Buying a new computer! Here is the preliminary specs!

[tgzo]

Hi, buying a new computer at the end of this month in Toronto, Canada. I am seeking your suggestions on which parts to improvise, please keep in mind that I have budget limits and some parts are not available up North. Without further ado:

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System Specs
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CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2100+ TBred Rev B.
MOBO: Asus A7N8X-DX (DELUXE)
GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon 9700 128MB DDR CRT/DVI TV 8xAGP OEM
RAM: KINGSTON HyperX PC3200 2 x 256MB DDR Ram 400MHz Low Latency CL 2-2-2 with Aluminum Heat Spreader
CDRW: LiteOn 48X24X48X CD-RW EIDE Internal with NERO SOFTWARE OEM BLACK
DVD: LiteOn 16X DVD-ROM IDE Internal
HD: Maxtor 80.0GB UDMA133 2MB 8.5ms 7200rpm (Liquid Bearing)
FLOPPY: Panasonic 1.44 Light Beige OEM
Case: Thermaltake Xaser II 5000A+ Tower Case with Clear Side Window BLACK with HardCano 7 and 5 Case Fans
Power Supply: ANTEC 480W ATX 12V TrueBlue 480 Power Supply with Blue LED Internal LUMINATION
Keyboard/mouse: Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard/Wheel Mouse Optical
Speakers: Creative Inspire 5.1 5200

----- Cost: $1836.82 Canadian with shipping, tax, insurance -------------------

Now, how is this system for overclocking? Also, is it sufficient to play all the latest games with blazing framerates? Please offer your expertise?

 

[AndyHui]

Sharky Forums?

We are not Sharky Forums.

System looks fine to me. I assume that you will be wanting to use the onboard SoundStorm card rather than an additional PCI card like an Audigy 2.

If you were to go with an extra soundcard, drop the Deluxe and go straight for the regular A7N8X.

 

[tgzo]

Should I buy the XP 2100+ or the XP 2400+? Which is more overclockable?

 

[PCHPlayer]

I would go for the 8MB buffer Maxtor instead of the 2MB. Even better, the Western Digital 200JB. It has very good benchmarks over at storagereview.com

 

[bgeh]

the XP2100+ and XP2400+ generally oc to the same speeds
but i recommend the 1700+ DLT3C more

 

[Ardan]

I concur, you indeed should go for the 8meg cache Maxtor. I have the 1800+ Thoroughbred Rev A and I recommend it for those on a budget because it overclocks well (for me at least). Look at my System in my signature to see my specs, but I run it at 2000+ speed at 333Mhz FSB and its as if I bought a 333Mhz-enabled Tbred CPU (yes it is that stable) so you might want to look into that. I could go higher than 2000+ but I had no need to. I would say to stay with the 2100+ though.

 

[Krk3561]

Get an 8MB buffer HD instead.

For a CPU, get a 1700+ DLT3C Throughbred B (1700+, 2100+, and 2400+ all overclock the same).

For a motherboard, I recommend the Abit NF7-S V2.0. It is SoundStorm certified (A7N8X is not) and other than that it has the same features as the A7N8X except it costs less. The NF7-S also is a great overclocking board.

And isnt the Radeon 9800 Pro available in stores now?

 

[Markfw]

Ditto the 8 meg Maxtor