The Perfect OC system???

craigbr · Post by **craigbr** » Sun Dec 30, 2001 10:07 am

HI,
I'm thinking of buying a new systme primarily for overclocking. I'm in a bit of a twist here though, as I'm only a beginner, I don't have much experince, having been surrounded by Dell PC's, I need to now some good processors, motherboard, RAM etc for an excellent overclocking system, I'm thinking of spending about $1000-$1200 on a new or partly new system. Any ideas??

Thanks,

Craig

Sean · Post by **Sean** » Sun Dec 30, 2001 11:28 am

For $1000-1200 you could put together one spiffy Athlon XP system. Say...1800+ unlocked would have some awesome overclocking abilities. I don't know of any nice boards, but the new KT266A boards are suppose to be really stable.

(Correct me if I'm wrong, I am not a huge builder myself, i just made my first system not to long ago.)

dadx2mj · Post by **dadx2mj** » Sun Dec 30, 2001 11:37 am

Time to start doing some hoemwork. There are so many choices out there. To start with get an AMD Atholn/XP chip and unlock the multiplier. There are a lot of good mobo out there and for me that was the hardest choice. The KT266a chipset seems to be the best performer right now. Soyo, Epox, Shuttle just to name a few all make good boards with that chipset. As for ram get something good I prefer Crucial but there are other good names as well. Just stay away from the cheap no name brands, they will limit your over clocking.

blade · Post by **blade** » Sun Dec 30, 2001 12:32 pm

I don't think there is a perfect one. Some of it is just plain luck. Like while many were raving on the ECS K7S5A motherboard many others were having major problems with it, like me. Some of the better newer ones out now like the Soyo Dragon Plus and the Shuttle AK-31 have their detractor's too but more so than not people like them.
http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/dragon/d.html

Sometimes when problems come up it's user related but other times it is a defective motherboard or peipheral related. Many have Crucial ram and say it overclocks well while others say it doesn't. I guess that's where luck comes in. Probably just some batches are better than others.

But anyway, from what I know the best mobos out now that most seem to like are the Dragon Plus, AK-31 and the Epox 8KHA+. The Iwill xp333 looks promising but it's having some problems now.

I'd get good name brand pc2400 or pc2700 DDR for bet oc ability. A good heatsink/fan combo is a must and many prefer the sk6. Look at our front page for reviews on more.

craigbr · Post by **craigbr** » Sun Dec 30, 2001 5:59 pm

Thanks for the info. I've decided I definately am going for an AMD AthlonXP, not too sure probably the 1800+, the motherboards certainly come in all specs, shapes, and sizes don't they? I'm not too sure about cooling, I'm buying an Coolercase which shifts 514CFM, wtih a 431 Watt poer supply. Will this be enough, or do you suggest a top quality heatsink and fan? I decided to get the Crucial DDR RAM, I thought that 256Mb would do. It should shouldn't it? I'll get an IBM 41.2 GB Hard Drive UDMA 100, 7200RPM (was recommended for overclockers). Sounds all okay, I hope........

VFAA · Post by **VFAA** » Sun Dec 30, 2001 7:54 pm

Sounds sweet... I'd recommend Athlon XP 1900+ just for the hell of it along with Abit KR7A-RAID (that is a sweet motheboard with so many overclocking capabilities). A friend runs this combo and he sure is happy about it. As for the cooler, I'd highly recommend the new Swiftech MCX462 CPU cooler. I run it myself and it is great. Simply the best HSF to date, that is if you don't mind the noise out of the Delta 80mm fan hehe. As for the case, ever tried Lian-Li Aluminum cases? Boy if you try one, you'll fall in love right away. I know I did with my Lian-Li PC68 Silver... They are a bit pricey, but if you're looking for the best, that is the best :B

Happy New Year's Everybody! :+

blade · Post by **blade** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 12:57 am

You will still need a good cpu cooler. If you don't mind fans that sound like a lawnmower then the swiftech is awesome so I hear. As is the sk6 with delta. I'll be getting an sk6 in soon for testing.

But if you can't stand lawnmower loudness then I'd suggest the Coolermaster HCC-002
http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/cm/cm.html it's loud but has no high-pitched sound as the deltas do. or the Dr Thermal
http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/drthermal/drt.html Both are very good coolers.

The Senfu is excellent
http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/senfu/s.html but comes with a too loud fan also. What some of us are doing is putting the far quieter fan off a volcano II on heatsink such as the sk6 and senfu. It's quiet but has excellent cfm output at 36cfm. nexus_7's original idea btw. Maybe a difference in degrees by 1-3.

I'd suggest 512mb ram if you can offord it. The IBM should be fine but why not get one supporting ata133 since some of the newer mobo's have that. Maxtor makes some good ones.

Happy New Year!

VFAA · Post by **VFAA** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 1:07 am

Well if anybody is interested in the SK6 w/ Delta fan, I'm selling it cheap right now. Check out my thread here.