hi guys and gals, Im completely new to this site and pretty new to computer stuff. I am looking for a motherboard/Cpu combo or one I can put together, hopefully help of people talking me through stuff from here. I was gonna order 2.8 p4 processor with 800fbs etc. from portatech.com but I found this site I want see if I can get some help first. I surf the web alot, play games like Ages of Empires and do college stuff. I was originally thinking 512 ddr 3200 ram that mb/cpu and a 80 gig hd and some probably 128bit video card. Anyone wanna help a guy out and walk me through some ordering and stuff?

for 82 dollars you can get the fastest most stable, user friendly board on the market HERE
The Abit NF7-S Rev 2.0

And for under 80 bux0rz you can get a Mobile Barton HERE
It will OC like a banshee, the sky's the limit !!!!!!!!
Oh and welcome.

if all you do is write reports, play ae, and look at porn, ill sell you my 800mhz laptop....

Quote: Originally Posted by NoSlak for 82 dollars you can get the fastest most stable, user friendly board on the market HERE The Abit NF7-S Rev 2.0 And for under 80 bux0rz you can get a Mobile Barton HERE It will OC like a banshee, the sky's the limit !!!!!!!! Oh and welcome.

Im gonna order it now. Thanx, When it comes is there anyway you can walk me through overclocking it? what ram would be good to get? Ohh yeah and i will be attempting to watercool it.

Your new to computer stuff but are going to watercool? Just so you know watercooling is a very involved process, and expensive. You would probably be better off with air cooling until you know your way around the hardware. If you have the money, get a Thermalright SP-97 and a 92mm enermax fan (assuming you are going with amd rig).

Wow, another NF7 and mobile 2500 recommendation. That seems to be the party line around here, but... with good reason! (there are other good AMD motherboards, I've really enjoyed owning my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe... they have a A7N8X-E now, and it comes gigabit ethernet)

You mentioned an Intel chip in your post. If you do go that route, I'd use the ABIT IF7 Max 3, it's kinda pricey and may be more than you are really looking for, but it's a great board for overclocking and has all the good stuff on board. The 2.8 is a good chip, I'd definitely stick to something with a northwood core. The others run far to hot and should be avoided unless you don't mind a noisy computer.

You should avoid off brand motherboards at all cost (like ECS). Someone posted that if your MB doesn't have 4 letters and begin with an A, then it's crap. I believe this to be true, although the DFI boards have a decent rep, too.

As for video cards, 9600XTs are niz, 9800XT is even nizer, but more pricey. If you want a TV Tuner card, I'd get the 9600 AIW version because it has dual dvi out things. Both are more than enough for the usage you mentioned. Personally I prefer ATI over nVidia (but lets not talk about that--i'm sure there are already hundreds of debates in progress right now on a dozen other message boards)

I also suggest shopping with newegg.com. Their prices are always among the lowest, most of their items have free shipping, and their shipping is lightening fast.

Good luck!
Bruce

WHILE I WAS RESPONDING, you mentioned watercooling... In my arrogant opinion, this is not something that you just attempt, it is something you research--and after you've researched, you do more research, and after that, you drink some coffee (or eat some ritalin) and do even more research. If you are new to overclocking, then you definitely don't want to "dive in" to watercooling. Go air for now. It really is all about the research.

Ok so I'll go aircooling for now, I am searching through newegg and found: Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM. Is this good stuff? If not anyone know of something from newegg thats pretty good. Id like to not have to order from 5 different places if I dont have to. I also saw a samsung 80 gig HD, will that one work good or do you guys know of a little better one? Also, Thank you to all who have replied I greatly appreciate it.

be better to get the 9600(xt) and a ati tunner card from wally world for 30-40 bux...

Corsair value select... you're still paying for the name. OCZ and Kingston make decent sticks as well. Some people may argue with me on this, but Samsung makes good RAM too, in fact, samsung chips can be found under the "heatspreaders" (pretty metal things) of many high end name brand sticks.

As for hard drives, Samsung spinpoint 160gb is a 2 platter hdd that is NOTORIOUSLY quiet--I plan on getting 2 for my new box. Western Digital makes good drives, but they are the loudest of all. Seagate makes good drives. I don't trust Maxtor so much, but as far as reliability goes, they are honestly all about the same. That's why it became an issue of how QUIET they are for me.

