Components listed below are what i plan on buying:

CPU: Pentium 4
Speed: 2.8 GHz
FSB: 800 Mhz
Cache: 512k

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8IK1100, Intel 875P
FSB: 800 / 533 MHz
RAM: Dual Channel DDR 400 / 333 ECC support Max 4GB
IDE: 2 x UDMA ATA 100/66 Bus Master IDE
Slots: 1x AGP Pro Slot, 5x PCI 32-bit Slots
Ports: 2xPS2,2xCOM,1xLPT,4xUSB,1xRJ45
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC655 CODEC
Onboard LAN: Intel®PRO /100 VE Ethernet
Onboard SATA: 2 Channel Silicon Image Serial-ATA

Memory: (2)GEIL DDR PC-3200 Value - Lifetime Warranty
Size: 512MB
Timings: 6-3-3 2T, Ultra- CAS 2.5, 2T

Hard Drive: HITACHI/IBM
Size: 120GB
RPM: 7200RPM
Cache: 8MB
Seek time: 8.5ms
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100

CD-RW/DVD: Samsung
Interface: EIDE
Data Transfer Rate:
Read CD : 52X (7,800 KB/sec)
Read DVD : 16X (21,600 KB/sec)
Record CD : 52X (7,800 KB/sec)
Rewrite CD : 24X (3,600 KB/sec)
Buffer Memory Pack: 2MB
Burst Transfer Rate PIO Mode 4 (16.6MB/sec) UDMA Mode 2 (33.3MB/sec)
Average Access Time DVD : 120ms CD : 110ms
Adopting Superlink (Buffer Under Run Proof Technology)

Misc: Enermax Multifunction Transfer Panel
Over Heat & Low RPM Alarm.
Dual Temperature Monitors.
Dual Fan Speed & Temperature LED Display.
Fan Speed Adjustable.
2 USB2.0 Ports.
1 Firewire Ports. (IEEE 1394)

Components listed below are what i'll be using from a previous system:

Graphics card: Geforce 4 Ti4200
Sound card: Sound Blaster Audigy
Pci: 4 port usb 2.0 card
Power supply: CompUSA 300 W
Case: http://www.chieftec.com/products/dragon/dh01w.htm

Total ranges between $750 - $900 depending where i buy them from. I'll use the system daily to watch movies, encode mp3's, play games, etc. Please post opinions and any adjustments i should make. Thx

You overclocking? I recommend either asus p4p800 or abit ic-7 mbs.
kingston, corsair, or ocz gold memory.

Thx for the reply. Yes i'll be overclocking. I read up on the other mobo's. Im starting to consider getting the Abit board instead. As for memory, the price of for an equivalent corsair is out of my range. I'll have to read up on the other two. Thx again

Agree with motojeff. I just bought an Abit IC7-G and built an P4 800 3G system. This mobo is excellent!

Since you're an OC'er as you said, forget about that Gigabyte. Get either the Asus P4P800 Deluxe or Abit IC7-G.

Van Nugent can u tell me what brand/model of memory yer using? I've been reading alot about these mobo's being picky on which ram you put in them.

Yep, I think the Abit is a little picky (not sure about the Asus because I don't own 1). I am using Kingston and it works quite well on the Abit.

I would go for a different brand of memory also. Personally I like the Kingston HyperX w/ a CAS rating of 2 (as opposed to the slightly slower standard of 2.5). I paid $70 or so for 1 512MB stick of the HyperX a few months ago, maybe cheaper now. It also comes with a nice heat spreader which would cost you $10-15 aftermarket on its own otherwise. ;)

Also, consider an ATA133 mobo (though I think only the Maxtor HDDs are capable of that atm) ... just consider, not a big deal really. ;)

300W PSU on a 2.8GHz P4 ?? I would highly recommend against that as that is really the minimum you can use on a P4 - and CompUSA PSUs are crapola. :D I would go for an Enermax or Antec 400W or so. :)

420 was it a stick of pc3200? The closest i find to that price is $78 w/ a Cas of 3 and its not HyperX. That price was off of pricegrabber.com. I just checked newegg and the price for a HyperX pc3200 512mb cas 2 is $125. Could u let me know where u bought your memory from? Thx for the tip on the psu.

mm, I should have read more carefully ... I've got pc2700.

www.googlegear.com has:

Kingston HyperX KHX3200 (CAS2) - $130
Kingston HyperX KHX3200A (CAS2) - $115
Corsair CMX512-3200C2 - $112 (CAS latency must be set to 2.5 w/ 2 sticks though)
Samsung 512MB PC3200 (CAS2.5) - $99

All of the above are free 2nd day shipping also, and I will personally vouch for the reliability of GoogleGear. NewEgg and GoggleGear are the only 2 companies I buy my PC hardware from. :)

Just out of curiosity, what kind of price are you paying per stick on the Geil mem?


