Need help buying a P4 mobo??

[Rick67]

Could you guys please recommend a P4 mobo?

I'm building a game machine and plan on dropping a P4 2.53 GHz chip in this baby. I want to go with PC1066 RDRAM. Intergrated sound and graphics aren't necessary. I've already purchased a Audigy Gamer sound card and plan on buying a ATI Radeon 9700 video card.

I'd like to have intergrated NIC, USB 2 and IEEE 1394.

Also, does anyone think I should go with DDR RAM instead of RDRAM? If so, why and what board would you recommend?

I've currently got my eye on the Gigabyte GA-8IHXP. Is this a good board? I know it doesn't have IEEE 1394 but I could just add a card later.

Thanks!

 

[o1die]

I would wait just a few more days for Intel's price drop and reviews for the sis 648 boards. Shuttle and Asus will have their boards out any day now.

 

[txgixer]

Originally posted by: Rick67
I'd like to have intergrated NIC, USB 2 and IEEE 1394

Abit IT7

 

[Rick67]

What's special about the sis 648 boards?

That Abit IT7 looks very interesting. Would my mouse and keyboard need to be USB 2 since there's no PS2? I know my mouse and keyboard came with PS2 adaptors, but I don't think they're USB 2.

 

[Vette73]

Intel has already said it does not plan on doing any more Desktop Rdram board. BUT SiS has one that is just about to come out or is out. SiS is the way to go.

SiS R658


But I would go with DDR. Better price, easy to find, and will be around a long time it looks like.

Look at this.... Soltek with USB2.0, Lan, and DDR

 

[Rick67]

So you're saying RDRAM is finished after this current crop of P4's??

Just about everyone has told me if I go P4 I should get RDRAM. Isn't the P4 a lot faster with RDRAM? Thanks,

 

[Sunny129]

RDRAM solutions have been significantly faster than DDR SDRAM solutions...that is until now. with JEDEC approving the PC2700 industry standard (DDR333), DDR solutions are only marginally behind RDRAM solutions in performance, and you get a much better price/performance ratio if you were to go with DDR SDRAM. not only that, but with the excessive amounts of successful batches of DDR333 being produced consistently, it won't be long before PC3200 (DDR400) becomes an industry standard approved by JEDEC, and it has already been shown by a number of hardware reviewers that the performance of DDR400 memory slightly surpasses that of RDRAM. and DDR memory has much headroom for industry standards to grow, with DDR2 only but a few months away. there isnt much of a future for RDRAM. it may have been the fastest memory solution for the P4, and it may still be, but thats only b/c DDR400 has not become an industry standard yet. once it does, RDRAM will be outperformed, and DDR has the technology to keep growing.

i'm also waiting for a few more SiS 648 boards to hit the market as well. this chipset has caught my eye, and i intend on using it. what makes it so special (aside from the fact that it is a DDR SDRAM solution, so the board will be cheaper than an RDRAM board, and of course the memory itself will be significantly cheaper) are all the integrated features the chipset contains. such features include USB 2.0, IEEE 1394a (firewire), serial ATA (the future of ATA...just as the future of memory is DDR, not RDRAM), just to name a few. of course it is ultimately up to the mobo manufacturer as to which features they will make use of, but be sure that companies like ASUS, MSI, and Shuttle will make use of a majority, if not all of them.

so you can spend $100-$200 more on RDRAM and an RDRAM-supporting mobo and have the fastest platform for a few months...or you couls save $100-$200 and go with a DDR solution, which will be easily upgradeable in the near future...

 

[Rick67]

So which sis 648 board do you recommend? Also, will it support DDR 333 and DDR 400? Thanks for the help!

 

[Sunny129]

it all depends on what you are going to be doing with the board. obviously you are build ing a gaming system, but will you be OCing the CPU? after averaging such factors into the equation, i would recommend the ASUS P4S8X. while nothing can be proved at this point, i'm willing to bet that the P4S8X will be the most stable and reliable SiS 648 board. ASUS has been known for these things years running. while ABit is known for making the most OCable boards on the market, ABit's attempt at a SiS 648 board (the SR7-8X) has turned out to be a sub-par OCer. and ASUS has always been right up there with the best when it comes to OCing. your other options are the Shuttle AS45GT-R and the ABit SR7-8X. i don't know if other board makers have their SiS 648 solutions on the market yet, but more will come very soon. i already told you about the ABit board...in addition to its disappointing OCing performance, its not the most stable board in the world when it comes to using DDR400. but then again, all 3rd party SiS 648 boards thus far have that problem (then again the SiS 648 chipset doesn't officially support DDR400, so no false claims were made). only SiS's reference board was able to perform flawlessly using DDR400. as for DDR333, most SiS 648 mobos, as tested by various hardware reviewers, ran fine. the P4S8X has no stablility problems running DDR333. as for the other SiS 648 solutions out so far, you'll have to research it...i don't know precisely whether they performed flawlessly w/ DDR333 or not. i know about the P4S8X b/c that's the one i'm interested in...

i stand corrected...both the SiS 648 reference board and the ABit SR7-8X are the only boards to run DDR400 w/out stability problems. so the downside to the SR7-8X is its poor OCing and lack of features (i guess ABit decided it wasn't that important to make use of quite a few of the SiS 648's integrated features...)

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Rick67
So you're saying RDRAM is finished after this current crop of P4's??

