Suggestions on CPU/MB/Chipset/Memory

[Tresdrez]

I was planning on upgrading my system after the first of the year. However, my motherboard decided to go south on me Saturday, so I decided now would be a good time to upgrade. So I could do research on the web I threw together a bunch of old parts, surprised a P100 32MB will even run a cable modem.

I am looking at spending around $200 for the CPU and up to $150-200 for the motherboard, and I want a minimum of 1GB of RAM (In 2 chips or less).

Based on the prices at www.pricewatch.com the following CPUs fit in the price range:

$180's
P4 2.4 Ghz 400Mhz
P4 2.4 Ghz 533Mhz
Athlon XP 2600

$220's
P4 2.53 Ghz

Due to price limitations I would like to steer clear of RDRAM, leaving DDR as the only choice, though I am not sure what speed I need, I assume this varies by MB/CPU Combo.

After spending over 12 hours reading about various Chipsets, I am no closer to a decision on what to go with. I am also waiting for the 5 or 6-way comparision of nForce2 MBs.

Feature Wish List (Not required, but nice if they are there)

Firewire
USB 2.0
Lan/Dual Lan (I can always install cards if need be, but nice if included)
4x/8x AGP
Raid (0,1)
Capability for more than 4 IDE devices

After nVidia releases its new video card, I will decide where to upgrade there also, until then I will be running a 32MB GeForce2 GTS.

Looking for advice on what CPU, Chipset, Motherboard, and memory to go with. Request suggestions including details on why you suggested what you did. Also would like to know if it would be worth it to spend a bit more on one thing, performance-wise. The Budget isn't set in stone, but I learned a while ago that buying high-end doesn't pay off, unless you have the income to upgrade every time the latest and greatest comes out, otherwise you just buy bragging rights for a few months. Better performance from just upgrading more often and spending less each time.

Previous Setup was:

AMD Athlon 850Mhz (Slot A) - with Approved PSU
Abit KA7 Motherboard
1GB Mushkin PC 133 Ram
32MB GeForce2 GTS
SB Live Value
10/100 Ethernet
20GB HDD
FDD
16X DVD-ROM
16/10/40 Plextor CD-RW
100MB Zip Drive

I plan on carrying everything except the MB, Memory, CPU over to the new one, until I get more cash. I will also upgrade the PSU if it is not approved for the new CPU/MB.

 

[bgeh]

you can either go the intel route: p4 2.53 ghz+a granite bay mobo+2 sticks of ddr to achieve dual channel ddr

OR

you can go the amd route: athlon xp2600+ + an nforce 2 mobo+2 sticks of ddr

personally, i would go the amd route because the nforce 2 has good sound,8x agp,dual lan,usb 2.0,firewire and if you get the high end mobo model,it will come with a raid chip.and its definitely cheaper.

 

[serialb]

First of all welcome to the forum.

To make things easier, all in all you only have to decide between AMD (KT400 or nForce2) and Intel (845PE).

Intel's 845PE is probably the latest mainstream mobo chipset out to date. I am not a big Intel fan and I'll leave the details for other AT fellows on this.

Personally, I'd go with AMD for its price/performance and save the price difference on video card or RAM. I am waiting for the Epox 8RDA2+ (Thanks Insane3D for the heads up) to be released. If you don't need onboard RAID, 8RDA+ is out already and you can get it for around $120. You can everything you want on your feature wishlist besides RAID & 4+ IDE devices.

For the RAM, that depends on your overclocking habits as you probably need at least PC2700 chips. However, to be on a safe side, Corsair PC3200 is a good bet if you want to keep your system down the road.

Here's what I would get TODAY if you ask me:

AMD XP2400+ - $190 (BTW, where did you find the 2600+ for around $180? :confused
EPOX 8RDA+ - $120
Corsair PC3200C2 - $180 each

 

[Tresdrez]

Correction it would be a Athlon 2400 at that price range. Athlon 2600's run about $100 more. That's what I get for typing it before 6 am.

So it is between Athlon 2400 or P4 2.4 Ghz (or thereabout).

One of the things I couldn't find much information about was how the processors compared in performance. Since AMD stresses their performance and Intel their clock speed.

Primarily I use the system for gaming, but I also do internet (obviously), and office work on it.

After Cyrix's attempt to label things based off performance rather than Mhz, I am not sure how much of AMD's claims are real and how much is marketing.