Oh and btw, I've got a 450W Enermax on a P4 2.53GHz and the voltage on all rails is rock steady. I opted for the 450W as I've got an a$$load of fans running. :D

From newegg, they run for about $70 per stick. From a price perspective, i could get twice the memory if i were to go w/ the Geil, but then again....i've been reading that they're just overclocked pc2700's.

Out of interest (and not being an overclocker myself) - how much of a performance increase would you expect to get by overclocking a 2.8 chip? Facts and figures please :)

Virgin San-

I've personally OC'd the P4 2.8GHz for my customers as far as 3.4GHz at their request ... letting them know of course that their warranty goes out the window. hehe Requires some serious cooling though and I'm too much of a chicken to OC them that much on my own system. ;)


OuTcAst-

Well at $70 a stick I suppose it's worth giving the Geil a shot ... nice price. It is all about bang-for-the-buck ... ;)

I would also replace the PSU to a higher spec especially if your overclocking and would opt for a Western Digital Raptor SATA harrdrive which is the fastest non SCSI drive on the market.

Originally posted by 420
Virgin San-

I've personally OC'd the P4 2.8GHz for my customers as far as 3.4GHz at their request ... letting them know of course that their warranty goes out the window. hehe Requires some serious cooling though and I'm too much of a chicken to OC them that much on my own system. ;)


Thanks 420. I'm wondering - for the hassle of extra cooling etc etc do you see much of a performance difference in every day use for that extra 20 (ish) %?

I'm just thinking back to when i upgraded from 1 GHz to 1.7 and really only noticed an improvement in the running of aggressive calculations (like 3d integrals that took hours to process ...) - in terms of my general usage of microsoft packages, web etc etc i couldn't (much as i wanted to) see any appreciable difference. Do you see a difference after OC'ing as you describe? If so, what part of your "computing" is improved - eg, gaming, or something?

Virgin San -

For every day usage, no need to OC really. I upgraded my 500MHz Celeron to a 2.4GHz P4 and honestly when it comes to using Word, Excel, MSIE, etc I notice ZERO difference. hehe However, DVD2One ripping times went from 60 min to 15 min, Pinnacle DVD ripping went from nearly 7 hours to less than 2.5 hrs, etc ... so large processing jobs are where you see the big differences. However, the faster your CPU the less difference say 600MHz would make - many computer programs weren't designed to go that fast ... yet. ;) For all the money you often spend on things such as water cooling (and the added risk of having a line burst and your PC filling with water and antifreeze), I don't see it as worth it. Honestly, I think more people go for the big OC just to prove they can. ;)

When I bought my CPU a few months ago there was a $20 difference between the 2.4GHz and the 2.53GHz ... I opted for the 2.53 since the 2.4 was just an OC'd chip and it was only $20. However, at the time the 2.8GHz was over $100 more and I just saw that as a huge waste of money for little performance gain.


DIABLO -

Those are the 10K RPM drives aren't they? Fast but WD seems to have produced even shoddy quality 7200RPM so not sure I'd trust the 10K RPM ... WD once had a great rep but I've seen more WD drives come back to me in the past 6 months than any other drive by far ... even my own WD 120GB 7200RPM HDD died in 4 months. :(

Yeah thanks 420, I had a feeling that for most users it was just a fad, was just curious about the obsession. Seems a bit like big spoilers, bucket seats and lowered bumpers doesn't it ...

I see the benefits with high usage tasks though, I don't bother with DVD ripping anymore but back when i did it was a bit of a pain to leave the pc humming away in the corner overnight ... :)

Cheers for the info m8

I personaly have'nt heard that western digital drives are any less reliable then any other manufacter. The raptor is mad efor the business market so i would expect increased reliability which is reflected in the fact that the Raptor come's with a 5 year guantee.

yeah ibm hard drives are really the best quality, i would def try to get a different hard drive

DIABLO - 420

Thx for the tip on the psu. Im definitely going to get a 400W or higher unit.

Im going to read up on reviews of others hard drives and memory/mobo configurations and finalize my system based on recommendations and price/performance. I'm probably not going to oc too much, like 420 said i'll end up oc'ing just to see if i can:D.

As for the Hitachi/IBM drive listed, i read up on reviews from other people that purchased the drive, and it "seems" like a good buy.

http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?item=22-145-034

It wont be another 2-3 weeks or so before I actually put this together....way to busy w/ school. Just planning ahead;)