And you should be fine on NewEgg, they sell everything.

Bruce

Like 99.9% of the guys on this site are more knowledgable than me d00d but, thats what was recommended to me and it kix @$$.
I also have a DFI LANPARTY great board butt its tough to get it going.
As far as ram and everything else I think, well; I am a beleiver in you get what you pay for specially since I work for myself. I have burned a few stix of samsung in the past myself and been unstable I have never had a prob with Corsair XMS and i've pushed it hard.
OCZ I think is geared more toward Intel machines.
Giel Platinum series seems to be another good product to though, IMHO.

You almost always get what you pay for when it comes to computers... However, this is not true of watercooling radiators, alienware PCs, or most things on frozencpu.com

If you are going to go corsair, go XMS, not value select.

For all concerend purposed the NF7-S and mobile is what this guy needs. 512mb or Ram, Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin, Kingston; it's all good. Something tells me you'll never know the difference.

And d00d; you NEVER watercool with that additude, if you want to watercool research it for a bit; then post a list of what you plan to get and ask for opinions on that. Asking for us to part you a kit doesn;t work.

If you're serious about getting into computers and overclock the NF7-S and 2500+ Mobile are a good start. Also if you're SERIOUS invest in 512mb of quality RAM. Also go for good air cooling now; don't mess with water until you've researched it more than, ooh, water, kewl! I'11 b3 1337 d00d!

RAM here;
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...146-984&depa=1
Air cooler here;
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...109-115&depa=1
Fan here;
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...999-111&depa=1

Hey, is this board capable of a better sound card? I listen to lots of music too. Also, I see there are faster Barton CPU's is it best to stick with the 2400 or could I get a faster one?

Quote: Originally Posted by blackfire Hey, is this board capable of a better sound card? I listen to lots of music too. Also, I see there are faster Barton CPU's is it best to stick with the 2400 or could I get a faster one?

Yeah, you can put a better sound card on just about any board, you just have to disable the onboard sound--most modern boards allow you to do this in the bios (some older ones make you use a jumper)

You might bump up to the 2500 or the 2600--they don't cost much more at all, but to be honest, all of them have just about the same upper limit when overclocking. You can pay twice as much for the 3000, but why? If it were my choice, I'd get the 2500.

By the way, the onboard sound on the NF7-s is Sounstorm Certified. I doubt that you will need anything better.

Certainly, do not buy anything else until you hear the onboard. I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised.

Hey d00d, the onbaord sound on the NF7-S is probably going to do you just fine, if not you can always buy a sound card.
I just bought an external Audigy 2 with some nice headphones.
I personally have a mobile 2500 chip it's gamble on which one of those is going to get you the highest overclock if you choose to go that route in the future, however do not spend money twice is waht I am suggesting. This HSFHERE will handle what your going to OC on air. Besides it is very quiet and won't drive you crazy with excess noise look at the decibels "Noise(dBA): 20~ 25" it will run much quieter than almost anything from thermaltake.

Quote: Originally Posted by NoSlak Hey d00d, the onbaord sound on the NF7-S is probably going to do you just fine, if not you can always buy a sound card. I just bought an external Audigy 2 with some nice headphones. I personally have a mobile 2500 chip it's gamble on which one of those is going to get you the highest overclock if you choose to go that route in the future, however do not spend money twice is waht I am suggesting. This HSFHERE will handle what your going to OC on air. Besides it is very quiet and won't drive you crazy with excess noise look at the decibels "Noise(dBA): 20~ 25" it will run much quieter than almost anything from thermaltake.

Thanx again to everyone whos posted. You guys have all helped a ton. I think Im ready to go now just going to make some final decisions on ram and a HD. What interface on the HD do I need? And is there any other misc stuff I need?

if you hav the money, sata.

Uhm, we don't even have any idea what you have now nor how much you plan on spending. Do you even have a case ???

Quote: Originally Posted by NoSlak Uhm, we don't even have any idea what you have now nor how much you plan on spending. Do you even have a case ???

Im Just gonna get one of those clear acrylic cases. Ive got a monitor and keyboard from my computer now, but thats it