Thanks for the comments so far, keep them coming, I figure I will probably order the parts at the end of the week (after payday )

 

[stebesplace]

well. . .

I am an intel person myself.

My history goes something like, p1, k6, k62, k63, athlon, p3, p4(current). Now some options i would say are if you want to picka side, pick it on longevity.

I chose to go with intel for the stability and cooling. If you remove a heatsink, for example, off a p4, it will not fry itself.

Mostly though, I choose p4 for stability and ram archetecture. I wanted RDRAM. For what I do which is 3d work, it works out the best.

I have an ABIT MB. TH7-2 Raid, which is about a year old, ata100, with 768 megs RDRAM pc800, p4 1.5 ghz 400MHZ FSB.

Basically i would recomend the following

Any motherboard, asus/abit that would support a 533 FSB, 2.0 GHZ+ with at least 512 megs RDRAM pc800 or pc1066.

that is it for basics. I mean beyond that is just personal prefference for wether gaming is your thing, or 2d work etc.

-Steve

 

[Tresdrez]

After many hours of research I started typing out what I thought I had it narrowed down to. I had Asus P4PE, Intel D845PESV, and Asus P4G8X-Deluxe. After comparing prices, availability, and vendors. I think I am going to go with the Asus P4PE. I forgot to mention earlier, but I do not intend on Overclocking this system.

ASUS P4PE/R/L/SATA Motherboard for Intel P4 478 Retail w/ Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, Onboard LAN, Firewire IEEE1394, Serial ATA, SoundMAX Digital Audio System
Specifications:
Supported CPU: P4 Socket 478 1.4 GHz 3+ GHz
Chipset: Intel 845PE
FSB: 533 / 400 MHz
RAM: 3 x 184-pin DDR333 PC2700/PC2100/PC1600Max 2GB
IDE: 2 x UltraDMA 100/66/33
Serial ATA
Slots: 1x AGP-4x 6x PCI
Ports: 1x LPT, 2x COM, 2x PS/2, 1x RJ45, 1x 1394, 4x USB 2.0
Onboard LAN: BroadCom® 10/100 Mbps
Onboard Firewire: IEEE1394 interface
Price $146 @ www.newegg.com
http://www.asus.com.tw/prog/spec.asp?m=P4PE

Now for the questions:

Will I get better performance from installing a single DIMM, or a Pair?

I had planned on installing (2) 512MB DIMMs, if I decide I need more in the future, will it hurt performance to install a 3rd rather than running a pair of bigger ones?

Is Newegg.com a good vendor? I have never heard of them before visiting AT, but they are mentioned all over the boards.

What brand and speed RAM should I purchase, keeping in mind I do not plan on overclocking it?

Mushkin:
512MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM 333Mhz FSB, Unbuffered, 6-layer PCB, rated 2.5-3-3, 6ns DDR333 w/heat spreader $199 (mushkin.com)

512MB PC3000 DDR SDRAM 366MHz FSB, Unbuffered, 6-Layer PCB, rated 2.5-3-3, 64x64 module 32x8 chips Dual bank org. in double sided config. w/heat spreader $199 (mushkin.com)

512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz FSB, Unbuffered, 6-Layer PCB, rated 2.5-4-4, 64x64 module 32x8 chips
Double bank org. in double sided config. w/heat spreader $235 (mushkin.com)


Crucial:
DDR PC2700 ? CL=2.5 ? Unbuffered ? Non-parity ? 6ns ? 2.5V ? 64Meg x 64 - Guaranteed compatible at $168 a stick (crucial.com)


Corsair:
XMS2700 CL2 DDR333 = Part Number CMX512-2700C2 - $185 w/heat spreader (newegg.com)

XMS3200 CL2 DDR370 = Part Number CMX512-3200C2 - $199 w/heat spreader (newegg.com)

XMS3500 CL2 DDR434 = Part Number CMX512-3500C2 - $216 or $227 w/heat spreader (newegg.com)

Processor:
Intel Pentium 4 2.4BGHz 512K 533MHz CPU Northwood P478 Processor Retail Box $193 (newegg.com)

Power Supply & Case:
I currently have a case and power supply, but since the system is 18-months old, I assume I need a new PSU. So if you have any suggestions on power supplies and/or cases please let me know. There is nothing wrong with the case I have now (except its black and nothing else is), so if I can get a good PSU significantly cheaper than buying a new case/psu, that would be helpful.

Thanks for all the help, plan on ordering everything Friday afternoon.