Im ready to build a new computer.
I'm ready to build a new computer next year, unless im convinced to build one earlier. I wanna wait till my gaming consoles are played out so I dont have multiple money pits that are not being used(I have a PS2 and an XBOX). I want to get a p4 with atleast 2.6 and HT and FSB 800 with RD, but the only mobo I saw on newegg that supported rd only supported up to FSB 533. Im willing to spend $1900, I can go higher if needed but im paying for bulk of it, parents are paying a little. I dont want to half-ass anything and wish I had gotten something better. Even though I want the P4, I know how great AMDs are. I dont know which processor I should get(Xeon, Opterons, AMD 64 are out of the question....obviously) . I want the P4 because of the high clock speeds and the FSB, but that could be my inexperience admiring the big numbers(This is my first time building a PC). If I get a P4 I'm willing to spend $265 for a 2.8 with HT and FSB 800 but I can get a 2.4 with HT and FSB 800 for $171 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=1 . With the money left over I can buy better cooling and overclock it(I dont know how high though). Obviously if the new cooling and the 2.4 come to the same amount, it wont be worth it. Ill be paying the same amount and Ill have a processor under some serious stress. Anyway, moving on. Ill get an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 All IN WONDER, dont wanna half-ass it 
. I know I dont want an Nvidia card, so dont waste ur time. If you havn't figured it out, I plan on doing some major gaming on this. 120 gig harddrive, fill me in on some good brands(Im not concerned with using RAID). Will probably get Audigy Gamer, sound cards are cheap so theres no reason to not get the best. I want dvd+rw drive and cd+rw drive. Probably get a Thermaltake case, I want something that functions well and looks cool as ****. For a monitor a want to get a 27" Advent HDTV, it costs $500. What I want most out of this post is opinions on what kind of processor to get and what type of motherboard to get(I want a mobo that supports RD). I appreciate all the help 
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. I know I dont want an Nvidia card, so dont waste ur time. If you havn't figured it out, I plan on doing some major gaming on this. 120 gig harddrive, fill me in on some good brands(Im not concerned with using RAID). Will probably get Audigy Gamer, sound cards are cheap so theres no reason to not get the best. I want dvd+rw drive and cd+rw drive. Probably get a Thermaltake case, I want something that functions well and looks cool as ****. For a monitor a want to get a 27" Advent HDTV, it costs $500. What I want most out of this post is opinions on what kind of processor to get and what type of motherboard to get(I want a mobo that supports RD). I appreciate all the help . 0
Comments
//EDIT: RDRAM is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. The Federal Trade Commission recently reeled RAMBUS in on charges of trying to defraud the JEDEC committee. They're in deep ****, and DDR is cheaper + faster + lower latency anyways.
but to stay on topic. If you are going to build this system next year, in say 4 months, wait until prices drop for your hard drive and all, usually Office Depot has some good deals with rebates to add up for some cheap drives.
Other than that wait until you have the money and all before you put everything together, just my .02Cents
As for your processor and Motherboard, I highly doubt $80-something USD is worth 400mhz more than the 2.4ghz. That's a DDR module with the money you save. A thermaltake Volcano 11+ will run you $50 from xoxide, but you can probably find it elsewhere cheaper (I don't know where). That should adequately keep anything cool from what I've read about it.
There won't be much difference in Sound cards unless you can pick apart the differences between EAX 1 and 2. You want a 5.1 capable card and some good speakers to go with it if all you want to do is game. This has my vote for ultimate speakers. A friend of mine purchased them and they are fuggin awesome with a 5.1 capable game + EAX. $399 though
RDRAM is dead. Intel doesn't make any chipsets that will support the 800 MHz FSB of the new Pentium 4 chips with RDRAM. All of Intel's product line utilize DDR SDRAM now.
And don't even consider those 533 MHz FSB chips just so you can have RDRAM. With extremely high latencies, the bus-speed and bandwidth of the fastest PC1200 RDRAM is not able to compare to PC3200 DDR SDRAM.
