smithy

How about epox's lately--the old 8rda's were pretty good. Maybe get one refurbed from a retailer to save some money.

If you want quiet then the panys and enermax's are good also.

VGA Silencer is the way to go--Unfortunately it wasn't around when I bought my Zalman 80 but it cools ok because I have a 120mm fan blowing on it

I have mine off- didn't do much on my 9700pro.

Enermax's are relatively quiet along with panaflos and zalmans.

Don't waste your money on 4000ddr since you will not hit 250fsb on your dfi that easily plus your cas is cl3. Get some BH-5's like Kingston KHX3200K2/512 NON A's. 3500ddr is really all you need anything higher is waste on AMD XP systems. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ctCode=80092-22 The 3200 ddr Bh-5s can handle 3500 rates and most like higher as much as 240fsb with this ram on many rigs in the forums.

My understanding is P4 systems is quad pumped so 800mhz is really 200fsb x4=800mhz. SO 250x4=1000mhz. but in reality your timings will be so relaxed that you won't see inprovement. Not to mention you will probably top off at 240fsb anyways unless you do a mod on your board. It is better to run 3500ddr ram with CL2 timings (IE MUSHKIN LV2's 3500DDR) and run it in your P4 system at 5:4 setup that way you will have the high fsb and tight settings of the CL2.

You don't need anymore unless you are a web server company or doing CAD work. By adding more your just slowing your efficiency down. Keep you dual channel. You have virtual memory, You could but up your page file more to transfer in between your HD and memory sticks.

Yes it is 2100ddr since I have a pair of 2700ddr samsungs and the chip code ends with TCB3's not TCB0. Most likely you won't get much of a response from the seller. If he doesn't do anything to correct this then nail him with your feedback about him and contact ebay. If you paid via paypal I believe there is a policy for this type of situation. I hate bad sellers- It just f*cks up the good sellers and ebay's reputation for everyone. my 2700 code: SAMSUNG-304 K4H560838D-TCB3

I would raise your vcore abit and see if that stabilizes. It is also better to run a higher fsb vs a higher multiplier for better bandwidth. Make sure you also have the latest video drivers and direct x upgrades for your video card since 3dmark is mostly judging your videocard capablities.

I'd go with the 2600 over the 2500 since they are both locked anyways but at least your starting at a 11.5 multiplier vs 11. and a higher fsb starting point. That 1800 should overclock alright for your brother...even tho it is an A vs Tbred B it is a DLT3C which should start at a lower vcore of 1.5 vs 1.6 found on DUT3C. He should be able to hit around 2.2 to 2.3 with proper setup and a good solid board with user options like the Abit or DFI. The asus is limited in OC because of limited of memory and vcore settings.

I'd wait until the 754 vs 939 socket situation is settled before getting a new A64 system since the 754's are going to be phased out soon....as stated in many forums. As for the Asus- limited in overclocking vs the Abit and DFI boards that are out right now. Mainly due to limited user settings in bios for memory and fsb.

When you set it to 217fsb then you will be running at the 3500ddr speed of 434mhz. And try to run you settings at 2-2-2-11 but with some voltage, since those Geils might have to run at 2-3-3-11 or looser since they are not BH-5's.

I'd go into kingston KHX3200 (non A's) Bh-5 chips and run it 2-2-2-11 at 2.9. Should be fine. Most likely the corsairs you had were bh-5's and your 512's were BH-6's or CH-5 and therefore don't overclock as good as your older 256's.

I run dual with equal amounts with 512 in each channel and using 3 dimms. See my sig.. Read this and will clear up info on what is dual channel http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/nforce...channels/?91035 "Obviously, there are two most optimal cases: equal memory modules inserted into the first and second slots, or three modules, with the first one being equal to the sum of the other two modules."