MBoard Advice

[bigtimmn2]

I am looking to build my first PC, not looking to overclock (but may be interested in the future).

I want a MBoard that is very reliable and stable. I would like to stick with a P4 processor.

Feature wise, I want to stay as close to cutting edge as possible. (USB 2.0, AGP 8x, etc)

What are some good suggestions? the ASUS p4s8x has alot of good features and has gotten a couple of good reviews, but i see alot of headaches with it.

Is it a good idea for me to get one now with ath Ultra-133 support for harddrive? I see that its not really getting alot of support. Or should i wait for Serial-ATA to hit the market?

Any idea what those drives will retail for off of the start?

Just a few questions, and I know you guys can answer them for me.

Thanks!

BigTim

 

[halkebul]

Is it a good idea for me to get one now with ath Ultra-133 support for harddrive?

No, Western Digital Special Edition Hard drives, though only Ultra-100, are still faster than Matrox Ultra-133 hard drives.

want a MBoard that is very reliable and stable. I would like to stick with a P4 processor.

If ya don't want to overclock, P4 2.4B. If yes, P4 1.8A. Though with a P4 1.8A, on your first power-up you could enter the bios and increase the FSB from 100MHz (400Mhz quad-pumped) to 133MHz (533Mhz quad-pumped) - should take about 30 seconds. That is, the P4 1.8A would be virtually identical to the P4 2.4B and you've saved about ~$50. Don't worry about voiding your warranty via overclocking as intel can't tell if ya overclocked.