My NEW PC: PLEASE COMMENT .. please

[Terrapin]

Pabster:

<TH7-II is a bad choice. .. likely to receive a board with BIOS 37 ... TH7-II also has some issues...
Grab an ASUS P4T-E if you are insistent on RDRAM.>

The TH711 I will be receiving has the Bios 38. I really don't care about the difference of a few bucks.

<In reality, the DDR offerings are a better choice. I'm also a little surprised you're ordering a 2.2GHz Northwood. Why pay $500 or so when you can grab a 1.6A for <$150 which is all but guaranteed to run at that speed (but faster because of the 133 FSB). You might be able to do 2.6-2.8, but the RDRAM configuration is going to withhold your maximum overclock.>

I've read multiple threads on this board about how the Albeit711 is just as good in every way as the Asus PTE, and even better if one ever plans to overclock it.

I've also read multiple threads on the fact that RAMBUS is a superior choice over DDR for P4's.

Am I wrong; or is this just your personal preference due to cost ?

That said, you do have me thinking about my choice for CPU speed given the price.


I am still unsure why Kingston is a bad choice for Rambus. Is it that it doesn't overclock well ? ????

Terrapin

 

[AgtMekun]

Its a very nice system. The rambus isn't great RAM go with DDR, costs less and just slightly worse. Otherwise, beautiful rig.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

Looks very nice to me. I just got the DVD-ROM listed, it's very nice.

I'd go with a DDR setup other than RDRAM. You're gonna get better overclocks with it. And I KNOW you're not gonna get a Northwood without overclocking it...hehe.

Oh, and...RDRAM is an object. Rambus is a company.. kinda hard to fit a company in any case, no matter how big your tower is.

 

[Terrapin]

I didn't order the system today, as I'm trying to finalize some last minute things.

You guys have me considering DDR and also a less expensive processor.

I actually do not like to overclock. Overclocking is only something I was thinking about doing down the road if I feel I really need more speed and don't feel like spending more bucks for another system.

That said; I see that the P4 2.0 also has 512 cache and is 1/2 the price of the Norwood.

What do you guys think about going with the P4 2.0 and DDR, if I don't plan on overclocking anytime soon ? Is there a significant difference between the 2.0 and 2.2, other then .2 ?

Thanks for all the terrific feedback.

Terrapin

 

[x86]

Stick with RDRAM. If you are not OCing RDRAM will provide the BEST performance, not to mention the BEST price, as of now. Crucial is currently selling 1 stick of DDR PC2100 256 for $88.00.

-x86

 

[SCSIfreek]

If you're so into the Ultimate Gaming Machine why not Drop couple Seagate X15's and a RAID5 Controller in there . just some throughts. I know IDe drives are fine these day of age but once you go with a 15,000 RPM SCSI drive you'll never look back into the 7,200RPM IDE range.


--Scsi for life

 

[Grady61]

I agree. But if you don't want raid and scsi I would stick with a Seagate HDD.

 

[KenAF]

You've got the wrong RDRAM in your system.

You need the 16-device 256Mb modules or the 8-device 128Mb modules from Samsung on a Samsung PCB to do 533MHz for RDRAM. You don't just need Samsung chips, you need the Samsung PCB. You can get what you need right here. The modules from Kingston, and perhaps not even Corsair (do you get the Samsung PCB too, or just the chips?) may not cut it.

 

[lorlabnew]

"It has just come to my attention I will need a LAN CARD. Can someone recommend the BEST one please ?"

I'd recommend 3Com 905x TX or IntelPro adapters. These are 100% compatible with everything (both Win & Linux/UNIX) and you will not need to load drivers from floppy ever.

 

[Texmaster]

<< I didn't order the system today, as I'm trying to finalize some last minute things.

You guys have me considering DDR and also a less expensive processor.

I actually do not like to overclock. Overclocking is only something I was thinking about doing down the road if I feel I really need more speed and don't feel like spending more bucks for another system.

That said I see that the P4 2.0 also has 512 cache and is 1/2 the price of the Norwood.

What do you guys think about going with the P4 2.0 and DDR, if I don't plan on overclocking anytime soon ? Is there a significant difference between the 2.0 and 2.2, other then .2 ?

Thanks for all the terrific feedback.

Terrapin >>




You will most likely hit 2.5-2.6 with a 2.0 2.7-2.8 with a 2.2

The difference is minimal and I still HIGHLY recommend the P4B266 over any rambus combo.

If not for anything else, the SIX USB ports!

And I didn't like to overclock either but now everything is in bios! Its a snap!

 

[Terrapin]

Texmaster et al...

Are you saying the P4B266 & DDR is as good, or better then an Albeit711, or AsusPTE Rambus combo? Why is it that people differ on this ? Seems to me, one way is either faster, or it isn't.

The cost of DDR is about the same as Rambus, so cost isn't a factor FOR ME.

You say the ability to overclock using the P4B266 is easy, cause it can be done via the bios. Is this not true with the other two boards ?

FYI: I phoned Intel and verified there is no difference between the 2.0 and 2.2 except the .2 of speed. For the $200 difference, I am going to go with the 2.0

Thank you,

Terrapin

 

[Texmaster]

<< Texmaster et al...

Are you saying the P4B266 & DDR is as good, or better then an Albeit711, or AsusPTE Rambus combo? Why is it that people differ on this ? Seems to me, one way is either faster, or it isn't.

The cost of DDR is about the same as Rambus, so cost isn't a factor FOR ME.

You say the ability to overclock using the P4B266 is easy, cause it can be done via the bios. Is this not true with the other two boards ?

FYI: I phoned Intel and verified there is no difference between the 2.0 and 2.2 except the .2 of speed. For the $200 difference, I am going to go with the 2.0

Thank you,

Terrapin >>



I've heard all the arguements for and against Rambus. Hell I've owned both.

The bandwith arguement is nearly null and void (80%) with the Asus DDR board thanks to the 3:4 setting in bios.

And you can get a higher overclock.

Also, I did see a slight I said slight more stablility with the DDR setup.


Good luck you really can't go wrong either way.

 

[wfbberzerker]

*vomit*

oof... must have been something i ate...





looks good

 

[bbarnes]

Very Nice.

Didn't have time to read all the posts, so I hope this is not a restatement...

But if I were going with all that, I would get the Audigy Platinum EX.




That's my 2¢.