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So what's the general consensus? Abit, Asus, or...?

Tullphan

Diamond Member
Without having to read 83 pages, what's the majority getting?
If a guy's gonna spend upward of $400 on m/b, cpu & mem, what's the best options?
 
Most AT members are running AMDs' on ASUS motherboards.

Specific arrangements vary widely. I hear that there's some new fangled bus coming out in the spring of next year. Price drops should be hitting the stores in the next 30 days on the current bus configurations. If you can't wait till spring you can be a pioneer with the new bus architecture.

Gravity
 
I usually try to stay a step behind...it's cheaper...hehehe.
I got a guy that's wanting to buy my mb/cpu/mem combo...that's y i'm looking now. I did hear about the upcoming price drop...I kinda hope he waits till then (I also hope he doesn't know about it & expect a cheaper price!).
The only issue I have w/AMD (& I can't say it holds true now) is the overclocking issue. The last I heard (& it's been a while) was to overclock an AMD, one had to get out the exacto knife, get some rear window defogger repair kit, some epoxy, a magnifying glass & have a steady hand. Is this the case now?
With some AMD/MB/Mem configurations, one can get the equivalent in a P4 at not much more of a premium, yes?
(Gawd, I hope I ain't gonna start an AMD/Intel war here...I ain't tryin' to)
 
Most, if not all NForce2 boards will unlock the multipliers on a Thoroughbred/Barton core AMD Processor. I currently own an ABIT NF7-S Revision 2.0 and it unlocks multipliers on my XP1700+.

Overclocking is easy on this board. PCI/AGP lock, an abundance of Chipset/RAM/Processor/AGP voltage options and its very stable.

I think most people go ABIT/ASUS for NForce2's... my ABIT NF7-S is the best motherboard I've bought, even better than my EPoX 8KHA+ (Via266A)
 
One can get a P4 2.6c for $175 @ Newegg. An AMD XP3000 runs $205. The motherboards are within $30 of each other. Assuming I overclock the 2.6 to ~3.0-3.2, does it not still out-perform the AMD as well as run cooler? I don't want to overheat my system as i'm trying to run a quiet, cool one. Even if I don't overclock, is the XP3000 worth the extra $30?
I know this probably belongs in CPU's, but i'm curious to know why the AMD's seem so popular...no offense intended to the AMD people, just curious.
I'll be doing the dual channel thing since it appears the AMD motherboards you suggested support that.
 
The hot AMD setup is a Barton 2500+ running at 3200+ speeds. Roughly $90. Running the stock fan, I'm getting about 44c and the system is virtually silent. It is very stable with the A7N8X-dx.

I would only buy the 3000+ for $200 if I wasn't planning on OCing the system. It isn't a fair comparison to go OC'd 2.6c vs. stock 3000+
 
Originally posted by: Hyperfocal
The hot AMD setup is a Barton 2500+ running at 3200+ speeds. Roughly $90. Running the stock fan, I'm getting about 44c and the system is virtually silent. It is very stable with the A7N8X-dx.

I would only buy the 3000+ for $200 if I wasn't planning on OCing the system. It isn't a fair comparison to go OC'd 2.6c vs. stock 3000+

Is a stock 2.6c vs. stock 3000 a fair comparison?
Do any of the AMD motherboards support dual-channel?
Any memory compatibility issues with either the Asus or Abit as there is with the P4 versions?
 
I am running a Abit NF7-S board with a 1700+(1.4Ghz) running at 2.0Ghz with a FSB of 333. Very fast, quiet, cool, and cheap. If I upgraded I would get a Athlon 2500+. Most seem to get those to run at or above 3200+ levels easy and the CPU is less then $95 retail
 
It all depends on what you plan on doing with your system. If you know you are going to use apps that take advantage of hyperthreading, the p4 will be better even with a "lower" clock speed, but for everyday use, I'd take the Athlon.

The price gap has closed quite a bit between Intel and AMD.

p4 2.6c, Asus P4P800dx, 2x512mb PC3200 = $543

AMD 3000+, Asus A7N8Xdx, 2x512mb PC3200 = $568

But if you do a 3.0ghz p4 to 3000+ Athlon comparison, it is $568 for the Athlon and $643 for the P4.

Any way you go, the speed for the price is remarkable.
 
Originally posted by: osage
the Albatron KX18D Pro II does look very good feature wise

Yes, but the $59 refurb A7N8X Deluxe looks better! 😉

So, considering that basically what I do is surf, an occasional game, occasional picture editing, occasional mp3 editing, occasional video conferencing & basic home office stuff, i'll not notice a difference going from a 2.53 P4 (or for that matter, a stock 2.6 P4) to a Barton 2500? The motherboard i'm using now is an Albatron PX845PEV, but i've been wanting to upgrade to a newer one. I like the idea of SATA & 1394. I also like the idea of spending $160 for a motherboard/cpu combo as opposed to that much for a chip itself. I guess with the money I save I can upgrade from 512mb to a gig of ram?
Are you guys using stock cooling or what?
 
buy the DFI - Lan Party NF2 - with ANY Barton Core ... and you'll be laughing all the way homw ,waiting to get it set up 🙂
 
FIC AU13 here. Running 2500 @ 2.3 Stable. You can get an updated one at Frys for 79.00 - updated being Ultra 400,and it's MCP-T too (Soundstorm).
 
Originally posted by: Hoot
FIC AU13 here. Running 2500 @ 2.3 Stable. You can get an updated one at Frys for 79.00 - updated being Ultra 400,and it's MCP-T too (Soundstorm).

Alas, i'm in the sticks in the midwest...no Fry's for me...it's either Circuit City, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Office Depot or Staples (unless I wanna get online).

There's just too many darned motherboards to choose from!!!

 
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