Dell 2400 w/ ford purchase...which mobo to buy?

[xprow]

Now Ive never owned a Intel chip before. What motherboards should i be looking for seeing as how im sure the Dell one is going to be a crappy mobo. Its a 2.8Ghz P4 533mhz bus. Now is this a Northwood or a Prescott, and what socket would it be? Looking to pick up a 6600GT when it comes out so i guess a PCI-E mobo would be what i would want. Looking to overclock of course as ive heard great things about the 2.8Ghz p4.


Right now I have a AMD 1700+XP @ 2.0ghz. Which would make the better gaming cpu? The 2.8ghz or the 2.0 ghz? Thanks for any info. Like i said I know NOTHING about Intel chips.

 

[cbehnken]

The 2.8 will outdo the 1700+ a 2.0 Ghz by a large amount. Plus with the right mobo you should be able to hit 3.2-3.4 with the 2.8

The 2.8 533 will probably be a Northwood and use a socket 478, but it may be a Prescott.

 

[LTC8K6]

I just got a brand new Dell 2400 in my office. It has a 2.8/533 Northwood in it.

No, I didn't choose it.

 

[mechBgon]

I don't think a 2400 is the right type of computer to try to be cramming a 6600GT and a new motherboard into and attempting to overclock. :Q Proprietary front-panel wiring, power supply, and cooling all come to mind as gotchas, not to mention that the case may require a custom motherboard (angled DIMM slots like on 4600's for example).

Sell it on e-Bay and build yourself a nice burly gaming rig of your own spec with the money