Alternatives to the P4S8X?

[Asmodean56]

Well, I've been waiting for the P4S8X for weeks now, but recently got an email saying the ETA has been pushed back to 9/13 due to technical reasons...

So, now I'm back at square one and need an alternative. I was hoping you guys might have some suggestions for me...

The possibilities seem to be either get a 645DX board (probably the P4S533) or one of the new VIA P4X400 boards. I have heard mixed opinions about the VIA chipset, but for someone who's not planning to overclock, would it suit my needs? The SOYO version interests me particularly, but I have read good reviews of both the Soltek and the VPSD boards. There's also the SR7-8X...it hasn't gotten great reviews, but most of it's faults lie in it's lack of overclocking capabilities, which isn't much of an issue with me. Would this board suit my needs? Any advice regarding these boards/chipsets would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[Calthos]

That's funny. I'm in the exact same position as you. I as well preordered from Ajump.com and got the lovely message about an ETA of 9/13. The only other comparable MB i see is the Abit SR7-8X which I'm really thinking about getting. The abit board doesn't have firewire nor raid, but is less expensive. Personally I don't care about raid or firewire. Also I heard that the abit and shuttle are having a problem with the radeon 9700 but I suppose this can be fixed with a Bios update. The north/south bridge speed of sis is 2x faster than the via. I'm planning on overclocking but I need to do more research on this board.
-Calthos

 

[rexc]

Calthos you have url or anything about the problem with the Abit and 9700? I was originally going to wait for the ASUS SiS 648 board but seeing as its delayed, I'll prob settle with the Abit as long as that doesn't delay. I know newegg is showing ETA date of 9/4. I think I'm gonna go with the 9700 Although 9 days isn't much of a difference I need to build my system by school. Dang the SiS 648 are so hard to find ruining my plans for my new computer!

 

[Thraxen]

Yup, I got the same e-mail from Ajump. This sucks. I have all these parts in my room waiting to be assembled into a new PC, but I'm missing two parts....the motherboard and the Radeon 9700.

 

[Insane3D]

How about the Epox 4SDA5+? I'm not sure if it's available in the US yet though.

BTW - Asmodean56, Calthos, and rexc...


Welcome to Anandtech!

 

[rexc]

The Epox board doesn't show up on pricewatch. So I assume the avaliability is gonna be ABIT and ASUS first seeming as the ABIT board came out first. Ashame well whatever board comes out first I guess thats the one to get...

Rex

 

[Calthos]

rexc, I apologize, I should have kept my references. I can't find where I saw that, if I do I'll post them. I remember seeing tests for those 2 boards that indicate the 648 is still having difficulties running AGP 8X.

EpoX 4sda5+ looks interesting but I can't find any reviews on it and I can't find anywhere selling it. Do you know its release date?

 

[rexc]

I believe if I'm not mistaken the reviews and tests were done on early 9700 boards, either way I'm sure any issues would be ironed out with BIOS or driver updates.


Rex

 

[eclectro]

I am taking a serious look at the asus p4b533-e. The only thing is that its about 16fps slower in quake - according to the review according to the review at ocworkbench -- but I'm not a big game player. I need the features like raid/firewire/

 

[Asmodean56]

I've heard good things about the P4B533-E, but I'd like a board that had AGP8X since I'm getting a Radeon 9700...it seems only the P4X400 and the 648 chipsets offer it. Has anyone had any serious problems with the P4X400 boards? Most of the negatives in the reviews center around how DDR400 isn't functional, but if the RAM is only at DDR333 would it be stable? Finally, which P4X400 is supposedly the best? Soyo, VPSD, or Soltek...?

 

[Mootorks]

I'm in the same boat you guys are. I go to college, and planned to build a new computer, a p4 2.53ghz, Corsair 3200 CAS2, a Radeon 9700, and the p4s8x to top it off. Unfortunately I received the same email from AJump.com about the delay and was extremely disappointed.

However when it comes down to it, I'd have to say wait for the P4S8X. I don't know about you guys, but it took me all summer to save up for my computer upgrade. I want to get the most out of my money and that means not settling for second best. I know it's a hassle to build a computer while at school, but its really not that big of a deal. Heck for me, I'm at Penn State, and school has already begun. Just wait the two weeks, if you have been waiting this long, another two weeks won't kill you. Besides there are no new games that a new cpu will really be necessary for. UT2K3 is the only thing i can think of, but that won't be out till after 9/13, which gives us all ample time to wait for the P4S8X.

I know it really sucks to wait, but its better than settling for second best.

-Mootorks