Need a Pentium 4 Motherboard

[CotswoldCS]

I have a system with a Gigabyte GA8-TX motherboard (link) with RDRAM memory. The whole system has crashed and Win 2K won't load. I have traced the problem as faulty memory (Memtest86).

RDRAM is sooo expensive, I am going to replace the whole motherboard and go for DDR SDRAM. Only problem is I want to keep my processor for now (to keep cost down). It is a Pentium 4 1.5 Ghz. It has the following markings:

Pentium 4 1.5Ghz
256/400
1.7v
SL4SH MALAY
L109A687-0810

M110A292


If I go for a new motherboard which supports 800Mhz Bus will this chip work??? I will probably replace it in a year or so with a new CPU but this will have to do for now. I really don't need more speed (only an office machine) but it seems to make sense to replace the board as well. I can't be sure the current board isn't faulty so don't want to take a chance.

What board should I go for? I am favouring ASUS boards at moment but will consider others. I don't want to pay a fortune though!

 

[newbiepcuser]

Sorry, I'm not farmilar with markings, if its a current socket 478 CPU, the any of the current boards on the market should work fine.

There are plenty of Intel 865 boards out there for under 130 that should work fine. Anandtech has round up.

 

[CotswoldCS]

Current board is a Socket 423:

Specifications: PROCESSOR: PGA423 socket for Intel Pentium 4 processor. Supports 100/105*/110*/133* MHz system bus (400MHz data bus, 200MHz address bus frequency). AUTO detect CPU voltage.


Does thi mean I won't be able to use this CPU in a new board???

 

[newbiepcuser]

Unless you get an adapter, there is no way it can it work. Those are pretty pricey from what I heard, I think somebody posted that question. Do a search.

 

[CotswoldCS]

Can I at least use my Intel Heatsink & Fan from my Socket 423 motherboard if I opt for a new CPU and Socket 478 mobo???

 

[CotswoldCS]

HELP!

I have now decided I need a new Motherboard, CPU and Memory. I have a budget of approx £200-250 UK Sterling (Before VAT)

Here is what I have in mind..

Asustek P4S800 S478 SiS 648FX ATX A L £51.49
Intel P4 2.4 512Kb S478 Box 800FSB £131.92
Crucial Technology 512MB 184DIMM PC2700 NP CL2.5 £58.46


The Asus P4S800 supports 800Mhz FSB and I have chosen the new 800Mhz Intel CPU with HT technology.

I am unsure about memory though - do I need DDR400/PC3200 to take advantage of the 800Mhz FSB? Can I get away with PC2100 or PC2700?


I am really concerned about this and need some advice. Is the motherboard a good choice or would you recommend something else????


Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[Budman]

DO NOT get the P4S get the P4P800,it's an intel chipset & a much much better board.

And get pc3200.

 

[Ant001]

I think you could run that, though not sure. PC3200 is not much more expensive, IIRC, and will improve performance, because unless you OC that memory you won't be able to get 800FSB. You could also go AMD

AXP 2500+ ~$90 (Sorry, not familiar with non-USD, though it looks like you'd have around 400 USD?)
NF7-S ~$115
512MB PC3200 DDR ~$100

Comes out underbudget, and would be noticeably faster than your old setup, though may not be as fast as a 2.4C.

 

[wetcat007]

Originally posted by: Ant001
I think you could run that, though not sure. PC3200 is not much more expensive, IIRC, and will improve performance, because unless you OC that memory you won't be able to get 800FSB. You could also go AMD

AXP 2500+ ~$90 (Sorry, not familiar with non-USD, though it looks like you'd have around 400 USD?)
NF7-S ~$115
512MB PC3200 DDR ~$100

Comes out underbudget, and would be noticeably faster than your old setup, though may not be as fast as a 2.4C.

would be with some good overclocking, otherwise a 2600+ would be faster than that at stock if u dont wanna overclock.

 

[magomago]

I remember the pound being roughly 1.6 USD to a pound...

So I guess that'd be 250ish pounds or so?

If he goes 2500+ I'd highly reccomend overclocking just because the 2500+ screams "overclock me" just like a whiney baby screams "make me STFU now fool!"

 

[MDE]

If you go Intel get two sticks of PC3200, dual channel gives P4s a huge boost. That said, the AMD route would be much cheaper and perform similarly.

Athlon XP 2500+ $90
512 MB Buffalo PC3200 $90
Epox 8RDA3+ $110 or Abit NF7 $90 or Asus A7N8X Deluxe $125

Epox total : $290 Abit total:$270 Asus total: $305

Those are all under Ant001's estimate of a US$400 budget

 

[CotswoldCS]

Thanks for your replies guys!

AMD is not an option - I am only considering Pentium 4 in this case.

