1.6A and P4B266-C or P4S333, that is the question

[Scott5000]

I am about ready to order a 1.6A/motherboard combo, but I'm torn between picking the retail Asus P4S333 or the P4B266-C. Both Newegg and Googlegear have the P4B266-C listed as OEM or Bulk which I'm not too comfortable with. I know on the Asus site it looks like the only difference is minus the on-board sound, which is good, and minus the USB 2.0, which I don't really need anyway. However, since this is not a retail boxed board, I am concerned about the quality of it (ie possible different manufacturing/layer process) and how it has been shipped to both Newegg or Googlegear and how it will be shipped to me without its own box. Additionally, I am worried about how the warranty will be different with this board vice a retail one. I really want the P4B266 series, but I don't want to pay the $50 more for the retail one. What are your thoughts on this and thanks for any replies.

Scott

 

[KenAF]

Doesn't the P4B266-C have only two PCI slots? Isn't the P4B266-C the version of the P4B266 for oems that is intended to cut all possible costs?

Personally, I would go for the plain P4B266, as I don't know what other corners were cut (if any) for oems with the P4B266-C. Those on hardforum.com say the P4B266 is the best board for overclocking the P4, so that's what I would go with. By going with Intel chipset-based board like the P4B266, you also ensure that you will always have some degree of support. It's not clear how supportive SIS will be down the road.

 

[Scott5000]

The 266-C has the same number of PCI slots, but it only has two ddr memory slots vice three for the retail 266c.

 

[o1die]

Save your money. Newegg has the new via 266a boards listed at $92 and $118, both with ata 133 support and usb 2.0.

 

[BigJ]

<< Save your money. Newegg has the new via 266a boards listed at $92 and $118, both with ata 133 support and usb 2.0. >>


I don't know if the Via boards would be a smart choice.
1) Usually Via isnt as stable as Intel/ SiS
2) No one has used a Via 266a board yet to overclock so the new Via chipset might turn out to be a flop in the OC field
3) If you're looking for a good bargain and a decent amount of features, the SiS 645 chipset has been shown that it performs better then the Intel i845 chipset, and usually Via lacks behind both
4) For dirt cheap, you can get the MSI Ultra 645 board for $73 + shipping at Newegg
5) Neither of the Via P4x266A boards has Onboard ATA-133 or USB 2.0

For the VIA P4XB-SA:
Onboard IDE - ATA 100/66/33
- Up to 2 IDE connectors
I/O - 2 USB ports (2 pin-headers for 4 additional external USB ports)
- 2 serial ports
- 1 parallel port
- 1 PS2 mouse port
- 1 PS2 keyboard port
- 1 game/MIDI port
- 3 audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in

For the VIA P4XB-RA:
Onboard IDE
- ATA 100/66/33
- Up to 4 IDE connectors
- IDE RAID 0, 1 support provided by onboard Promise PDC20265R controller

I/O - 2 USB ports (2 pin-headers for 4 additional external USB ports)
- 2 serial ports
- 1 parallel port
- 1 PS2 mouse port
- 1 PS2 keyboard port
- 1 game/MIDI port
- 3 audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in

 

[tornadobox]

i got the P4B266-C OEM from newegg, and have had no problems...infact i love this board. they sent me this board sealed in it's anti-static bag, but just put it in a fedex box that fit it perfectly (and then put it in a larger box with packing peanuts).

the fact that the P4B266-C has only 2 DDR slots is actually BETTER, because the i845D chipset can only use 4 banks of DDR RAM, and almost all RAM that's 256MB+ is double sided, so you can only use 2 sticks anyway.

anyhow, i'd recommend the ASUS P4B266-C to anyone, given my experience with it.

 

[Duvie]

Hmmm...my crucial pc2100 256mb modules only have chips on one side making that a one-sided chip, right? I think 3 ddrs would be compelling for me...

Also I was told the c version doesn't have the pci lock feature that is so nice on the non-c version...is that true???


I think the p4s333 option is better here...since both lack usb 2.0 and ata133...the sis boards have been ocing well to plus the fact of support for the newer memory...remember in latest review the sis chipset scored slightly better then the i845d platforms and really close to the rdram...at 333mhz memory it was right there...

 

[KenAF]

The VIA boards don't OC well at all, so they should not be on anyone's list.

