new system build - Help me choose

[imported_Doughboy]

I'm building my cousin a new Intel system (save the AMD banter please).
He's probably getting a P4 640 (3.2GHz).
Any advice on which MB should I go with (see below)?
Are there any features or extra performance in the 955X chipset (other than dual core upgradeablilty)?
Maybe the appropriate question is are there any reasons not to go with the 955X Board?

Asus P5WD2 Premium 955X
or
Asus P5AD2-E Premium 925XE

also, does anyone know if this memory is compatible with the 955X board - Patriot PDC21G4200+XBLK 1GB

 

[Vixsav]

I've got two 1gig sticks of the Patriot PDC21G4200+XBLK memory on an Abit Fatal1ty AA8XE (925XE) board with a Pent 530J (3.0 Ghz) processor. It's o'clocked to 3.97Ghz with the memory running at 3:4 divider (800mhz setting) at 4-3-3-11. I had it up to 3.6Ghz at 4-3-3-4. Had to lower the latency to get it up more.

Previously had it running at 4.2Ghz w/1:1 divider (1066fsb setting).

All this with air cooling (Thermalright XP-120, thermaltake 120mm fan). This heatsink is the bomb. Never goes over 52c at 2000rpm fan setting. Quiet as a mouse.

Works grrrrrrreat!!

 

[Vixsav]

Looks like all the 955x gives you over the 925xe is support for >8gb mem and dual-core proc support.

If you want a pure high-perf/gaming machine, I'd go with the Abit Fatal1ty setup like I stated previously. That is, if your friend has to go Intel and wants the highest performance (available at this time).

I've heard the P5AD2-E is a great board, but if you want maximum o'clock, go with the Abit Fatal1ty, the overclocking features are tremendous. You WILL find the limitations of your memory/cpu.

Though Asus is more feature laden, check them both to make sure you're getting the features you need.

BTW, you MUST have DDR2 mem, PCIe vid card and there is only 1! IDE channel on the Fatal1ty board, so you will want SATA hdd's if you decide on it....