If going to 800Mhz means I need to go for a better board and PC3200 I think this will make it way too expensive. I might have to opt for 533Mhz, P4- 2.4Ghz and PC2700 RAM

Any ideas of a good board that would suit???

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: CotswoldCS
Thanks for your replies guys!

AMD is not an option - I am only considering Pentium 4 in this case.

If going to 800Mhz means I need to go for a better board and PC3200 I think this will make it way too expensive. I might have to opt for 533Mhz, P4- 2.4Ghz and PC2700 RAM

Any ideas of a good board that would suit???

Socket 478 is pretty dead next year, you might as well get 865/875 board. Its almost the same price for 865 board versus 845PE board. With the 865, you can run Pent 4 HT cpu later on. They can run DDR 2700 etc, and Pent 4 533mhz, etc.

 

[CotswoldCS]

Thanks for your comments - I really appreciate your opinion. I haven't been looking at P4 boards before as until now all recent purchases have been AMD. However, this time I'm focused on going P4.

What do you think about the Asus P4P8X board? It's got the 865G chipset and supports 533Mhz and PC2700.

I could get a Gigabyte GA-8IP900 -i865P but I'm not keen on Gigabyte and I don't have a lot of other choices (apart from MSI) here in UK

 

[CotswoldCS]

The Asus P4S800 is actually cheaper than the P4P8X. Would I be better off with the P4S800 even if I go for a 533Mhz P4 and PC2700 DDR. Would I need 2 x 256Mb modules or 1 x 512Mb stick?

Thanks!

 

[CotswoldCS]

Ignore my last post. I don't want the P4S800 - I want to avoid the SIS chipset.

The Asus P4P8X (with 533Mhz P4-2.4Ghz & PC2700) seems the best buy considering my budget - unless anyone thinks otherwise! Don't suggest Athlon XP - this is not an option!

 

[oldfart]

If you want dual channel DDR, get a board based on the 865PE or 875P. You obviously will need 2 sticks of ram since it is DC DDR.
If you want to go SC DDR, get a board based on 845PE and a 533 MHz FSB CPU. With this setup, you can run a single stick of ram.
Post what you can get for what price and we can recommend which board to get.

 

[CotswoldCS]

Here is what I have chosen:

Intel P4 2.40B 512KB S478 Box 533FSB £125.11
Asustek P4P8X S478 Intel 865G ATX A L V £59.58
Crucial Technology 512MB 184DIMM PC2700 NP CL2.5 £58.46

Total = £248.15 + VAT


What do you think?

I wanted to go 800Mhz but it turned out too expensive. Shame.

Thanks for all your comments - choosing a motherboard is a tricky thing. My last Intel board was a 440BX when I splashed out for a Pentium II-450. Best motherboard I've ever owned. Never caused any problems and still going now. My sister has it for playing Solitaire - and the occassional email. Runs XP Home fine. Let's hope this next one will be as reliable.

 

[oldfart]

A single stick of ram will hurt performance on that mobo. If you want to run 1 stick of ram, you are better off with an 845PE board.

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: oldfart
A single stick of ram will hurt performance on that mobo. If you want to run 1 stick of ram, you are better off with an 845PE board.

I agree, but 845PE and 865 are almost the same price. In the long run, its better to have 865 board for RAM performance upgrade. I would not do the DDR 2700 but 2 sticks of 256 DDR 3200.

 

[CotswoldCS]

Can I not use 2 x 256MB PC 2700?

Can someone please expain this Dual Channel DDR thing - I'm confused.

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: CotswoldCS
Can I not use 2 x 256MB PC 2700?

Can someone please expain this Dual Channel DDR thing - I'm confused.

Yes you can use pc2700,since you chose a 533fsb cpu pc2700 is more than enough.

But If i were you I would get the 2.4 C over the B. the 2.4c is much much more overclockable and has Hyperthreading.

That P4P8X doesnt " Officialy " support 800fsb but it will do it with ease.

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: Budman

Originally posted by: CotswoldCS
Can I not use 2 x 256MB PC 2700?

Can someone please expain this Dual Channel DDR thing - I'm confused.

Yes you can use pc2700,since you chose a 533fsb cpu pc2700 is more than enough.

But If i were you I would get the 2.4 C over the B. the 2.4c is much much more overclockable and has Hyperthreading.

That P4P8X doesnt " Officialy " support 800fsb but it will do it with ease.

If the word "officialy" bothers you, I believe Abit and Intel boards are in the price range you want.

I guess nobody read Anandtech's articles anymore , there is an article on dual Channel DDR thingy in Anandtech's archieves.

Here is one of the articles --->865/875 and memory

 

[oldfart]

I thought you were getting 1 x 512 DDR. Yes, 2 x 256 will be fine.