Weekly Buyer's Guide: Overclocking System - March 2004
by Evan Lieb on March 10, 2004 6:07 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Sound Card
Recommendation: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (6.1) OEMPrice: $70 shipped
If you're a big gamer, love watching movies, or are just someone who wants quality sound, the Audigy 2 is one of the best add-in sound cards on the market to fit those needs. This version of the Audigy 2 supports 6 channels of sound and will deliver a great listening experience in any game, and especially ones that support the Audigy 2's special features like EAX. Simply pair the Audigy 2 with the right set of speakers and you'll have the necessary tools for an exceptional listening experience. Other special Audigy 2 features include 24/96 analog playback and recording and "add-ons" like FireWire.
As we've said before, there are inevitably going to be people who don't need this kind of audio processing power. So as our alternative, we suggest those users simply use their motherboard's onboard sound controller, in this case from either the ABIT NF7-S Rev.2 or ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe. Some overclockers could care less about their system's sound as long as there isn't any interference or crackling, even if they're gamers. If that fits your audio needs to a "T", then use the onboard sound controller. However, with the right surround sound speaker system and an Audigy 2 like the one recommended above, you should know that you're missing out on an immersive and enjoyable experience, at least in our opinion.
Speakers
Recommendation: Logitech Z640 5.1 speakersPrice: $62 shipped
It's hard not to recommend such an incredibly great set of 5.1 speakers like the Z640 series from Logitech. Whether you talk about the 45.5W satellite output/25.7W subwoofer output or the very effective magnetic shielding that protects your speakers from interference from other devices, you can't help but love these speakers. They have a great reputation for reliability and longevity in general, and our extensive personal use of these speakers only backs up that claim. If you want surround sound on the cheap, it's hard to beat the Z640. If you're big into gaming, we suggest an add-in sound card like the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 that we recommended before, or better yet, the Audigy for positional audio, if you can afford to spend the money. Personally, we find the immersive gaming experience of the Z640s and an Audigy to be truly great, but others may not be so impressed and will opt for the cheaper variant.
Alternative: Logitech Z5300 THX Certified 5.1 speakers
Price: $147 shipped
The Z5300 is, more or less, the more powerful version of Logitech's more successful brother, the Z640. Besides obviously supporting 5.1 channels of sound, the Z5300 is able to boost such features as a 100W subwoofer and a greater than 85 dB signal to noise ratio. The surround sound gaming and movie experience is tremendous paired with a good Audigy 2 sound card; these speakers can get impressively loud and best of all, we didn't encounter any sort of crackling or distortion as volume was turned up to excruciating levels. For the price, these speakers are almost as unbeatable as the Z640's, though not quite considering there still is about an $80 price delta in favor of the Z640.
If, for whatever reason, you're not interested in high-end sound and will be gaming or watching movies mostly with your headphones on, obviously an expensive surround sound system will be pretty useless. If that's the case, you may just want to opt for 2.0 or 2.1 speakers, such as the ones recommended in our Budget Guide. However, if you have to choose between a good sound card and a good speaker system, we suggest that you go with the speaker system.
If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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greendonuts3 - Friday, March 26, 2004 - link
Thanks for this guide. I used it to build a nf-7 and 2600xp-m system and am pleased as punch with it. I'm at 400 fsb and 100f cpu temp.I have some feedback about the stinkin'
Thermalright SP-97 Copper Heatsink with Heatpipe :
Incredible cooling, but designed by sadistic sons of female dogs, including:
--tiny, windborne, nearly invisible clear plastic washers (you only get 1 extra).
--screw holes that are nearly inaccessible through the maze of heat pipes unless you have 3 hands (or use needlenose pliers to load screw)
--instructions that read "use needlenose pliers to tighten heatsink nuts to back bracket" which caused me to gouge my mobo cutting 3 traces. This was on the nf7-v2 which has no room for a socket wrench between the zif lever and the heatsink nut.
Nevertheless, thanks for the good work and keep the guides coming.
magratton - Thursday, March 25, 2004 - link
BTW: I noticed that there is an extra little tab that is sticking out on the SLK-947U. It is sticking out about a millimeter or so. Pulled out my handy-dandy dremel tool and ground it down so that it is flat with the rest of the aluminum mounting plate and voila! no longer touching the capacitors.magratton - Monday, March 22, 2004 - link
The thing that I am most worried about is heat. After a pass at installing Windows XP (not completed) my CPU is at nearly 40 degrees C. I have the SLK-947U with AS5 paste in between. Any thoughts? Aside from removing CPU/heatsink from mobo and checking that it seated properly... just paranoid too much in and out of cpu/heatsink, I am gonna zap something.magratton - Monday, March 22, 2004 - link
#29 - I noticed that mine was essentially "pushing" the capacitors as well. I was able to secure it though. VERY tight fit.Furse001 - Friday, March 19, 2004 - link
Nice article. I decided to try out the system. Problem is the thermalright heatsink will not fit on the abit nf7-s Rev.2 motherboard… Went to the manufacturer’s website and it states the same thing. Anyone want to but a spanking new SLK-947U heatsink? Anyou have any suggestions to an alternative that will fit? Thanks.Jeff7181 - Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - link
I have my Muskin PC3500. It doesn't run at the default specs... 216 Mhz at it's rated 2-3-3 timings is unstable. Prime 95 crashes within within 4 minutes. If I let it run at 200 Mhz, adjusting the multiplier to keep the speed of the CPU the same, or slightly higher, it runs indefinately with no errors.matt426malm - Sunday, March 14, 2004 - link
noxipoo - Sunday, March 14, 2004 - link
I don't see the NF7-S mobo for sale anywhere for $82, they are all 100+Zebo - Saturday, March 13, 2004 - link
all that's left is to decide on the video card. "to spend or not to spend? that is the question." no time to hurry. ;)------------
Come join the community..theres a video forum with plenty of advice.:) Good luck with your mobile.
DAPUNISHER - Saturday, March 13, 2004 - link
Kristopher,How about adding the SoundStorm comment to the article? Lumping it in with the audio on the P4C800-E just ain't right! You should have mentioned how good SS is when hooked via SPDIF and doing the HTPC thing. Certainly we all know that but many who read that guide may not. They could use that $70 to get the 9800pro if they understand that SS will be a very nice solution for integrated. At least it'll give them a choice to weigh instead of the heavy handed feel of "you're missing out if you don't get the Audigy2"
Other than that I say it's a great guide that will give neophytes the info they need to build and overclock a budget system that will kick some butt.