Switching to Intel chips - motherboard recommendations?

[dajo]

Hello,

I'm thinking of going Intel from four years of nothing but AMD. This decision is based on having tested about 12 XP2200+ processors over the past few months, as well as working with numerous AMD based motherboards. I've never built an Intel based system but I have supported them at work.

My conclusion...

Intel platform is more stable.

I'm thinking of getting the Asus P4S533 SiS 645DX board. Seems to have gotten good reviews.

Can any of you P4 users our there comment on this board or give recommendations for another, including long term processor upgrades?

I would appreciate your input.

 

[Vette73]

I would try and get a 648SiS chipset. It is the newwest one.

I think Evan has a couple of them he has reviewed on the main page (anandtech)

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'd go for the NEW P4PE motherboards like the Albatron PX845PEV Pro or the Asus P4PE because they support DDR333 and can overclock very very easily to DDR400 operation with the proper memory. They also are the FIRST to support the Hyperthreading technology going to be used in Intel's next line of CPUs. Hyperthreading is already found in the Xeon processors.

I have the Albatron PX845PEV Pro and currently run a FSB of 160Mhz and memory at DDR400 (cl2.5-2-2-5) with a 2.26Ghz P4 running 2.72Ghz with the overclock. This is with only 2.6v on the memory and 1.70v on the core.

 

[dajo]

Thank you for your responses. I decided to go ahead and get the P4S533 as I got a good price on it ($95.29 shipped at wiredzone - have to use coupon which you can get at pricewatch). The reviews have been good and I can always upgrade later (I always do anyway!).

The Asus 648SiS board at newegg was more and actually had some very bad user reviews, which is odd because I thought newegg was now screening those out.

Anyway, I'll couple this board with a P4 2.4b 533 retail from newegg ($187 shipped) which should get me somewhere between 2.6-2.8GHz.

Have been a great AMD fan since the beginning but my experience, especially with recent boards and the XP chips, has led me to believe that the Intel platform is probably a more stable one. I had a lot of problems with the XP chips including a relatively high DOA/defective rate, not to mention many, many chipset compatibility issues.

I know that all platforms/mobos have their issues so I'm not fooling myself about problems with Intel platforms, but the ones I have supported at work just seem less beset with problems and generally more stable.

Thanks!

 

[mechBgon]

Out of curiosity, what brand/model/wattage of power supplies do your AMD systems use? Ours are using beefy Antec TruePower330's and running like a dream (Asus A7N266-VM/AthlonXP/Crucial DDR/Win2k SP2).

For an Intel system at this point in the game, I would look first at the Asus P4PE, which has good forward compatibility and a 3-year warranty. Or there's that Intel "Enthusiast" board reviewed by AnandTech, which isn't built to overclock but does have a pile of features and a three-year warranty, along with equivalent forward compatibility.

 

[dajo]

I have an Antec 430 Watt TruePower (I think that's what it's called). That will work won't it?

Also, don't really want to reformat my drive and re-install everything. Do you think if I uninstall any VIA drivers, remove all devices, start with just a vid card, go into Device Manager and remove the PCI BUS and other motherboard devices I can get away with simply popping that processor in and configuring my sys?

 

[mechBgon]

What operating system are you using? With Win98SE it's about a 50/50 chance it'll work... I did a similar full-platform swap recently from SiS735 to KT333, and Win98SE managed it D).

The Antec TP430 should be excellent for your new rig, they have a lot of power on tap thanks to the independent 3.3V and 5V lines, which don't compete for a common source like most PSUs do. That's what I use too.

 

[dajo]

Win 98 (not se).

Thanks for all this support. This is cool!

 

[hardass]

i got an asus p4s533, i love it, i got 2 sticks of 512mb of ddr400 running flawlessly.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: dajo
Win 98 (not se).

Thanks for all this support. This is cool!

You are running Win 98 and you blame AMD Cpu's for your instability

I have DUAL Athlon XP's with 3 slabs of 256mg, Radeon 8500(Dual Monitor), USB2.0 pci card, TV/Radio tuner card, and a 64but/66Mhz dual port ethernet card(with intel chips) and it is 100% stable.

I am of course running Win XP Pro. The only problems I have had with most systems is the OS, I can't stand Win 9X now that I have run Win NT based OS's.

 

[mechBgon]

Marlin1975, out of curiosity, what PSU do you power your dualie with?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Marlin1975, out of curiosity, what PSU do you power your dualie with?

A generic (L&C) 400 watt. It is 210watt (5+3.3) I think it was around $30 from pricewatch. At the time I was only running a single 1700+ so i was not worried. Then I went to a dual setup with some other add-on's

I think Asus calls for a 400 watt with a 190 at the 5+3.3 volt

Been pretty happy with it, was afraid it would not handle 2 Athlons, but does with ease.