board without all the extra stuff?

[fitzov]

My needs are few, and I don't need anything else. I figure I can save money by having a board with only these features:

Pentium board that allows dual-channel memory mode (P4 800MHz w/ 2x DDR400).
Decent onboard sound.
Onboard LAN.

From what I've seen all boards have SATA, and I don't want it. My understanding is that there is not much increased performance anyway (I was looking at AT's earlier review of Raptor). Does anyone know of a stable board that doesn't have SATA with the above features?

 

[egale]

I think most if not all boards will have it. You don't have to use it though. The mobos still have regular ide connectors.

 

[fitzov]

I see that the SATA drives can be configured into an array. What kind of performance increase would there be with RAID 0? The system would be for someone who needs to process audio and video files as quickly as a P4 will allow.

 

[fitzov]

...and could I simply get the same boost in performance with a pci raid card? My thought is that I might be able to save a little by buying one of these cards and two uata133 drives. But maybe the extra cost of the card would make up for two SATA drives. My instinct tells me, though, that once these SATA drives are mainstream, the ata drives will become alot cheaper.

 

[Vette73]

Get a board with SATA raid as the price of SATA drive and IDE ones are about the same. I just got a 160gig SATA drive for $120 range at newegg.com

For a P4 board if you get one now look for one that has ICH5R as the southbridge. The R equals Raid.

If you wait another couple weeks then get a SiS655TX board. Faster then the intel ones and also has SATA raid

 

[Thor86]

Originally posted by: fitzov
My needs are few, and I don't need anything else. I figure I can save money by having a board with only these features:

Pentium board that allows dual-channel memory mode (P4 800MHz w/ 2x DDR400).
Decent onboard sound.
Onboard LAN.

From what I've seen all boards have SATA, and I don't want it. My understanding is that there is not much increased performance anyway (I was looking at AT's earlier review of Raptor). Does anyone know of a stable board that doesn't have SATA with the above features?

As previous posters states, all of the i865PE/i857P boards come with SATA. I'd go with the Asus P4P800 (non deluxe) or the Abit IC7 (non G) models as they should fit what you are looking for without the extras/costs.

 

[fitzov]

It's amazing how much cheaper the 865PE boards are. But if the total system is worth over 800$, I can't imagine why one wouldn't just go for the better 875P for another 40$, unless one were selling systems to unknowing consumers and wanted to pocket the difference.