msi vs abit

[Dalma]

Hi,

i read the the comparison of 20 mobos by anandtech and tomshardware and the funny part is that anandtech says the abit is7 is the winner without reviewing the msi865pe fis2r and tomshardware says the msi865pe fis2r is the winner. Abit is7 scores avarage on tomshardware.

Now, i am not sure which mobo to choose. I was looking at the abit is7 (-g), msi 865pe fis2r or msi 875

I want to buy p4 2.3ghz northwood. I am not sure if i would choose msi, which chipset , the 865 or the 875.

Could someone help me out here please?


thanks alot!!

 

[smahoney]

You might want to check out what processor you are actually buying. If you are not going to overclock or are not buying a highend CPU 2.8 or greater, I don't see the point of spending the extra money on an 875 based motherboard. For the 865 I would suggest the Abit AI7 or and Asus board before MSI.

 

[Dalma]

my bad !!

I meant a p4 3.2ghz

 

[smahoney]

. Are you planning to overclock and what memory will you be using/buying?

 

[Dalma]

overclocking? maybe a little, not too serious though

I had this memory in mind Corsair 1024MB PC3200 TWINX DDR SDRAM PRO

 

[smahoney]

Not a bad choice - can't go wrong with Corsair. A bit expensive, but definitely a 'you get what you pay for' product. If you are going to overclock you should certainly look at the balance between MB, CPU and Memory prices. I went with a bit more $ on the cooling and memory with a quality 875 MB and saved a bit on my CPU but run nice and stable at 3.5GHz with a 1:1 memory ratio. Of course 1 GB of PC4000 memory will eat up most of the savings of getting a slower CPU and OC' it.

 

[Zepper]

If I'm not mistaken, aren't SiS based mobos the superior P4 platform at this time?
.bh.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Zepper
If I'm not mistaken, aren't SiS based mobos the superior P4 platform at this time?
.bh.

Slightly, as they have been for the last few years (SiS has done a quick one-up each time ince the 735), but the winning margins are within margin of error, only validated by the fact that it keeps happening that way, and they tend to be quirky (I won't deny that some of that could be due to Gigabyte and ECS being the major SiS board designers and makers). Better for PCs that won't have a ton of change. Overall, I'd have to say go with Intel/Abit for a typical desktop, assuming you're not on a super-tight budget.

 

[Dalma]

ok guys,

how about this configuration:

PENTIUM 4 3.2ghz
MSI 865PE NEO2-FIS2R
Corsair 1024MB PC3200 TWINX DDR SDRAM PRO
WESTERN DIGITAL 160GB S-ATA 7200 RPM
Q-TEC PSU 500W Big Fan Low Noise PFC (see: http://www.qtec.info/products/product.htm?artnr=13981)

no graphicscard atm. I will put my existing graphicscard and in time (say 2 to 3 months) i'll buy a ATI RADEON 9800XT

 

[smahoney]

>>
PENTIUM 4 3.2ghz
MSI 865PE NEO2-FIS2R
Corsair 1024MB PC3200 TWINX DDR SDRAM PRO
WESTERN DIGITAL 160GB S-ATA 7200 RPM
Q-TEC PSU 500W Big Fan Low Noise PFC (see: http://www.qtec.info/products/product.htm?artnr=13981)
no graphicscard atm. I will put my existing graphicscard and in time (say 2 to 3 months) i'll buy a ATI RADEON 9800XT
<<

I think the 500W is a bit overkill. An Antec 350W would be more than enough for this. Lots of nice compoents but you need to balance a bit. What are the apps you will be running and what has the most impact on you performance - and how are you going to keep all of this cool since you didn't mention your case, fans or other cooling options.

 

[Dalma]

Hi,

well today i've been busy reading lots of reviews from anandtech thg and xbit and i came up with the following configuration:

pentium 4 3.2ghz
MSI 865PE NEO2-PFISR ( i changed the board from my previous post. I couldn't really see the advantage the pe-fis2r had over the ps-pfisr)
Corsair 1024MB PC3200LL TWINX DDR SDRAM PRO
SATA 160 GB / 7.200 - SC3160023AS / 8 MB
Coolermaster Pretorian (3built in fans)
Zalman ZM400B-APS 400 Watt
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX

in time i'll buy a dvd burner 8 speed, ATI Radeon 9800 XT and a WD Raptor 36GB 10.000 rpm just for the system and i will use the 160GB as storage.

I'll be running windows xp pro, probably with 2 tft screens. I'll be running lots of explorer windows cause in daytime i am trying to earn my money through selling and buying stocks . Computer will be running day and night. I'll be running a ftp server.

I will be using the computer for lots of (un)rarring and downloading, and maybe for some gaming (racing, like formula 1)


That's pretty much it