Okay, Now I Need Your Help...

[adamp2p]

Okay, so as I mentioned...

I ordered some components from newegg.com.

After watching several go through 2500XP overclocking successfully, I felt compelled to buy one. But this one is not for myself. Well actually it is for my mechanic, who is one of my friends. And he does not have a good computer at all, so I felt it in his best interests to build him one. And yes I am being a little cheap with it. But all he wants is a system to play games on. And I felt like I owed him. Especially because my transmission totally broke down on me and I dropped it off to him a month ago and I called him a couple of days later and he told me there was nothing wrong with it. Trust me; there was something very wrong with it. I even told him that all I could spend was $700 to fix it. He fixed it and did not charge me for it.

I remember an anthropology teacher telling me that having a good mechanic is as important as having a good dentist--you don't want anybody messing around with something as important as your car...or your mouth, for that matter.

So I decided to buy some cheap components off of newegg (all of $200 USD). As a matter of fact I will list exactly what I purchased:

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?...tion=20-145-025
Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-131-468&depa=0
CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-103-379&depa=0
Case and Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc....-129-117&depa=0

I asked him to pay for the memory ($100). I know the components are not all the highest quality. But I am just looking for components that will work at the specification. For one thing, I know that the memory I selected will run at CAS 2.5-3-3-8 or better at 400 MHz, which is all I need it to be stable at. Well actually I am going to give the system to him at stock, and show him how to overclock. And I am going to take off the heatsink heat pad that AMD affixes and apply some Artic Silver 5 on it (I have gobs of it).

Overall I am spending about $200 bucks on this stuff for him. I know that the power supply and case are not the best; but they do not have to be. They will do, that I know.

If you have any tips or pointers for me, let me know.

[tesco]

u got a case fan or two to ad into the case? if u overclock it expect it to get pretty hot and you will need good exhaust to get that hot air outta the case.

[adamp2p]

Originally posted by ROSSCO_2004@26 March 2004 - 20:09
u got a case fan or two to ad into the case? if u overclock it expect it to get pretty hot and you will need good exhaust to get that hot air outta the case.

Yes, I have heard of 80mm fans...but really am unclear about what is a good one. Any available at newegg? Perhaps you can find a link to one and post it here?

Thanks!

like from around here:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?...=80%2Cmm%2Cfans

[Virtualbody1234]

Looks like good choices to me. You should just try it at 3200+ speeds before giving it to him. Just up the FSB to 400 and watch the temps.

[adamp2p]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@26 March 2004 - 20:19
Looks like good choices to me. You should just try it at 3200+ speeds before giving it to him. Just up the FSB to 400 and watch the temps.

I definately will test the system at higher speeds. (heh, if I fall in love with the system, I might just stick him my dad's DELL and keep the 2500+ around) :smilie3:

[tesco]

yeah i think any of the fans are good, youll only noticew a difference between each one once u get up to the more expensive ones which are supposedly silent, or if u get one with a light (for obvious reasons).

btw, what vid card u putting in there? i think u said you were giving him a 9500 pro...

[adamp2p]

Yup, I am putting in a 9500 non pro.

Could anybody refer to some good 80 mm fans?

[bigdawgfoxx]

I like these coolermaster 80mm fans. 32CFM and 25Dba...also have a very nice blue color and not very loud.

[3RA1N1AC]

if you plan to overclock your pal's processor, it'd prolly be wise to make sure that he understands what it means (along with the risk involved, however small) and that it's acceptable to him. properly cooled and tested, an overclocked processor shouldn't cause any probs... but you never know, he may just prefer to play it safe and leave it at stock speed, or shell out for a higher rated chip so not to void the warranty.

edit:

Well actually I am going to give the system to him at stock, and show him how to overclock.

oh, sorry. went back and read your post again. i guess you should just make sure to inform him of stability and data corruption issues that can arise from OC-ing, so he knows what sort of things to watch out for.

[clocker]

I agree with 3rainiac.
In fact I'm not sure I would even discuss OCing the machine unless he expressly shows an interest.
A useful analogy for him might be the difference between a street car and a hot rod.
A hot rod may be cool as hell, but only if your willing to put out the effort to maintain it.
A street car will do most things OK and you can ignore them for a long time before they refuse to work.
How much diligence and work is your mechanic willing to invest in the PC?