Don't know how to pick a mobo for Intel D 920

[jmeissen]

I want a dual-core, 64-bit processor. I see a lot of AMD64 choices and recommendations, but Intel has totally confused me with their processor line and chipsets.
I'm trying to find something to support the D 920. I don't do gaming, I don't really care about dual-monitors, etc. I don't need/want PCI Express graphics - I can pick up a decent AGP/8x card for ~$60, but the least expensive PCI/E card I've seen is well over $150.
So how do I find an ATX board with AGP that supports the features of the D 920? Are there specific chipsets needed for the 64-bit, dual-core features? Or will any socket 775 motherboard work?

 

[classy]

To my knowledge there are no boards that will support the new PentiumD that use agp. To be honest for your situation AMD would easily be a better choice and there are some nice agp boards available for AMD dual core. It will also be cheaper.

 

[jmeissen]

OK, I was wrong. There are a number of reasonable PCI/E cards based on the Radeon X300SE or GeForce 6200 for $50-60. Any of those are fine for my needs, so forget the AGP requirement. 😛

To be honest for your situation AMD would easily be a better choice and there are some nice agp boards available for AMD dual core. It will also be cheaper.

Maybe... The AMD64/X2 3800 is ~$320. It's 2.0Ghz, 1Ghz FSB, 2x512K L2 Cache. The Intel D 920 is ~$270. It's 2.8Ghz, 800Mhz FSB, 2x2MB L2 Cache.
So, I don't know. :-( The Intel looks cost-effective, and based on numbers alone should give the AMD chip a run for the money.
So the question boils down to what to look for in an LGA77 mobo to support the D 920?

 

[DJExoddus]

Originally posted by: classy
To my knowledge there are no boards that will support the new PentiumD that use agp.

I know the AGP requirement is gone but some socket 775 865 boards support the new presler with just a bios update. If you consider an 865 board you should look at the CPU support list and what new bioses there are before you buy it.

 

[TSS]

no the 920D wont give the X2 3800+ a run for its money...

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=237&model2=203&chart=63

thats from a Intel biased website, in a benchmark thats always been Intels strongpoint. and it still gets its ass handed by the X2 3800+. (yes its the 820 instead of the 920 but its about the same clock speeds, same performance. incase the cache makes any difference, the 3800+ still beats the 830 which is 3ghz instead of 2.8)

edit: i forgot to mention that you'll earn that 40-50 bucks difference back in powerbills. since the intels still draw alot of power even at 65nm. also, it generates alot of heat. only strongpoint of these 65nm chips is taht they OC good. only then youll need to spend around 30-50 bucks on a good HSF, while the 3800+ can keep its stock because it runs cooler. and its better again if you OC that too... pretty clear case to me.

 

[jmeissen]

you'll earn that 40-50 bucks difference back in powerbills. since the intels still draw alot of power even at 65nm. also, it generates alot of heat. only strongpoint of these 65nm chips is taht they OC good. only then youll need to spend around 30-50 bucks on a good HSF, while the 3800+ can keep its stock because it runs cooler. and its better again if you OC that too... pretty clear case to me.

I agree, the AMD was my original choice, because of the power/heat issues. I know the Intel 800 series draw a lot. But I haven't seen any reviews that talk about the power/heat issues of the 65nm process used in the 900 series. The benchmarks are compelling, but I don't know if it's fair to draw a comparison between the 2x1MB L2 Cache and 2x2MB L2 Cache.
The AMD mobos seem to be more expensive, and so far almost all of them have chipset fans, too. I want to stay with passive cooling as much as possible, since in my experience those little fans they use on chipsets and video cards seem to have a pretty high failure rate. I certainly don't need 8-channel audio, either 😛, and I'm not interested in overclocking.
I guess I'll go back and re-read the Motherboard Selection Guide For New Users topic, which seemed to be exclusively AMD. But if someone has opinions about a mobo for the D 920 (which was my original question, after all), I'm interested in hearing them.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: DJExoddus

Originally posted by: classy
To my knowledge there are no boards that will support the new PentiumD that use agp.

I know the AGP requirement is gone but some socket 775 865 boards support the new presler with just a bios update. If you consider an 865 board you should look at the CPU support list and what new bioses there are before you buy it.

I stand corrected somewhat. 865 boards won't work but maybe you can find a 945 board.
Here is the Intel support sheet for the non extreme Pentium D processors.

Pentium D sheet