Hey guys, i was wonder what would be a good cpu to use that is less than $200 and is intel. Right now i have a pitiful P4 2.4B Also, what brand of psu's are good also. I need something more than 300w. here is my system: P4 800se Asus motherboard (Intel 865PE chipset) 512x2 PC-3200ddr Corsair XMS (currently running at 2700 cause my cpu is only 533fsb) P4 2.4B 533 FSB 512k L2 cache ATI 9800pro 128mb/256-bit Tyhpoon Sound of some sort 300w psu 60gig 7200rpm Seagate 54x CD-Rom 52x24x52 CD-RW I would just like to know what ya'll would recommend

Yes A new CPU and PSU ought to do it for u. Considering the mobo u have i assume ur settling for a p4 right mow uhh? If ur interesting in Oc'ing any or if ur mobo permitts it, u could buy a prescott operating at a frequency of 3.06 GHz and OC a lil bit, say 3.4Ghz. for a cost of $193.00 its good that u already have a gig of memory cause prescotts show there full potential at high clock speeds and dual channel. Matter-o-fact a prescott vs a northwood at the same clock speeds (any above 3 ghz & duel channel enabled system)shows higher preformance + faster data transfer (bandwitdh) + new instructions = overall just better acording to many benchmarks. This is where I, and i bet alot of other people this site shop... u will soon find why. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-171&depa=1 I bought All my hardware here, plus the 420w, $35.00 PSU. We only buy hardware so we can run software on it.

Thanks for the input. The only concern i would have w/the prescott, is that i heard they tend to run hott. and w/overclocking, it would just run hotter, if this is true, what brand of heatskink and cooling fans should i use??

THe prescott I ordered is a 2.8ghz, OC'ed a bit to 3.2ghz. The stock heatsink that came with it had a CoPper Core (Better Conductor for thermal energy then AL) so there is really no reason to get after market heatsink, although i would recommend investing in some better thermal compound then what intel puts in there (self assembly Box) which is a T-pad. Also if you go higher then 500Mgz increase when OC'ing, its up to you to buy a faster (RPM) heatsink fan. Now about temps, yes its true what u heard that Prescott's produce more heat, but Prescot's have a higher thresshold for max temps they can reach too > around 70c-76c, while northwood's maxes out around ten degress below what P's can withstand. so in reality prescotts are the better overclockers , and test have proven it. My CpU idels at 45c and under load (fryCry) temps are at 50c with stock heatsink and fan, but with silicone based compound (most prefer silver which is better), but i'm cheap > $2.00 at radio shack. We only buy hardware so we can run software on it.

My choice in your situation would be the 2.4Ghz P4C as it's about the best overclocker out there. If you can't find one, look for a 2.6 or 2.8 C proc. Just my opinion for your board that, I assume supports 800Mhz (I didn't check). Skip