Best 925X/XE Motherboard??

[LT4CAMSS]

Hello,

I've been comparing the following mobos and I still have not reached a conclusion as to which is the best one to be purchased:

DFI "LANPARTY 925X-T2" 925X

GIGABYTE "GA-8ANXP-D" 925X

MSI 925X Neo Platinum-54g P4 1066FSB

Intel BOXD925XECV2LK 925XE P4 1066FSB

Asus P5AD2 Premium 925X P4 800FSB

Abit AA8-DuraMAX Intel 925x P4 800FSB

Basically, I'm looking to build a performace/gaming system. I'm looking to spend anywhere between $150-$215 on it. Looking at the Realtime Pricing Engine, all of these mobos would fall into that category except the GB and the Asus. However, I would spend the extra loot on them if I knew they truly were worth it. Actually...is the XE platform even worth it? I remember reading some reviews stating that a 1066FSB doesn't even make much of huge leap in performance. If these boards are surpassed by others, would anyone please be so kind as to point them out. The previous generation of P4 mobos were easy to keep up w/ in terms of what's worth it and which company offers the best deal, but this generation of mobos is a mess. I would appreciate any responses. Peace.


Don

 

[Zebo]

DFI "LANPARTY 925X-T2" 925X

Built like a tank with highend server board caps mosfets etc.. Even if you're not overclocking it's the best board because of features... OC and nothing can touch.

Personally though I'd get the LANParty UT 915P-T12 which is just as fast but cheaper and you arn't stuck buying expensive arse DDR2 making the whole build cheaper...

BTW, anyone "looking to build a performace/gaming system." buys AMD A64 these days. at least 15% faster in games at same rating.

 

[LT4CAMSS]

Hmm...I used to be discriminatory against AMD but at this point I really don't care...if they're better, they're better. Before I switch to the dark side, I have a few questions that you may be able to answer. And thanks for your reply, btw.

How much slower is that 915 mobo compared to the 925...5%? Does that DDR2 memory make that big of a difference in performance? Does Intel have anything in its arsenal lined up for release w/in the next 6 months that'll crap on AMD (@ the same rating)? Afterall, if Intel does have something like that coming, I'll hold out for a little longer.

Thanks again. Peace.


Don

 

[Zebo]

Like I said same performance but about half the price for mobo/ram combo. Take a look here at this review. (techreport is very good)
http://techreport.com/reviews/...lanpartys/index.x?pg=1


DDR2 right now is a maketing gimmick. You get low latency ram and run it about 220 and you'll beat any DRR2 setup cheaper



As far as releasing new product. Yes intel will have prescott with 2mb lvl2 cache and 64 bit instruction in 2-3 months... Definity a better chip.

As far as AMD, well you see even "old", single channel memory, and cheap 3400 beats Intels top chip, the 3.8, in games, some considerably.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...owdoc.aspx?i=2275&p=10

Pair that with DFI LP 250-gb ($100) and some cheap DDR ($140 a gig) http://www.outpost.com/entry?s...:mfe011405&sku=3746176

And you'd be smokin for $450 total cpu/ram/mobo

If you have luxury of waiting AMD will have some better NF4/PCIe/onboard SB live etc mobos out in 1-2 months.. and like I said wait for intels EM64T's... then do a comparision. But right now AMD owns, price, performance, low power consumtpion/noise/heat.

Features are spilt. You have hyperthreding on p4's which is useful if doing many intense things... AMD has 64 bit future and 1/3rd the mem latency making everything feel snappy/instant.