Buying a new system - which P4 to buy?

[Banditbanger]

Hi all,

I'm buying a completelly new computer, and my main concern is games and DivX encoding (from the performance standpoint). I decided to go with P4, but am not really sure which one to buy. I considered overclocking, but need a little input on the 100 (400) MHz FSB vs. 133 (533) MHz regarding overclocking (can I overclock a 533 FSB, is it better to buy a 400 and overclock to 533 (since multiplier is locked), what motherboard etc.). I have been out of the game for some time, so any input will be appreciated....

Thank you all in advance,

Banditbanger

 

[THUGSROOK]

by looking at your sig i would suggest a p4 1.6A and a Asus P4B533 motherboard.
if youve overclocked before you have a good chance of hitting 166fsb.

check my P4B533 thread

 

[Duvie]

And look for mine....

I am running a 1.6a @ 2.66ghz for a 666fsb and 333mhz ddr....make sure you get some pc2700ddr if you want to go for 166fsb...otherwise pc2100 could be fine for 133 to close to 150 with a 1:1 memory ratio....

 

[Banditbanger]

I noticed you guys both have DDR. What about RAMBUS and it's greater bandwith???

Banditbanger

 

[THUGSROOK]

what about it?

we dont do Rambus here - buy choice too

 

[Duvie]

If you go rambus you will need good pc1066 if you want anymore then 133fsb...and evenwith that I haven't heard of ocs like thugs on rdram systems...If your programs need all that bandwidth thenmaybe it is an option but you likely will sacrifice overall cpu gain...


In divx encoding I have seen first hand that a p4 2.4ghz (533fsb) is far better even when I was running 354mhz ddr then it was at 2.266ghz w/ 410mhz ddr....

Some things don't need the bandwidth but want the raw cpu power....

 

[Banditbanger]

OK, DDR is decided, and P4 2.4a also..... (we'll see how far the baby goes). What about the motherboard? I have Abit BH6 and it served very well. Anything other I should consider????

Banditbanger

 

[imported_zenwhen]

Be sure the stuff in your PCI and AGP slots there can handle the FSB you plan to push them to.

Also, you may want to have a look at the P4S533.

 

[Banditbanger]

P4S533?????

 

[nemo160]

one thing that doesn't get mentioned often enough in the ddr- rdram debate...pc 1066 sticks are still damn near impossible to get, pc2700 ddr is readily available

 

[Duvie]

also with a p4s533 mobo you can likely get to 150fsb and run a 4:5 ratio and get 375mhz ddr which should push mem scores to like 2700's....

with 160fsb and good pc3200 ddr you can likely run 400mhz ddr and should hit numbers right at 2900-3000 which is only 200 off of an rdram platfor..could be damn near neglible at that point...


my kingmax pc2700 did 406mhz ddr on p4s333 mobo with a voltage boost to 2.7v from 2.5v...

 

[WangButter]

The Asus P4S533 isn't as overclockable as some of the newer 845E mobo's, as it doesn't have AGP / PCI lock. It rarely will go over 150FSB. If you don't plan on going over 2.4 ghz, then it's definitely a good choice, as it is quite a bit cheaper than most of the 845E mobos. However, if you want to overclock your cpu any higher, you should look at the MSI 845E MAX, Asus P4B533, or the Abit BD7II RAID.

I got the P4S533 because at the time, the 845E and 845G mobo's had only been out a couple of days and weren't fully tested yet so nobody was sure just how overclockable they really were. On hindsight, I should have probably waited a few more days, but oh well.

Good quality ram is also very important. Samsung is probably the best brand. I'm currently running my Sammy's at 217mhz (435 DDR), and posting about 3127 MB/s in Sandra mem tests.

 

[Banditbanger]

OK, please pardon me if my reasoning is stupid, but 845E does not support 333 DDR, right? Isn't this a serious drawback? I mean, wouldn't it be nice to OC to lets say 166 FSB and 333 DDR for memory? Should I consider 845G maybe (and add a GF4 4200 card). I must confess I'm a little confused with all these FSB/DDR etc. When I did this last time, I bought PC 100 SDRAM, cel 2 600 and went for 100 MHz FSB - works like a charm for two years now.

So, please any advice on which MB for getting the most out of P4 2.4 and DDR....

Banditbanger

 

[memories2002]

im thinking of a p4 1.8a or 2.0a...mainboard [asus/gigabyte/msi/dfi] 266mhz ddr but support for 333 [for when it becomes available here!] . is it a better choice than an athlonxp 1900 ?
also what dos it mean that the pci and agp should be able to handle the ocd fsb ?
im planning on radeon8500 and sb live.

 

[oldfart]

OK, please pardon me if my reasoning is stupid, but 845E does not support 333 DDR, right? Isn't this a serious drawback? I mean, wouldn't it be nice to OC to lets say 166 FSB and 333 DDR for memory? Should I consider 845G maybe (and add a GF4 4200 card). I must confess I'm a little confused with all these FSB/DDR etc. When I did this last time, I bought PC 100 SDRAM, cel 2 600 and went for 100 MHz FSB - works like a charm for two years now.

It is confusing.

845D/E have 1:1 and 3:4 ratios.
133 FSB 1:1 = DDR266. 3:4 = DDR355
Not all 845D/E support 3:4 once you get to 133 and above FSB. You have to get a board that does.

845G has 1:1, 4:5 and 3:4 ratios.
133 FSB 1:1 = DDR266. 4:5 = DDR333, 3:4 = DDR355
I think all 845G's can use those ratos @ 133 and above.

 

[Tom]

Just to add to what OLDFART just said, when you read in a review that i845D or i845e boards don't support DDR333, what they mean is that the board doesn't have the proper cpu to memory ratio to run DDR333 at the standard FSBs of 100 or 133.

It doesn't mean you can't end up having memory running at DDR333 or even higher if you overclock the FSB.

 

[Banditbanger]

Well, another advice needed from you, guys.

I'm considering an EPOX EP-4G4A+ (I don't need graphics and audio, but the price difference is so small here in Slovenia (Europe) - 10$ won't make me any richer or poorer). Any experience with the board anyone?

Banditbanger

P.S. I will also post this question on motherboards forum....