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I have a new Athlon XP 1800+ and a new ABIT KR7A mobo sitting around doing nothing (they were warranty replacements from the companies). I also have an ATX case, a Volcano 9, a CD ROM and a bunch of fans. A PSU, hdd and sound & video cards seem to be all that's needed. I figured I would try and learn Linux on this system and while I was at it I would give overclocking a go as the 1800+ is supposed to be a good CPU for that.

As this is not my primary system I'd like to get away spending very little. What would be some good choices in power supplies? Perhaps an Enermax 300W or an Antec 350? They seem to be reasonably priced. Would they be sufficient for an OC'd system?

And what about cheap video cards? I don't game so it's not a priority. I'd just like to give overclocking a try.

i woul sugest you get a good psu like a antec true 480 w i donn how far you can oc that chip but i have an agoga 2000 + oc to a 1.850 with watercooling

NewYorker:

Sure, an Enermax 300 or 350 W will be sufficient. I run an 1800 XP, two optical drives, 7200 rpm HDD, and a GeF 4 4200 Ti on a 300W Enermax PSU.

For a video card, a GeForce 4 MX is pretty cheap. Want cheaper? get a GeF2 MX.

If you want to learn about OC'ing, you might consider unlocking that Xp chip. Tom's Hardware has a nice how to on unlocking the multiplier on the XP. The ability to adjust multiplier gives another dimension to OC'ing, and the procedure is something any non-techie can do.

PS: I left NYC 20+ years ago, and I'm happy to visit every few years. It's like no other city on earth.

isn't the gforce 2 mx and the gforce 4 mx the same card but the gforce 4 is more expesnive

Yes, it's the same technology, but I'm short on the details. I just avoid the MX line altogether

the 300/350 w psu should be fine if you're not going to have a lot of extras in the case

i'd get a slight better vid card than the mx series - the better nforce cards are fairly cheap as are the radeon 8500s - all under $100 at this point - if you're going to have a fairly fast rig, you might as well spend a few bucks for a video card that can keep up with it