O.K. Let me start with what I have:
Case:
-Lian Li 6077W Black Side Windowed (all stock fans are replaced with silent fans that rate 32cfm & 20db)
-2 uv cathodes installed
-Noise padding on
- Top minus hole for Fan
- Bottom minus hole for air/filter hole
- Right Panel
PSU:
-Thermatake 480w purepower silent series
Heatsink/Fan:
-Thermalright sp97 w/80mm 32cfm silent fan
Soundcard:
-Soundblaster Audigy 2 value
Harddrives:
-80gig 7200 IBM Deskstar
-160gig 7200 Western Digital
ok what I would like to update is the motherboard/cpu/ram/vid card
here's what I'm leaning towards:
-AMD 2600xp mobile barton
-Abit NF7-S2
-1gig of Geil PC3500 Golden Dragon DDR Ram
-Saphire Radeon 9800SE
what I would like to do is overclock it to at least a 3200
ok now onto the questions!
1a) Is this the best possible set up for what I want to do?
1b) Will my current heatsink/fan support what I want to do or will I run into overheating issues?
I want to softmod the Saphire Radeon 9800SE into a Pro
2a) What are the chances I'm going to end up with artifacts?
2b) Is this a wise course of action?
If so, I believe I will need a heatsink/fan for it...
2c) Would the Zalman zm80c-hp do the trick?
2d) How about the artic vga silencer?
2e) If I get the 9800 Pro instead will I still need to better the cooling for it with these items?
3a) Which is a better option the Abit NF7-S2 or the NF7-S2g?
3b) What's the difference?
4a) If I replace the stock fans on my PSU with the same silent fans I've been using will I risk burning it out?
5a)Would this system be able to play something like Farcry at full/or close to full settings?
5b)How about DoomIII?
That's all I can think of...
I appologize for the length of the of the post but I figured it would be easier to just post all my concerns in one big one rather than just throwing questions at you guys. I tried make it as clear and concise as possible. Thanks in advance
P.S. I'm in the U.S. Not sure if that factors into any suggestions but I figured I would mention it.