A poetic plead for help...

[Insanity]

I very tired. I was going to write another poem, but I just want to get to bed. I've just made two three-hour train journeys from Manchester to London, and back. Sorry to dissapoint all the Insanity fans out there.

I've decided on the following:

CPU: 1400 XP-M or 2400 XP-M (both will overclock to 2.2Ghz apparently, which one should I choose? Well, the cheaper, obviously, but is there anything else I should know? Are there any big differences between the two?)

Mobo: Not sure. I've been eyeing the Abit NF7-S v2.0 lately, but I've spotted a Dabs Value board (for £32) with the following specs:


Dabs Value nForce 400 Motherboard.

PROCESSOR
Socket A
AMD Athlon™ XP up to 3200+ , Athlon™ and Duron™ Processor
200 / 266 / 333/ 400 MHz system interface speed

CHIPSET
NVIDIA nForce2 400 / MCP

MEMORY
2 x 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM
Maximum 2.0 GB
DDR 200/266/333/400

EXPANSION SLOT
5 x PCI
1 x AGP (4X / 8X)
1 x CNR

I/O
1 x Parallel, 2 x Serial
1 x PS/2 Mouse, 1x PS/2 Keyboard
4 x Rear USB 2.0 ( * Version 3.3 : 2 x Rear USB 2.0)
1 x Speak-out, 1 x Line-in, 1 x Mic.-in
1 x RJ-45 LAN Jack
1 x Floppy
4 x IDE Hard Disk Devices
Ultra DMA33/66/100/133
2 x Front USB 2.0 ( * Version 3.3 : 4 x Front USB 2.0)
1 x Front Audio
1 x CD-In
1 x S/PDIF Out
1 x Chassis Intrusion Header
1x IrDA
1 x WOL

INTEGRATED AUDIO
Realtek ALC650 6-Channel AC'97 CODEC

LAN
MCP NVIDIA MAC + Realtek RTL8201BL PHY

HARDWARE MONITOR FUNCTION
CPU / System Fan Speed
System Voltage
CPU Temperature
System Temperature


WarpSpeeder
Overclock
Hardware Monitor

SIZE
ATX Form Factor
Dimension: 30.5cm X 19.9cm ( W x L )

Accessories
Users Manual
HDD Cable
FDD Cable
1 x StudioFun! Application Pack CD ( Optional )
1 x Norton Application Pack CD
¢w Internet Security 2003( Norton AntiVirus™, Norton™ Personal Firewall, Norton™ Privacy Control, Norton™ Intrusion Detection, Norton™ Parental Control)
¢w Norton™ Ghost 2003
1 x Fully Setup Driver CD

Any good? I've also had a thought. Is there any nForce mobos without on board sound? I've got a Audigy, and will buy an Audigy 2 to plug a Midi keyboard into.

I've also seen a Dabs Value 300W PSU for £12. I have my suspicions at it's cheap price, though. I might go for a better known make.

In concern to RAM: what's better, 256Mb of 2700@CL2.5 or 256Mb of 3200@CL3.0? Is it worth paying £60/70 for PC3200@CL2.0?

Graphics card: I'll probably stick with my GeForce 2 until I can afford a Radeon 9800 Pro. If I can hold back on price, I might be able to get one straight away.

[mike_w]

For overclocking, the NF7-S is best in my opinion. It's stable and easy to use, and its at a pretty good price.