Just about everyone has told me if I go P4 I should get RDRAM. Isn't the P4 a lot faster with RDRAM? Thanks,

A "lot" faster - that's definately an exaggeration. Is 5% (max) a lot? I don't think so personally, and it's not worth the money to me. I'd rather get a very good board from ASUS and some good DDR memory.

 

[Akaz1976]

Okay i am in almost exactly the same situation as Rick. Currently i am running a GF4 4400 on a P3 based Rig (700@933). And increasing i can feel that the CPU is crippling my game performance. I have pretty much decided on buying a P4 2.0A and OC it. But i was hellbent on pairing it up with P4t533-C and 512MB of 4200 RDRAM by samsung (256 MB stick cost $121).

So i can get the Asus mobo (P4T533-C = $180) + RDRAM (1066 - 512MB = $240) + P42.0A ($180) for about ~$600

What DDR combo would be cheaper and almost (within 5%) same performance?

Akaz

 

[Sunny129]

the i845E chipset has proven over the last few months to be quite the OCer. although it only officially supports DDR266, DDR333 will run on it if you use the right CPU : DRAM ratio. not only that, but the DDR333 can be OCed to within 5% of the performance bandwidth of RDRAM. but make sure you get quality PC2700 (DDR333) chips on quality PCB, or it won't be as able to OC. another chipset is the i845G, which came out after the i845E, but officially supports DDR333. i think it also has integrated graphics, which you'll have no use for if you have a GF4 4400, but you can just disable it. i dont know much else about these chipsets, but i know you can OC them to within 5% of an RDRAM solution if you get the mobo from a good board maker (like ASUS) and memeory from a good maker (like Samsung). and of course it will save you up to a few hundred $ in the end.

 

[Akaz1976]

But all the high performance DDR rams cost same as RD RAM

Akaz

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: Akaz1976
But all the high performance DDR rams cost same as RD RAM

Akaz

not true...

prices as quoted by pricewatch.com:

Samsung Original PC2700: 256MB - $65.95; 512MB - $140.95

Samsung Original PC1066: 256MB - $116.00; 512MB - non-existent (i tried searching all the big memory brands for a 512MB stick of PC1066 and couldn't find any...i guess they dont make 'em that big yet?)

anyways, as you can see there is quite a difference in the price of quality DDR SDRAM and quality RDRAM. and if you search for cheaper, not so good memory, you'll see that the same goes for the prices on that stuff too...and memory isnt the only money saver when choosing a DDR solution over an RDRAM solution. mobos that use DDR memory are generally cheaper than boards that support RDRAM.while DDR boards range from $80-$150, an i850E board (chipset that supports RDRAM) costs at least $140. and thats for a middle-of-the-line mobo. if you want quality and stability, the price only goes up from there. in the end its just not worth the money...especially with certain technologies around the corner (namely the bright future of DDR memory, and the lack thereof for RDRAM).

by the way, i dont want anyone to think that i'm a RAMBUS hater. in fact i've never had a DDR system before. i'm just investing my money wisely. not only is it cheaper now, but it will be in the future come time to upgrade...

 

[Rick67]

I think I'm going to go with the mobo AnandTech chose for their High End Gaming System. This will hold me over until Intel releases their new chipset with 8x AGP and Serial ATA.

 

[Akaz1976]

not true...

prices as quoted by pricewatch.com:

Samsung Original PC2700: 256MB - $65.95; 512MB - $140.95

Samsung Original PC1066: 256MB - $116.00; 512MB - non-existent (i tried searching all the big memory brands for a 512MB stick of PC1066 and couldn't find any...i guess they dont make 'em that big yet?)

anyways, as you can see there is quite a difference in the price of quality DDR SDRAM and quality RDRAM. and if you search for cheaper, not so good memory, you'll see that the same goes for the prices on that stuff too...and memory isnt the only money saver when choosing a DDR solution over an RDRAM solution. mobos that use DDR memory are generally cheaper than boards that support RDRAM.while DDR boards range from $80-$150, an i850E board (chipset that supports RDRAM) costs at least $140. and thats for a middle-of-the-line mobo. if you want quality and stability, the price only goes up from there. in the end its just not worth the money...especially with certain technologies around the corner (namely the bright future of DDR memory, and the lack thereof for RDRAM).

by the way, i dont want anyone to think that i'm a RAMBUS hater. in fact i've never had a DDR system before. i'm just investing my money wisely. not only is it cheaper now, but it will be in the future come time to upgrade...

Point conceded. Even going with DDR2700 at highest quality (Mushkins 222 one) i save $20 per 256MB add to that nearly $80 saving on the mobo, i could go with 1 Gig DDR ram for the same cost. Now to choose a good DDR mobo.....................damn there are so many decisions and so little money

Akaz

 

[MIGhunter]

Originally posted by: Rick67
I think I'm going to go with the mobo AnandTech chose for their High End Gaming System. This will hold me over until Intel releases their new chipset with 8x AGP and Serial ATA.

When are you building. I just ordered most of what they used on the high end gaming system today.

Samsung memory
asus mb
p4 2.8 CPU

When I get it and put together I'll let you know. Unless you are anxious to buy now.

 

[Rick67]

I've actually purchased everything but the mobo, memory, and CPU.

 

[MIGhunter]

Found this review. Seems ok. 2.8 with Asus MB