New system based around XP-M 2500 ! advice/comments

[Afy]

Yo, alright everyone?

im putting together a new 'budget' system around this processor, well it was a budget system till i was let loose on ebay
anyways i have some parts already and other bits i will be getting soon, early next week most likely.
what i have so far:
CoolerMaster BlackWidow
ATI Radeon 9800pro 256mb @ 430/378 - the trusty finger test = egg frying temps
SB Audigy2 zs
LiteOn dvd-rw 812s
LiteOn cd-rw 40x12x48
160gb Hitachi Deskstar 7K250

looking to get
XP-M 2500
ABIT NF7-S V2.0 or better reccomendation?
1 GB RAM
HSF
artic vga silencer
Akasa Fan Control Pro - microlandtechnology doing this for £23
microsoft wireless elite desktop

can anyone reccomend some half decent but not too expensive ram to go with this? is it worth getting 1 stick now and another in a month or so in the hope of prices coming down? i am obviously planning on overclocking so will some standard TwinMos 3200 be upto the job as it seems a reasonable price right now.

would like some reccomendations on a decent heatsink to shove on my cpu, is it worth sheling out for a thermalright + fan or will i get similar but cheaper results with soemthing from thermaltake etc? also is it worth upgrading the m/b fan to make it more stable?

is there any big difference between the revision of the vga silencer other than the cards it will fit?

psu - looking to go for a CWT as theyre nice and cheap + seem quite popular around here would a 450w handle this setup nicely with a few lights + maybe a HD upgrade in the future or am i better off with the 550w it is £20 more..

lastly anyone got this wireless elite keyboard/mouse set? i would really like a wireless setup with this pc but need to know that its lag free and suitable for games!

i probably missed something out but its too late to think straight
biggup to all who reply!


Afy

[GreenPiggy]

CPU & Mobo - no problem there.
I wouldn't go with 3200 RAM to be honest cos that board & processor are capable of an insane FSB - Probably in the region 220-230.
So either get good quality 3500 or poorer quality 3700. Stick with the one stick for now as suggested.
Since you have a mobile I wouldn't skimp on the heatsink - start looking around the £40 mark.
I believe the northbridge fan on the NF7 is pretty good so no real need to upgrade it.
I don't know much about the CWT PSUs but can recommend the Tagan 480W - rock solid stable even when uberclocked.

[BUFF]

With an XP-M & NF7-S you probably want to do an L12 mod for high fsb.
If you can find some, TwinMOS PC3700 with 43B or 43D chips.

A Volcano 12 will do the job well for £12 from ebuyer.
A thermalright SP900 etc. will do the job slightly better & quieter with the right fan but cost 3x the price.

I've had all 3 Rev. of the VGA Silencer.
Rev 1 will be the cheapest but won't fit all cards (will fit a 9800 Pro though).
Wouldn't bother with Rev2. as it will be similar in price to Rev.3
Rev3. fits more cards plus you don't have to remove & replace the plate around the outputs on the card.

With the spec. that you are going for I would spend the extra for the CWT 550W PSU over the 450W - apart from the extra wattage it has tighter tolerances & separate rails.

[GreenPiggy]

Also one word of warning is that the Volcano12 is Uberloud - not dissimilar to a vacuum cleaner at the highest setting - get some good headphones

[BUFF]

Also one word of warning is that the Volcano12 is Uberloud - not dissimilar to a vacuum cleaner at the highest setting - get some good headphones

Only if you run it over about 4000rpm.
As with most fans the higher the rpm the louder the noise.

[Afy]

Thanks for your replies guys

A Volcano 12 will do the job well for £12 from ebuyer.
A thermalright SP900 etc. will do the job slightly better & quieter with the right fan but cost 3x the price.

Noise is an issue for me but so is price so i may just go for this and see how it goes, could always upgrade it later and use it on the other pc, though i am tempted by the SP97 with 92mm fan !

just need to find a good price on some ram now.

I am also after some kind of 3 1/2" (or 5" if it looks cool) drive bay with headphone/mic connectors, this case only has 2 front usb. im not too confident about drilling the metal floppy bay cover as im concerned ill make a bodge of it though i havent seen anything for me yet, any ideas?