Decisions, Decisions SiS 648, Intel 845G, or SiS 645DX? (Nevermind)

[Ninepepper]

My first post some days ago to this forum was to inquire as to people's opinions concerning the Intel Motherboards using the 845G Chipset. Again, I find myself going around in circles so I am soliciting advice once more. There seems to be '+s" and '-s" to each of the three boards listed in my subject line. I hate to post yet another "help me decide" thread but I am going to anyway because of the the following:

This page has totally rattled me.

1.) Am I interpreting this correctly, the 648, 845G, and 645DX all support 533 FSB P4s?

2.) IF so, what board will be the most stable. Are there still issues with Sis and Intel at this point in time?

3.) Intergrated graphics are not a endall-beall, I can take them or leave them because I plan on purchasing a GF4 ti4200. So should I ditch 845G altogether and look only at the 845E?

4.) I have zero, zilch, nada experience in overclocking and I can honestly say I don't want to base a buying decision based on which chipset has overclocking "potential". (It is not that I don't have respect for the art, but if you had my luck....) So which motherboard would work best at "stock" speeds?

5.) This will be the first non-retail system I have owned. I am confident in my ability to install the products and get up and running, but I don't care for nasty suprises (like jumpers that need fixed right out the gate). Can you factor in newbieness to a motherboard purchase as well pls?

6.) Thanks to the hot deals forum, I took advantage of the PNY PC2100 DDR Ram deal last week at Office Depot and loaded up. (Kind of took the cart before the horse eh? Well wife works there, and we got an employee discount on top of everything else). So of the three, which will run PC2100 best? This is a tricky question because it seems all reviews I read, go ahead and overclock the RAM and do not give results at "stock" speed.

Just so-ya-know RAID, LAN, Bluetooth, Firewire, and USB 2 are all optional. It would be nice to have USB 2 but it is not a requirement.

Really the last question is what motherboard/chipset would you suggest for a product that can run the majority of games and applications over the next 3 years. I am a gamer foremost and my current motherboard (Asus k7m OEM) and AMD (Slot A 800) are not showing their age gracefully.

 

[Ninepepper]

As per the edited subject line, Nevermind

Its funny but not long after I posted my message I found what I believe is the answer: Asus P4S533

As I said before, I kept going around in circles and all roads (it seemed) led back to this motherboard. However, I am still interested in hearing the debate because I probably change my mind again by this time next week!!

 

[dbett]

Well I got the 648 board from Asus, the P4S8X. I love it. It has been very stable so far and has all the features. I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

The P4S533 is a great board for running@stock speed and even overclocking as high as 150fsb it's a fine choice 🙂 I have the P4S333 and love it! it runs my old batch (pack date 1/16/2002) 1.6A up to 2.371ghz solid and snappy without exceeding 1.6v with stock cooler and pad for over 6months now so I'm very content with the SiS chipsets performance and stability. BTW I saw a P4S533 for 65$ shipped in the FS/FT forum last night, I almost bought it but picked up a 8K3A+ for my 1600+ instead 🙂

 

[Ninepepper]

DaPunisher:
Thanks for the thumbs up. It is good to hear that I may be making the correct choice. Since it is my first build, any encouragement helps!

dbett:
I looked at the P4S8x but couldn't find as many positive reviews of that board as of the P4S533. When I say "as many" I actually mean the strength of the positive impressions of the board (not the number of reviews total).

Followup q:

When I buy my P4 with a 533 fsb and drop it into my p4s533, will it actually run with a 533 fsb or do adjustments in the bios have to be made? I ask this question because I am a newbie and I keep reading reviews where boards are overclocked and they say "the bus speed can be raised in 1 mhz increments up to 'XXX' and still be stable..."??? Are they saying it can be run (after quad pumping?) up to and above 533 FSB?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I fairly certain that with the P4S533 you can just drop your CPU and in and it'll auto detect it properly with no bios adjustments. And yes it'll allow you to run your fsb as high as your PCI/AGP and/or cpu or ram can handle.