Going to computer show tomarrow

[SonicIce]

I need a new CPU, motherboard, and case. I was thinking about getting an Athlon XP and OC it. (I don't have enough money or want to spend that much or really even need an Athlon 64.) I've never OC'd before and I need recommendations on which CPU and mobo to buy. I see if the computer show has anything cheaper than Newegg.

 

[Rike]

ASUS, MSI, Abit, Gigabyte are always good. My ASUS nForce2 has been going strong for almost two years. It overclocks with my old unlocked XP 2100 to 2300Mhz (that's on air with a Thermalright sp-97 heatsink). That's faster than a XP 3200+.

Personally, I'd skip the show and just go with Newegg. At least then you know what your getting (not grey market). If you don't need a vid card and memory, you should be able to get everything you need (case, mobo, CPU) for well under $350.

 

[THUGSROOK]

suggestion?

never buy anything from a PC show.

 

[SonicIce]

Well it's pretty old stuff, so I doubt it would be that expensive. Maybe I can find a good case, that'd be a safe buy. Proc and mobo I should probably just buy from Newegg. Any other motherboard/CPU suggestions?

 

[thirdlegstump]

You spelled "tomorrow" incorrectly.

 

[imported_whatever]

Originally posted by: Rike
ASUS, MSI, Abit, Gigabyte are always good. My ASUS nForce2 has been going strong for almost two years. It overclocks with my old unlocked XP 2100 to 2300Mhz (that's on air with a Thermalright sp-97 heatsink). That's faster than a XP 3200+.

however, the xp 3200+ is a barton where your 2100+ is a tbred. the 3200+ is almost certainly faster than a tbred at 2.3

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: whatever

Originally posted by: Rike
ASUS, MSI, Abit, Gigabyte are always good. My ASUS nForce2 has been going strong for almost two years. It overclocks with my old unlocked XP 2100 to 2300Mhz (that's on air with a Thermalright sp-97 heatsink). That's faster than a XP 3200+.

however, the xp 3200+ is a barton where your 2100+ is a tbred. the 3200+ is almost certainly faster than a tbred at 2.3

You know I wasn't sure, so I ran some benchmarks. SiSoftware Sandra's CPU benchmarks put my T-bred system ahead of their standard XP 3200+ by a hair. Of course that a synthetic benchmark and it assumes the standard is a bartron. Real world, I'll concede that the 512K L2 cache on a barton may have me beat. Still not bad for an older rig and an old $91 CPU. Nice water set-up by the way. I've never tried water; cost prohibitive on my budget.

 

[SonicIce]

What's a good socket A mobo for OCing an XP 2500+ to 3200+? is the XP 2500+ a good CPU to OC? How hard would it be?

 

[Rike]

Any ASUS or Abit nForce 2 mobo. 2500+ has a good rep for OCing. Not very hard at all, especially with a decent cooling solution. Memory with good headroom helps. Overclockers.com is a good resource.

 

[Painman]

The only thing computer shows have been good for (for me) is buying CPUs. And then only because you can have the vendors show you the packages so you can see what stepping the CPU is before you buy it. Other than that, it's a potential pain in the ass if something you buy ends up DOA and you have to track down the vendor and deal with whatever RMA procedure (or runaround) they give you.

Oh, and beware of cases/PSUs sold at shows. 95% of them are crap that aren't worth the $3 than went into their construction. Be especially aware of the dreaded DEER power supply, which heavily populate many of these shows. They are only fit to be taken out into the woods and shot. Just go to your local Best Buy/CrapUSA/Fry's/etc. and buy an Antec combo.