If you go with a P4B266 (uses Intel 845 chipset), you know what you are getting...you know that thousands of others have the same board and are just overclocking like you. Not nearly as many people have boards like the P4S333 based on the SIS chipset. The P4S333 is a good board, I just haven't seen as many 2550-2650MHz reports, probably because its just not as popular. If you do go for a SIS board, make sure you get the right one (like the Asus P4S333) as some of the other SIS-based models have problems.

 

[BigJ]

<< The VIA boards don't OC well at all, so they should not be on anyone's list.

If you go with a P4B266 (uses Intel 845 chipset), you know what you are going...you know that thousands of others have the same board and are just overclocking like you. Not nearly as many people have boards like the P4S333 based on the SIS chipset. The P4S333 is a good board, I just haven't seen as many 2550-2650MHz reports, probably because its just not as popular. If you do go for a SIS board, make sure you get the right one (like the Asus?), however, as some of the other SIS-based boards have problems. >>



One of the reasons why there hasn't been as many higher overclocks is that the SiS 645 chipset just really hasn't been adopted by OC'ers yet. 5 and 6 outta the top 6 overclocks at the OC database are using SiS boards, and those are at least 2.4ghz systems. The P4S333 can get up to 1.65 volts which should be good enough for most OC'ers on basic air cooling. But whats the max voltage thats safe to use on a P4 with water cooling? Whats the max voltage the P4b266-C can get up to, and what about the MSI Ultra 845 ARU? That seems like a good board with USB 2.0 and ATA-133 Raid with only a $20 premium over the P4b266-C, and with this board ppl got around 2.4ghz also at the database.

 

[MilkPowderR]

Scott5000, if you haven't bought the mobo for the P4 yet, try think more and make decision before you build the system. ASUS P4B266 is good.. but also look into the ASUS P4T-E for the RDRAM support. It is specialized for it. PC1066/PC1200+ speed of RDRAM can be very easily attainable. I have seen the benchmarks AND real-world apps and 3D games how these RAM speeds perform against DDR. Some hardcore dudes been talking about this matter lately. So try looking at some of these and make decision.

 

[BadThad]

After a TON of research, I just ordered the plain P4B266 and a 1.8a from newegg. Most sucessful overclocking is happening on the P4B and I want the 845 stability.

 

[Scott5000]

Thanks for the replies. I noticed PCNut is selling a 1.6A/P4S333 combo while ensuring a 2.2+ overclock, so they must be having good luck with the Asus SiS645. I have a good stick of PC2400 DDR so I don't want to go with Rambus. If I didn't already have the DDR, then I would consider the Rambus options. I still have not heard from anyone on how high the P4B266-C overclocks on the FSB. I would probably take that board if it is as successful as the regular P4B266. Looking at the pictures on the Asus site, the 266-C seems to have a different layout in the bottom part of the board around the PCI slots, so maybe it is not just the regular 266 minus the sound, USB 2.0, and one DDR slot. It was designed for OEMs apparently and that still concerns me that they might have cut some corners with this one.

 

[Scott5000]

Just noticed Asus does not mention the extreme overclocking stuff for to P4B266-C as it does with both the regular P4B266 and the P4SS333 on its web site. That is kind of strange.

 

[Magnum]

<< After a TON of research, I just ordered the plain P4B266 and a 1.8a from newegg. Most sucessful overclocking is happening on the P4B and I want the 845 stability. >>



Badthad

Where did you find the full version of the P4B266 at Newegg? All I can find is the P4B. Unless I'm mistaken, the P4B uses regular SDRAM (845 chipset)while the P4B266 (845D chipset) uses DDR.

To all........What have been the OC'ing results using the SDRAM version of the board with the Northwoods? I've got 512 of PC133 I'd just as soon not have to replace.

 

[THUGSROOK]

the SDram systems are actually very good. just not as good for gaming as DDR or RDram.
the regular P4B is a kickin board. it will not be holding you back. your memory will be the deciding factor on a overclock on that board.
the P4B has a 3:4 multiplier for the SDram. if you can overclock the fsb to 125mhz the memory will be @ 166mhz, giving you some decent memory thruput and better gaming. at 133fsb you only get a 1:1 memory ratio tho, so youre prolly gonna wanna stop overclocking at 132fsb/176mhz memory bus/33mhz pci/66mhz agp. (unless of course you can make it upto the 150fsb range)

hope this helped