pentium4... now which m/b should i get?

[ac8ml99]

i am lookin to get a p4 1.9ghz and want to know what the best m/b i could get .
i am not looking to overclock cause i wouldn't know how if i wanted to, so just something thats good out of the box . also i have 512mb of pc133 and wanted to know if i should stick with it or go with ddr 266/333 or rdram ...and is there that big a difference?

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< i am lookin to get a p4 1.9ghz and want to know what the best m/b i could get .
i am not looking to overclock cause i wouldn't know how if i wanted to, so just something thats good out of the box . also i have 512mb of pc133 and wanted to know if i should stick with it or go with ddr 266/333 or rdram ...and is there that big a difference? >>

Is that a northwood P4 (it better be...)? Anyhow, I'd go with the Asus P4S333, which is based on the SiS 645 chipset, which in many (or most) cases outperform the i850 (based on RDRAM). Also, don't put SDRAM in a P4 system (or Athlon, for that matter), it's a performance killer. For memory, OCZ PC2700 offers good performance at a reasonable cost, but Corsair XMS2700 runs at 2-2-2, which would obviously yield greater speed. As for overclocking, that's easy--the BIOS has an option to adjust front side bus speed, increasing it increases the speed of your CPU (the CPU of your system runs at a multiple of the front side bus speed), and you can even increase the core voltage of the CPU (more speed needs more power). If you get a P4, it is highly advisable to overclock, because otherwise much cheaper Athlons will be crushing your system in terms of performance, and no one likes to spend extra for a slower product.

 

[AndyHui]

Suggested boards:

ASUS P4S333 (SiS 645 based)
ASUS P4B266 (Intel i845D)
ASUS P4T-E (Intel i850)

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Suggested boards:

ASUS P4S333 (SiS 645 based)
ASUS P4B266 (Intel i845D)
ASUS P4T-E (Intel i850) >>

Asus P4B266? I'd stay away from that. The i845D has inferior performance to the SiS 645.

 

[AndyHui]

Only marginally. Some people insist on Intel chipsets only for Intel processors. I simply list that board as a choice.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Only marginally. Some people insist on Intel chipsets only for Intel processors. I simply list that board as a choice. >>

IMO, it's pretty narrow-minded to insist on Intel chipsets for Intel processors. True, it is marginal, but the lack of support for XMS2700, and ideal memory type for the P4, is fairly vexing. How many people do you see insisting on the AMD 760 chipset these days, even though the performance boost of a SiS 735, Via KT266A, or nVidia nForce 220/420 is only marginal?

 

[AndyHui]

I know it's narrow minded. I have seen people insist though.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< I know it's narrow minded. I have seen people insist though. >>

Sadly, so have I. Worse yet is insistence on only Intel CPUs (I'd by a Cyrix if it was the best), but I digress. I think that Intel has lost its lead in the chipset innovation arena. Intel hasn't really had a great chipset since the i815e. I'm sure that Via or SiS (or nVidia) could implement a much better RDRAM solution than the i850.

 

[AndyHui]

Since none of the others have, I reserve my judgement.

Considering how much the i850's handling of RDRAM has improved over the i840, I would hardly call Intel poor at chipset innovation.

For what it's worth, I believe Intel knows their processors best and usually design the best chipsets for their processors. I will sit out this round of chipsets....I'm watching the Tulloch chipset with Serial ATA, AGP8x, USB2 and other interesting stuff.

 

[eplebnista]

IMO, I'd recommend the Gigabyte GA-8IRX DDR motherboard.

My $.02,
eplebnista

 

[TBC]

<<

<< i am lookin to get a p4 1.9ghz and want to know what the best m/b i could get .
i am not looking to overclock cause i wouldn't know how if i wanted to, so just something thats good out of the box . also i have 512mb of pc133 and wanted to know if i should stick with it or go with ddr 266/333 or rdram ...and is there that big a difference? >>

Is that a northwood P4 (it better be...)? Anyhow, I'd go with the Asus P4S333, which is based on the SiS 645 chipset, which in many (or most) cases outperform the i850 (based on RDRAM). Also, don't put SDRAM in a P4 system (or Athlon, for that matter), it's a performance killer. >>



Considering the huge increases memory is going through lately, and still going higher. You will find more and more people wanting to use their older SDRAM. I also don't agree about it being a performance killer. Of the benchmarks I have seen, there isn't that much difference except in a few apps.

