EDIT: Well after some reading here and on other sites it appears the Abit IC7-MAX3 is "the motherboard" to get for dual channel P4's right now. Yeah it's pricey ($229) but after reading specs/features/opinions/reviews it seemed like a good choice. Also picked up a 2.4C retail.
**************************************************************
More troubleshooting... Reapplied DirectX9b. Ran 3dmark2001 and 2003 (free versions) with and without AA/AF. Made it thru all demos. Ran again with card slightly overclocked. Made all demos again. So far the only problem I've had after reapplying DirectX is a couple of hangs on the desktop (no icons) when shutting down and for some reason my RAID array wants to be chkdsk'ed on each reboot. I can't understand how applying DirectX fixed anything because AFAIK it only applies to 3D apps and all of my crashes have been in 2D. 😕
Anyway, I've since come to a decision... I'm tired of having the RAID array in this case because it's too noisy (3 80mm fans to keep it cool) and I'm worried about the lockups eventually corrupting the array. I am going to setup a box as a dedicated fileserver / DVD burner so I purchased another case today (Antec SONATA Tower Case). It will house my array and keep it cooler/quieter than my main rig plus it will eliminate a lack of power as the possible source of my freezes. I will move my current MB (Asus P4PE) & P4 1.6A into it and find a nice deal on some decent RAM to finish it off.
That said, I would like to ask for some advice on another motherboard/CPU combo. Price is of course a factor and I would like to overclock a little as long as I can remain stable. I've currently got 1 GB of Geil PC3200 Ultra Platinum DDR (matched so ready for dual channel). What is the best P4 Dual Channel CPU/Motherboard combo for a Radeon 9800 and a bit of overclocking? I'm thinking a 2.4C for the CPU but not sure about any compatibility issues with the Radeon and the new Intel chipsets. This rig is mainly used for web, email, gaming, and that's about it. I've been buying Asus boards for a while and have been happy with them but will listen to any suggestions/advice. Thanks! 😀
**************************************************************
More troubleshooting... Reapplied DirectX9b. Ran 3dmark2001 and 2003 (free versions) with and without AA/AF. Made it thru all demos. Ran again with card slightly overclocked. Made all demos again. So far the only problem I've had after reapplying DirectX is a couple of hangs on the desktop (no icons) when shutting down and for some reason my RAID array wants to be chkdsk'ed on each reboot. I can't understand how applying DirectX fixed anything because AFAIK it only applies to 3D apps and all of my crashes have been in 2D. 😕
Anyway, I've since come to a decision... I'm tired of having the RAID array in this case because it's too noisy (3 80mm fans to keep it cool) and I'm worried about the lockups eventually corrupting the array. I am going to setup a box as a dedicated fileserver / DVD burner so I purchased another case today (Antec SONATA Tower Case). It will house my array and keep it cooler/quieter than my main rig plus it will eliminate a lack of power as the possible source of my freezes. I will move my current MB (Asus P4PE) & P4 1.6A into it and find a nice deal on some decent RAM to finish it off.
That said, I would like to ask for some advice on another motherboard/CPU combo. Price is of course a factor and I would like to overclock a little as long as I can remain stable. I've currently got 1 GB of Geil PC3200 Ultra Platinum DDR (matched so ready for dual channel). What is the best P4 Dual Channel CPU/Motherboard combo for a Radeon 9800 and a bit of overclocking? I'm thinking a 2.4C for the CPU but not sure about any compatibility issues with the Radeon and the new Intel chipsets. This rig is mainly used for web, email, gaming, and that's about it. I've been buying Asus boards for a while and have been happy with them but will listen to any suggestions/advice. Thanks! 😀
