have no clue how good they are. Other components look fine.

Absolutely use ASII instead of the thermal pad. Two Panaflo L1As will probably provide decent cooling. Btw, you can still get 256MB of Corsair XMS PC2700 CAS2 for $99 w/Free 2nd Day FedEx shipping from googlegear.

 

[TalonFyre]

You might want to take a look at this thread for CPU/motherboard choices for overclocking.

 

[yayoiz]

ABIT DB7II is equally trustworthy and under $120 according to my experience, apart from the BG7 which you may have already got full account of from these threads, not to mention the higher price P4b533. My set up is P1.6A@2.65GHz, Samsung DDR333@166 at 1:1 and Vcore 1.65v , a straight from the box OC (some step by step from 133 to 166 in about a day). I have now been runing Prime95 for one full day, honestly I haven't tried anything beyond 2.65 GHz (haven't got time to fiddling around yet). In all I can say that I may have some luck having rather good components both the P1.6A and the Samsung.

 

[Rainsford]

Seems like good stuff, when I was considering buying an Intel P4, those were mostly the parts I was thinking of. But I'd say go for a GeForce 4 Ti 4200 instead of the Ti 500. the 4200 will be a lot faster and isn't that much more expensive. But that Epox is a great board and Samsung DDR is supposed to be good.

Hehe, "Intel Newbie". Now there's a redundant phrase Just kidding.