And if memory continues to keep rising in price like it is, I wouldn't be surprised to see more motherboards supporting both the new and older memory. As people aren't going to upgrade (buy new motherboards) if they have to spend a fortune on memory again.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<<

<<

<< i am lookin to get a p4 1.9ghz and want to know what the best m/b i could get .
i am not looking to overclock cause i wouldn't know how if i wanted to, so just something thats good out of the box . also i have 512mb of pc133 and wanted to know if i should stick with it or go with ddr 266/333 or rdram ...and is there that big a difference? >>

Is that a northwood P4 (it better be...)? Anyhow, I'd go with the Asus P4S333, which is based on the SiS 645 chipset, which in many (or most) cases outperform the i850 (based on RDRAM). Also, don't put SDRAM in a P4 system (or Athlon, for that matter), it's a performance killer. >>



Considering the huge increases memory is going through lately, and still going higher. You will find more and more people wanting to use their older SDRAM. I also don't agree about it being a performance killer. Of the benchmarks I have seen, there isn't that much difference except in a few apps. >>


Yes, apps like 3D games...

 

[christoph83]

Sadly, so have I. Worse yet is insistence on only Intel CPUs (I'd by a Cyrix if it was the best), but I digress. I think that Intel has lost its lead in the chipset innovation arena. Intel hasn't really had a great chipset since the i815e. I'm sure that Via or SiS (or nVidia) could implement a much better RDRAM solution than the i850

First of all the i845d is a great overclocker shownhere . Much better than the Sis 645. Plus it has the same stability as the i850 and other intel chipsets. And really in most reviews the sis 645 beats the i845d by a marginal percentage and thats just with pc2700. Corsair PC2700 goes for 100 dollars plus these days too with RDRAM at 75 a pop. RDRAM still beats the sis 645 with PC2700 in some tests,and considering PC800 RDRAM is almost 2 years old thats pretty good. PC1066 is right around the corner then we'll see whats the fastest. Really its a matter of preference with these chipsets. And if you think VIA or Sis could make better RDRAM chipsets than intel by now why havent they done it? They would make a lot of money if they could do it.

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

And if you think VIA or Sis could make better RDRAM chipsets than intel by now why havent they done it? They would make a lot of money if they could do it.

They probably could..Or at least make a comparable sulution at a lower cost. Unfortunately, They would also probably have to get into some sort of licensing agreement with Rambus. Poof!! there goes any cost savings.



Some people insist on Intel chipsets only for Intel processors.

And this is entirely true..I am going thru this right now as I will be building a machine for my employer and it HAS to be Intel proc w/ intel chipset. I am an AMD guy myself, but I would only build an Intel setup for my boss to ensure absolute stability/compatibility with the apps we use (cad-cam mainly) so I don't have to spend a ton of time playing tech-support. I have better things to do..

 

[christoph83]

And this is entirely true..I am going thru this right now as I will be building a machine for my employer and it HAS to be Intel proc w/ intel chipset. I am an AMD guy myself, but I would only build an Intel setup for my boss to ensure absolute stability/compatibility with the apps we use (cad-cam mainly) so I don't have to spend a ton of time playing tech-support. I have better things to do..

I agree,its somewhat fun to tweak and fix your own computer. But messing with someone elses is a different story.

 

[Link]

First, decide if you want to go with RDRAM or DDR, but never with SDRAM. Then you have to decide if you want to go with Intel or 3rd party chipset. Make sure you get mPGA 478. From there you can choose the brand name of the mobo.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Epox just came out with a sweet board. The 4SDA+. They're calling it the most overclocking friendly board they've ever reviewed. It's based on the SiS 645 chipset which is currently benching faster than all other DDR boards, and faster than the i850 in some benchmarks.

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Sadly, so have I. Worse yet is insistence on only Intel CPUs (I'd by a Cyrix if it was the best), but I digress. I think that Intel has lost its lead in the chipset innovation arena. Intel hasn't really had a great chipset since the i815e. I'm sure that Via or SiS (or nVidia) could implement a much better RDRAM solution than the i850

First of all the i845d is a great overclocker shownhere . Much better than the Sis 645. Plus it has the same stability as the i850 and other intel chipsets. And really in most reviews the sis 645 beats the i845d by a marginal percentage and thats just with pc2700. Corsair PC2700 goes for 100 dollars plus these days too with RDRAM at 75 a pop. RDRAM still beats the sis 645 with PC2700 in some tests,and considering PC800 RDRAM is almost 2 years old thats pretty good. PC1066 is right around the corner then we'll see whats the fastest. Really its a matter of preference with these chipsets. And if you think VIA or Sis could make better RDRAM chipsets than intel by now why havent they done it? They would make a lot of money if they could do it. >>

RDRAM is only 75 a pop? Huh...
I'm considering buying Via's P4 board...as it has the P4X266A, supposedly a fantastic overclocker. Still, RDRAM only 75 a pop...