I am looking into building a system which is centered around an AMD Barton XP2500+, and after reading the review on the overclocking potential of this processor have decided do this in order to maximise my system's output. Do I need to buy a specially modified version in order to overclock this processor or is it just a case of changing the settings once the standard processor has been purchased? I ask this because i have recently seen an XP2500+ claiming to be an XP3200+ with overclocking on E-Bay for £80 + p&p, and have also seen standard XP2500+ available for under £60 + p&p. Is the extra money just going towards the settings which you need to overclock the XP2500+ or is the processor physically different?
The system that i am building will primarily be used for music production and internet use and i need some advice on suitable motherboards, sound cards and cpu coolers.
Motherboard & Soundcard - I know that the motherboard has to support various spec's in order to be able to overclock the XP2500+, and was thinking about either, ASUS A7N8X Deluxe 2.0, ABIT AF7-S, or Epox 8RDA3G nForce2 Ultra 400. I am a little confused about the audio with these boards as have been told that a seperate sound card is not always required, but taking into account that music production will be the main use of the system, do i need a soundcard to maximise the musical potential of the system, and will the choice of motherboard effect this?
CPU Cooler - Again after reading the review on overclocking the XP2500+ i understand that a decent cooler is required to get maximum results, i have also noticed through looking around the web that there are new water cooling systems available, are they worth considering or is it better just to go for a bigger top spec' air cooler?
Finally, (as if that wasn't enough!), I know that all of these decisions are down to personal preference but please recommend the motherboard, soundcard (if required), and cpu cooler that you would use for an overclocked XP2500+ system used for music production. Please also add any other components that you would highly recommend such as RAM or HDD. I want the system to be powerful and expandable but also want to keep an excellent cost to perfomance ratio that everyone talks about so much.
Please, someone feel sorry for me and help me out...MANY THANKS!!!!