Hmmm, let's see what I already have.

1. A 300 Watt Sparkle, P4 ready.
2. A 3 gig hard disk, big enough to hold an OS and the folding directory.
3. A 2X writer 8X read burner, yeah it really does slow the install process.
4. I have a monitor, though a simple switch would do as well.

What I need:

1. A cheap case - I looked over at NewEgg and all the neat cheap Chenbro's are gone. I like mid towers, less power supply, for about $40. ZipZoomFly prices include shipping.

2. Motherboard, the Abit 865G seems best, support dual DDR and has on-board video. About $80. Does the dual DDR function below 800MHz? The reason I ask:

3. CPU - The P4 1.8A(400MHz FSB) Northwood goes for about $100. It's can run all day at 2.4GHz. That's with a FSB of 533MHz, hence the prior question. OCing this way only the processor is OC'd, everything else is in spec.

A 2.4 with the 800MHz FSB is about $165, too high for a folding machine, even if I could OC the thing higher. All the 2.4's cost about $165, regardless of bus speed (400/533/800). Lot's of 2.4s running at 3.0GHz.

4. Memory - 2 sticks of Mushkin, about $110. DDR400. 2 sticks of non matching DDR333 may be a little cheaper, but not much, and later I would need 2 upgrades versus one.

Thoughts?

Yes, the dual DDR will work fine below 800mhz.



I have one of these myself, and it's clocked up to 2.7ghz with a Panaflo L1A. Not bad at all.