My First Motherboard Upgrade Since 1999....

[chrislong]

Hi Folks
Love cruising around in here--I learn a lot, it's a great resource--so thank you all in advance!

I am upgrading my system in about a month, for the first time since I got my present computer, in 1999...I currently have a BCM 440BX board. Time for a change! Not looking at anything too exotic, just another solid board to work with for the next few years. I have it narrowed down to either the Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra or the Asus P4PE/R/L/SATA. Is there any good reason not to get either one, or a reason to get one over the other? They both seem to be fine products.

Also: what's up with the "Weekly" Hardware Price Guides? They seem to come out less and less often. Is there another similar site or resource that I might take a look at?

And finally: Is there a difference between the DDR333 Corsair memory with the silver heat spreaders and the dark (bluish?) ones? Or just different packaging, so to speak?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Ajaykay]

I've got my eye on those two boards and, in addition, the Abit BE-7. Many positive posts on all those boards. The Gigabyte one may have problems with 2 sticks of memory according to some of the reviews. Another good option seems to be the Albatron PEV-Pro, if you want to go barebones.

Don't skimp on the memory -- a 512 stick of Corsair XMS3200 (CAS-2 around $184 at Googlegear) -- should serve you well.

Lots of people will say wait for Granite Bay motherboards (the new Intel chipset that should be in the stores in a week or less) and get 2 sticks of memory. But you'll pay $75 more for the board and the bang for the buck won't be worth the extra cash outlay--at least according to the reviews I've seen.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure your system will fly in comparison to what you're now used to. Good luck with it!

 

[Vette73]

Wait for the SiS655

 

[chrislong]

LOL I've been waiting since 1999: I don't think I really want to wait for the "Next Big Thing" when one of the "Last Big Things" will be so much better than what I have! Thanks, it is intriguing, of course...

Anyone know anything about the heatspreaders on that Corsair memory?

Or anything about worthy successors to A-Techs Weekly Hardware Price Guides?

 

[CraigRT]

How come no one ever mentions the EPoX 4PEA+

I was looking around for an 845pe mobo and this was the first one that really caught my eye.
it also has a TON of features. you can't go wrong with this one!!

 

[AnandtechViolator]

Originally posted by: Ajaykay
I've got my eye on those two boards and, in addition, the Abit BE-7. Many positive posts on all those boards. The Gigabyte one may have problems with 2 sticks of memory according to some of the reviews. Another good option seems to be the Albatron PEV-Pro, if you want to go barebones.

Don't skimp on the memory -- a 512 stick of Corsair XMS3200 (CAS-2 around $184 at Googlegear) -- should serve you well.

Lots of people will say wait for Granite Bay motherboards (the new Intel chipset that should be in the stores in a week or less) and get 2 sticks of memory. But you'll pay $75 more for the board and the bang for the buck won't be worth the extra cash outlay--at least according to the reviews I've seen.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure your system will fly in comparison to what you're now used to. Good luck with it!

yeah, good advice, skimping on memory won't serve you at all.

 

[chrislong]

Yield, you're right about the Epox board--I just looked at it, and it's quite nice. It would fit the bill just fine--I'll have to add it to my considerations. It's about $145 at NewEgg, so it's in the same economic ballpark as the others. Thanks! It's funny that I didn't run into it in my research! Very odd.

Any ideas about the Price guides, or the memory hetaspreaders? I get the feeling the silver/platinum heatspreaders are pretty much a different look, more than a quantum leap in performance. I guess I'm wondering whether the chips are of the same quality as the sticks with the dark metal heatspreaders....

 

[metermac]

For memory and CPU prices, check out Sharky Extreme.

They've also got pretty good monthly PC specs.