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Can't decide which of these two to build a system with

D

DieHardware

Golden Member
MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU and XP1800+ or ASUS P4S333 and 1.6A NW. Both boards come with 6ch sound. The MSI comes with extra USB 1.1 and 2 brackets, has Bluetooth capability and has an audio bracket with an toslink connector. On the otherhand from what I've read here the ASUS/NW is an easy 2.1GHz overclock. Which is faster NW @ 2.1 or XP1800 run slightly overstock(from the review I read the MSI isn't a great overclocking board). Any unbiased opinions?
 
Well, NW 2.1 will beat the XP1800 no doubt.

But as far as features on the motherboards go, are you going to use Bluetooth? etc.....
 
🙂 You may want to consider the AsusP4B266 has alot of features is very stable {i845d chipset} and from what I've read on these forums is an incredible overclocker.
 
The P4B266 is onsale in my area today too, but it would still be about $50Cdn more than using the other boards. Not sure if I'll ever use Bluetooth, but wireless LAN or kbrd/ms connections are always handy. This is really tough...motherboard/cpu that overclocks well or motherboard with all sorts of neat features.
 
I have an XP1600,and one thing to consider is the amount of cooling needed to oc these chips. The $50 more you will spend on the P4 mobo you will have to spend that on a decient heatsink. Some people reach 2gig+ with a stock P4 cooler. Plus if you live in a hot area, the XP chips run very hot. My parent dont like to turn the AC on and so my XP idles right now at about 37c with a $40 heatsink and a Delta fan on high. I think that the NW P4 is just a better chip.
 
🙂 If you don't want all the features get the asus p4b266c and i believe there is one other model that has less features than the p4b266, or you may want to consider the Gigabyte 8irxp a great O/C and feature filled won anandtech editors gold choice award, won vrzone editors gold choice award, got overclockers editors choice award , Toms hardware bronze award nuff said.😉
 
Yeah BIG plus for the NW is no noisy fan needed, oh and stevens not hot here in Ottawa today, we've had about 3cm of snow fall in the past hour with more on the way...lol.
 
Honestly you would probably be better off with a 1800+. The P4 is a great chip but you run the chance of not hiting 133mhz fsb and if you dont hit, your PCI and AGP clock will be out of spec at any other speed other than default which can cause problems. If I were you I would go with a 1900+, you can find them for about 20 extra bucks than the 1800+ and it'll last you longer in terms of performance.
 
Bdog I disagree many p4 boards can lock pci/agp to spec settings 33/66 and even if they run out of spec very seldom you'll have a problem as long as pci bus stays at 40 or under.🙂 That said they are both good processors.
 
Well I bought the MSI/XP1800+. This board comes with three brackets, two for a total of eight USB ports(four USB 2 and Bluetooth!) with four diagnostic LEDs, and the audio bracket has optical and coaxial outputs as well as the center and rear analog outs. WooHoo! 🙂
 
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