New Motherboard Question

ckww

Junior Member
Nov 11, 2003
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I am finally looking to upgrade my computer from my PIII 933MHz up to a high end P4...

I haven't been around the hardware scene for sometime so I thought I'd ask for some opinions on what some good motherboard and RAM combos there are?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...
 

o1die

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2001
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Abit IS7 ($99 newegg); p4 2.6c retail boxed ($175) and 2 sticks of 256 meg pc3500 by corsair, samsung, or crucial.
 

Bleep

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I am not sure how much advice you will get here on this subject as most on here are AMD users, price vs performance seems to be the deciding factor.

Bleep
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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Originally posted by: o1die
Abit IS7 ($99 newegg); p4 2.6c retail boxed ($175) and 2 sticks of 256 meg pc3500 by corsair, samsung, or crucial.

i'll second that. this is exactly what i have...minus the PC3500, which i don't have the money for yet. but i'll probably be going with OCZ PC3500 Platinum. i know you're probably looking for other suggestions as well, but this is probably the best bang for your buck while taking the intel route. leaving the CPU and RAM the same, you could go with an 875 board like the Abit IC7 or the ASUS P4P800E, but 875 boards are more expensive than 865 boards like the IS7.
 

ckww

Junior Member
Nov 11, 2003
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Thanks guys for the extra advice...

Do you think going with the 875 chipset is worth the extra money? Its not too significant is it?
 

Sunny129

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2000
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Originally posted by: ckww
Thanks guys for the extra advice...

Do you think going with the 875 chipset is worth the extra money? Its not too significant is it?

personally i don't think its worth the money. there does exist a theoretical performance gain by going with the 875 over the 865 through the 875's PAT and its likelihood to reach slightly higher fsb's. but you aren't going to notice any such difference in performance coming from a PIII 933mhz system. and this not quite significant performance gap i speak of is by no way an indication of the 865's lack of performance. it will still play games, run apps, and benchmarks, or whatever you like to do on a computer with beyond respectable numbers. so is there a performance gap? yes, but its slight. will you notice it coming from your previous system? no...so that's why i don't think it would be worth your money...
 

Xeon

Senior member
Sep 14, 2003
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I would highly recommend the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard with a good set of OCZ PC-4000 Gold or higher RAM, then throw an Intel 2.4C P4 processor in that baby and let her rip!

The only other thing I would say is, don't try to save a few bucks on where you purchase your product. Go through newegg as they have such a high rate of sales your almost guaranteed to getting the latest revisions of all the hardware you want to purchase, namely motherboard and RAM. I can't tell you how many horror stories I see with people save a buck or two here in there but ending up going through a supplier that gives them old revisions or equipment that has previously been used!!

I purchased all of my equipment, except for a few items that were specialized, through newegg, they were phenominal in their getting this equipment out to me and they were in perfect condition. Save yourself the trouble and get your stuff from one source, and if it's going to be online then go with these guys, you won't be sorry.

I would say the same thing about OCZ. Their support is outright fantastic!! I had an initial problem with a set of OCZ RAM not passing MemTest-86 and they sent me two other sets to try quickly. Not only did they fix my problem but they essentially gave me sticks that were rated higher than my original purchase (Speed).

If you decide not to go with Asus (although I don't know why you wouldn't) then I would suggest the Abit IC7-G but not the MAX3. There are still a number of issues people are having with their newer Max3 so I'd stay away from it for now until they get it cleared up, but the IC7-G is solid and if you can do without the newer features of the P4C800-E Deluxe and the Max3, it's a good choice.

If your not planning to overclock it then, well, take your pick. Asus, Abit, Intel, all make good boards.

My 2 cents,