Your best bet? The Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (800 MHz FSB) with HT technology and a "Canterwood" i875P dual-channel DDR motherboard. Replace that old, dead, technologically-inept RDRAM with a pair of high quality Corsair XMS modules (preferrably PC3500 if you are overclocking). Don't skip on the memory subsystem of your computer, as having high-latency, single-channel DDR SDRAM on the P4's severely limits the CPU's ability to do anything. P4 systems are built for bandwidth. Give the CPU what it needs: A Canterwood board & dual-channel DDR memory.
Either the Asus P4C800-E or Abit IC7 series of motherboards will provide you with every feature you can think of (SATA, IDE, RAID, AGP, Dual-Channel DDR, PAT, etc...) and provide your system with a performance-minded chipset (the i875p).
The 2.8 will overclock up to 3.2 GHz (possibly further) utilizing only the stock cooler included with the CPU and will be 100% stable.
As for the video card, if you aren't building for the next few weeks and want the absolute top of the line video card, hold out for the ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256 MB.
Sound card wise, the Audigy 2 Platinum (or regular edition if you have no need for the attachment drive) does not disappoint.
Don't worry about purchasing a third-party cooler for the P4. If you are running the system anywhere between 2.8 GHz and 3.2 GHz (assuming you have a 2.8 GHz chip), you have nothing to worry about. The stock cooler shipped with the 2.8 has a copper core that is fused to the surrounding aluminium block, which works quite well provided it is installed with proper themal transport compound.
For hard disks, look no further than Western Digital's Caviar SE "JB" lineup of drives, with a 7200 RPM rotational speed and an 8 MB buffer. For the largest capacity and performance for the lowest cost, Western Digital delivers quite well. If you can afford it, go for the SATA version of these drives (provided your motherboard can support it).
Enjoy your new system!
If no to any of those things, try a Barton 2800+ and see if it will OC on a good mobo-- OCers will have better opinions on that, will defer to them on htat but get a REAL good PSU if you plan to OC a lot.
John.
Wait until you're ready to build. See how technology and prices pan out...Seriously. Some things that could REALLY drives prices down are arriving in 4-6 months.
1) Stay active at S-M. We've got talented, helpful members here, as evidenced by the posts in this thread.
2) Keep your open mind, not being glued to any one manufacturer.
3) Tour different sites, looking at as many hardware reviews as you have time and stomach for.
Uh, try 3500MHz, stable.:D But then, I might have an exceptional CPU. BTW, I had the same overclock (stable, too) with the stock Intel HSF unit, and it was the older solid aluminum jobber. I upgraded though, as the temps were a bit frightening - 65*C a full load. (Now 52*C full load with case temp at 32*C.)
Maxtors can be cheaper, had mixed experience with Maxtors.
Samsung third best, IBM DeskStars STINK right now.
Case, check out an XTaser for Glitzy, a ChiefTec for DIY modding with a Dremel and paint (Hint, get an auto paint shop employee to paint it for you). Cheiftec so much cheaper you can afford much better power supply, like an Antec TruPower (a few folks have had bad luck, it is barely possible a bad batch was made, but generally they ROCK. For cooling fans, try PanaFlos (H end suffix), cheapest place is JameCo right now, next cheapest is NewEgg.
Keep an open mind, but we do know a decent amount here and you can throw detailled questions at us and get more specific info. Leonardo OC's P4's, I do not, others OC Bartons, I do not, but Bartons do better at folding unless you have DDR400 RAM in box and a newer gen P4 like you are thinking of. Me, would go P4 route and ask Lenoardo what mobo he uses.
The P4EE is too pricy right now, skip THAT, but a 3GHz P4 might be VERY good price by next year. Mobos for that speed will be more stable next year, bugs will probably be worked out of BIOSs more than they are now as the 3 Giggers streetch a box's timing to max.
John.
PS. My decison has been to go with the P4 2.8 with HT and fsb 800
Purchase a p4 2.4c ($171) with 512 mb of Buffalo PC3700 ram ($99) and a Zalman CNPS7000-Cu Pure Copper Heatsink.
For the mobo as said before get an abit ic7 or a p4c800.