A Newbie Overclockers System

[AkuScary]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a newbie who has now conducted a fair amount of research into Overclocking, I am very keen to start. What I do not yet have is a system with which I want to try on.

After extensively reading reviews from this site and others, continuing my research into building my own machine from scratch I am now confused. The vast multitude of options is as mindnumbing as contemplating infinity.

There are of course plenty of forums asking for opinions on various bits of kit, there are also very good FAQ's on how to go about it once you have the parts.

What would be immensley helpful to absolute newbies like myself would be 'Dream Overclocking Systems' accompanied by the pros and cons of each 'complete' system.

I understand that new variations of motherboards, chipsets, CPUs, Graphic and Sound cards are released daily, so I'm hoping everyone will agree with me that this thread would be a great resource that can grow organically, as technology moves on.

I guess what I'm asking is, if you experts could do it again from scratch right now, what kit would grace your case?

[swiftynz]

how about a rough guide as to what your budget is....

If money is not a significant factor: (:D)

Motherboard: Abit IC7-G
CPU: P4 2.4C (should do 3.6ghz on air easily, just make sure you get a retail one, not OEM)
Memory: 1024mb dual channel kit (Corsair XMS3200 or Geil Golden dragon)
Graphics: Leadtek GFFX 5900 (ultra not worth the extra dosh IMHO) or Radeon 9800 pro
HDD: 1x WD Raptor 40gb (10,000rpm), plus another hdd for storage (depends on how much space you need)

If you're after reasonable value for money:

Motherboard: Abit NF7-S
CPU: Barton 2500+ (some overclock really well, others don't so you'll have to try your luck. pretty much all of them make 2100 or 2200mhz with only moderate vcore increases).
Memory: 2x 512mb PC3200 (no need to get dual channel kit as it makes little to no difference in performance, and the two sticks might run in dual channel mode anyway)
Graphics: Gigabyte Radeon 9600 Pro or any brand 9500 pro if you can find one.
HDD: WD 80gb/120gb JB/SE

On a budget:

Motherboard: Soltek FRN-L
CPU: XP 2100+ tbredb or 1800+ b if you can find one (either of those should overclock 2100mhz)
Memory: 512mb PC3200
Graphics: FX 5200 Ultra, Ti4200 or Radeon 9200 (should look for 128mb cards not 64)
HDD: Seagate 7200.7 80gb

Common parts:
Case: too subjective for me to reccomend one, just remember you get what you pay for
PSU: Enermax 350W (quiet and powerful)
KB/Mouse: up to you what you want to spend
Monitor: Viewsonic E70F or get a 19inch CRT or 15/17 inch LCD if you can afford it

[AkuScary]

Thank you so much for that, I forgot about budget and suggesting three systems was awesome! Any more responses like that will be newbie heaven - and one day we (not inferring you) won't be newbies no more!