Before jumping off to a new direction lets see where all this wonderful information has gotten us.  My current system consists of the following:

CASE:  CoolerMaster ATC-200 [click link to see picture] This case was chosen for two reasons.  First it looks great.  Second its all aluminum construction and 4 80mm fans ensures a cool internal temperature.  On the negative side it is expensive.

MotherBoard:  ASUS A7V [click link to go to specs on ASUS web site] This board was chosen for its overclocking capabilities as well as that it is a mature board.

Processor: AMD Athlon (thunderbird) 850 MHz [click link for AMD site] This processor was not the original choice.  As stated elsewhere I was planning to do this on the cheap and a Duron processor was the first choice.  In either case in today's market AMD gives the best bang for the buck if you plan to use a separate sound and video card.  Many motherboards for Intel based processors are available with integrated sound and video which can really keep the costs down on a low end system.

 HeatSink: SwiftTech MC371 [click link for picture]  I originally ordered the MC370 model which is the plain heatsink/fan combo.  I later upgraded it to the 371 configuration with longer clips and a Peltier element (TEC).  This heat sink has won numerous reviews and was featured on TomsHardware.  It is a little on the loud side, but its performance is incredible. 

PowerSupply: Enermax-465 [click link for specs]  I wanted a powerful, quiet power supply with room to grow.  I liked the fact that the enermax had an extra fan at the bottom of the powersupply.  This is in keeping with AMD's specifications for a preferred power supply.  The extra capacity soon came in handy as I added the additional load of a peltier (8 amps at 12V).

Video Card: EVga GeForce 2MX [click link for specs]  I was looking for an inexpensive yet good video card.  This is a 32MB 4x AGP video card based on the Nvidia GeForce chipset.  Great reviews, and as an added bonus easy to overclock.  Yes, you can overclock the video card as well.

RAM: Crucial 256MB CAS2 ECC PC133 Dimm [click link for web-site]  When I first set up the board it was with a generic 256mb stick of PC133 ram.  While it worked when running stock, it quickly started complaining when being pushed.  Serious overclockers seem to swear by Mushkin PC150 ram, however I found this memory from Crucial to be excellent.  Two sticks of this PC133 ram gives me plenty of ram (512MB) and allows me to overclock and maintain CAS2 settings and enable 4way interleaving.

Hard Drive: IBM DeskStar 75GXP [click link for web-site]  I needed a higher capacity drive then any I had available.  I also wanted something to take advantage of the ATA-100 channels on the Motherboard.  I decided upon a 46GB version of this drive.  It is installed as the primary master on the Promise ATA100 controller.  

CDROM: HiVal HDVD6X-00R [click link for web-site]  No frills here.  I opted to reuse my existing DVD-ROM from an earlier system.  This is a no frills eide rom drive, but it has worked fine.  I am planning however to replace it with a new drive.  Not for any performance reasons but simply because a black bezel unit would look so much better in the case.

CDRW: Yamaha CRW6416SZ  [click link for specs]  Again an older unit pulled from another system.  This unit has served well, while its 6X write speed is a little slow by current standards it still serves well.  This is a SCSI version of the drive, I have always found the SCSI cd burners to be more reliable and consistent.

SoundCard:  Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live Value [click for specs]  Yes I know, there are far fancier and better sound cards out there.  But this one has great quality at a cheap price.  Besides 4 speakers and a sub-woofer are plenty (altec lansing acs-56).

NIC:  3Com 3C905B [click for specs]  Personal preference comes into play here.  While the no-frills NICs do the job, I have always stuck with 3Com, Intel, or SMC NICs and have never had a problem.

SCSI:  SIIG ultra SCSI controller.  This is a card that has moved from system to system over the last three years.  It's a PCI controller with both internal and external connections and has served me well.  It was cheap at the time, but my needs are simple.  It controls my CDRW (int), a 2GB Jaz (ext) and has had various times had Scanners and tape drives hooked up to it.  Its so old and obsolete now that all OS's since Win98 have the drivers already.

Internet Access:  I currently have a SNET ADSL connection, they supplied a SpeedStream 5260 from Efficient Networks.  That in turn is connected to a NetGear RT314 gateway router.  Its built in 4 port switch handles part of the network, 1 port is an uplink to a 8 port 10/100 hub for the rest.

OK so there you have it, the current state of affairs for my main everyday system.  But as I said over clocking is an addiction.  While stable and fast its not good enough.  So stay tuned as I drift into the black-art (blackhole) of water cooling.  The parts are all on order and are starting to arrive.

----more to follow