P4 mobo recs, and I know what I'm wanting

[Blues X]

I had a specific motherboard in mind last week, but it's been really hard to find. So I'm just going to request opinions to see what everyone recommends.

I'm looking at the P4 2.4 w/533Mhz fsb. (An Athlon XP 2400+ isn't out of the question though, if prices drop a bit more; but I like the P4's bandwidth).

Right now I have some PC133 memory, and I'd like to use that in the new motherboard to save a little $$ immediately. But I want to be able to switch over to 333DDR in the future, after I pay off my Christmas bills.

On-board LAN would be nice, to save a pci slot. But not completely necessary.

Integrated video isn't a concern. AGP 8x may be nice... any opinions specifically on that? I have a GF4 4200 w/128mb memory now. That'll do for a little while.

Integrated sound also not a big concern. I like good sound, so I'll have a separate card.

I'd like USB 2.0. But I can add a card later if I need to.

And at minimum 4 pci slots, but the more the better.

I probably won't do any overclocking. I need stability more than a little more horsepower.

And I don't need RAID.

I think that covers it. Thanks for your input.

 

[Vette73]

If you are wanting to stick to Sdram then just save your money. The P4 can't do anything without at least DDR, and a Athlon board that has both Sdram and DDR will not be the newwest/fastest thing on the block.

Save up some more and get a Athlon 2200+ (same .13 as 2400+, and shpould be able to do 166Fsb) and some 333DDR, add this to a Epox KT400 board and your ready to go...

 

[Blues X]

I think I'm going to stick with the P4's instead of the AMD. We use mainly AMD's in our computers here at work, and they've tended to do freaky things for no reason. Hardware will go bad just out of the blue with no warnings, under normal operating conditions (no tweaking or oc'ing). But, we're not using the XP chips, so those might be a little better.

I'd like to support the smaller company, but the stability issues I've encountered (and read about in the forums here) make me a little hesitant.

Regarding the memory, I think I can suffer with reduced performance for a little while until I ante up for the DDR memory. Not having to buy the memory right off the bat is what is making my upgrade possible (and it's tight at that). Otherwise I'll be waiting a few more months. (the wife's new laptop absorbed the rest of the $$ available).

I don't need the ultimate screaming machine. I'm just wanting a good combo of performance/stability/value, and would like the P4 2.4 with 533fsb. With the 3Ghz just around the corner, I feel like anything below that is already getting dated.


One thing I've wondered about... should I be considering a mobo that supports hyperthreading? Or is that really for those wanting to get the last few drops of performance out of their machinces? I do run Photoshop quite a bit, and I think that hyperthreading would help it run a bit faster. But getting Photoshop to run a little faster isn't a big concern for me.

 

[andrey]

I personally have Asus P4PE motherboard with P4-2.53 CPU. I use my system exensively for Visual Studio.NET and CAD applications. If you have ever done some programming, you know that badly written code (nobody is perfect, lol) in C++ or Java 99 of the time will crash the entire system. Amazingly enough my system based on Asus P4PE has not crashed yet even once, and except several times when I put it into the sleep mode, I had my computer turned on 24/7 for the last month. I'm truly impressed with stability and features of the Asus P4PE and I would definitely recommend you to take a look at that board if your main goal is stability.

 

[Vette73]

Well I have a Dual AMD Athlon XP system and it is 100% Stable, even with 2 athlons
But the athlon chips are fine, you just have to mate up good parts to make a stable system. So if that is your main worry, don't, it shouldn't be one. Heck even this board(Anandtech) is being run by AMD Athlons. Trust me, get a good board and good parts to add on and a AMD system, like to 50 or so I have built, will be 100% stable and cheaper.

Originally posted by: IHateRequiredNicknames
I think I'm going to stick with the P4's instead of the AMD. We use mainly AMD's in our computers here at work, and they've tended to do freaky things for no reason. Hardware will go bad just out of the blue with no warnings, under normal operating conditions (no tweaking or oc'ing). But, we're not using the XP chips, so those might be a little better.

I'd like to support the smaller company, but the stability issues I've encountered (and read about in the forums here) make me a little hesitant.

Regarding the memory, I think I can suffer with reduced performance for a little while until I ante up for the DDR memory. Not having to buy the memory right off the bat is what is making my upgrade possible (and it's tight at that). Otherwise I'll be waiting a few more months. (the wife's new laptop absorbed the rest of the $$ available).

I don't need the ultimate screaming machine. I'm just wanting a good combo of performance/stability/value, and would like the P4 2.4 with 533fsb. With the 3Ghz just around the corner, I feel like anything below that is already getting dated.


One thing I've wondered about... should I be considering a mobo that supports hyperthreading? Or is that really for those wanting to get the last few drops of performance out of their machinces? I do run Photoshop quite a bit, and I think that hyperthreading would help it run a bit faster. But getting Photoshop to run a little faster isn't a big concern for me.

 

[WarSong]

unless you have to have something right now, i would wait until after you pay off your Christmas bills so you can get some DDR with your purchase. The PC133 isn't going to be able to provide the memory bandwidth a P4 needs. If you wait you will also be able to get a board based on granite bay.

 

[dogbone]

what's granite bay?

 

[Blues X]

I must say, this dual channel memory has me intrigued. I am wanting to see what these are all about. But how much is that going to cost?

I have an Asus mobo now, and I've been really happy with it.

One definite thing... I'm waiting to see how much the CPU prices drop in the next month.

I actually have a Duron in my comp at work, and it's run fine. I have a coworker who's gone through two AMD chips in the last two years, though. Of course, I don't know if the chip or the mobo went bad first, and then took the other component out with it. But they were both fried. Still, AMD's not totally out of consideration. I know other people who've had no problems, and swear by them.

 

[Vette73]

I have never seen a CPU go bad, BUT I have replaced several boards that toke the CPU out with it.

CPU's, INTEL or AMD are not what makes a system stable or not, it is the board and other parts you put together.
The reason I use AMD is they are cheaper and offer the same performance dollar to dollar. That and most if not all KT400 and nForce2 boards should support the nect Athlon, Barton. A .13 micron chip with 512kb of L2 cache

Originally posted by: IHateRequiredNicknames
I must say, this dual channel memory has me intrigued. I am wanting to see what these are all about. But how much is that going to cost?

I have an Asus mobo now, and I've been really happy with it.

One definite thing... I'm waiting to see how much the CPU prices drop in the next month.

I actually have a Duron in my comp at work, and it's run fine. I have a coworker who's gone through two AMD chips in the last two years, though. Of course, I don't know if the chip or the mobo went bad first, and then took the other component out with it. But they were both fried. Still, AMD's not totally out of consideration. I know other people who've had no problems, and swear by them.