Background: I want a second crunching machine, my son wants a super game machine. We think both of us can have it "our" way, but neither of us can justify the entire expense. The computer, when finished, will be for my son, but when he's not using it it will be Boinc crunching for me.

We intend to buy and assemble components and software for the purpose of overclocking this unit to reach near maximum capacity. I have been messing with computers since 1972 when I first got to play with a TTY terminal in the Franklin High School library that was linked to a bank in Portland, Oregon (USA). I'm not exactly unfamiliar with computers, but I have never done a total build, nor have I ever overclocked a system. My son has been messing with computers since he was an infant, sitting on my lap as I worked or played computer games. He has no experience building systems or overclocking either. We thought this would be a good project for the two of us to do together.

I have decided on the processor and ram, the remainder of the following hardware and software is still up for debate:

Processor: AMD 64 X2 4800+ dual core. Its native speed is 2.4 Ghz but I think it could be overclocked to 2.9Ghz and possibly 3.0Ghz with the right ram, cooling capacity and voltage control. Price from NewEgg is $630.00.

Motherboard: ASUS A8N-SLi Premium. It's an ATX form board that seems to be popular for AMD 64 X2 overclocking. One of my concerns here is the overclocking effects on the motherboard components. I don't know if there is a motherboard functional speed limit. I may have to look at higher speed 939 pin systems to see what is available. This board is available from NewEgg for $169.00.

Ram: Corsair 2GB (2ea 1GB sticks) PC4000 DDR DIMM memory kit. Again from NewEgg for $193.00.

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition. I don't want to build a system and try to figure out a new OS (Linux or Xandros) at the same time, so I need to stick with MS products and limit my headaches. But, I need to know if the extra $225 or so for the X64 version is worth the money compared to the standard XP pro version. My gut tells me that for my purposes it's not worth the extra expense, but I'll wait on some more expert information before the buy.

Power Supply: Ultra / X-Finity / 600-Watt / ATX / Dual 80mm Fan / SATA-Ready / SLI Ready / Black / Power Supply. I'm thinking we'll need a large amount of juice to drive the video and OCing, so I'm looking at this system. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1&Sku=ULT31848 TigerDirect for $90.00.

Case: My son has chosen the following: Thermaltake Silver Armor Aluminum Full-Tower ATX Case with 11 External Drive Bays, Clear Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...389580&CatId=0 TigerDirect price is $180.00. If I can't cool some chips and boards in that aluminum moster it can't be done. I can see Alcoa's stock prices climbing now. Jeesh what a desk hog. Perhaps we should also order a dolly to move it with.

Video: Initially my son was looking at the NVIDEA XFX GeForce 6800 GS/256MB DDR3/PCI Express/SLI/DVI/VGA/TV-Out/Video card, but he may step up a bit since his old man is helping with the bill.

I'm still reviewing HHDs and CD/DVD drive/burners. Trying to find a "quiet" 10k rpm HDD. Also, I need reccomendations on a very good AMD 4800+ chip cooler.

After we get this puppy together and rated we will discuss overclocking in that topic.