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Thnkig of getting a new BX Board.

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I see absolutely NO reason to get an i815. It is slow enough that a p3 933 on a bx easily beats a 1ghz on an i815. BX is cheaper too. No crap about AGP 1/2 either, because if your video card can't handle the high agp speeds then a 133-155Mhz FSB is probably wasted on your system. ATA100 is virtually useless, and if you want it so bad, abit and soyo have new boards that support it with RAID. More usb is nice, but really I have a USB mouse, and that's it. You can get a FCPGA socket 370 BX. I want to hear one advantage it has that really matters to someone with a decent video card. Get the new Soyo board, the new Abit board, MSI BX Master, Asus CUBX, whatever. I don't like the CUBX for its lack of good bus speeds, but it is extremely stable, and has those worthless extra USB ports too.
 
Hey, you can stick with the BX if you want to, but its day is OVER. Look at how long the BX has been around. It has been through enough makeovers, tummy tucks, and face lifts to make Joan River scream bloody murder. It had better perform damn well.

The i815 is just getting started and it has room for improvement...true. But BIOS updates and further revisions will make this board a gem (it already is IMHO).


<< No crap about AGP 1/2 either, because if your video card can't handle the high agp speeds then a 133-155Mhz FSB is probably wasted on your system. >>


That's a bunch of BS😛 Why overclock your video card when you don't have to. I'd rather have my vid card running within spec than to have it burning all to hell on an overclocked AGP bus. Remember, most people overclock their core/mem clocks as well. An overclocked video card sitting in an overclocked AGP bus just doesn't sit well with me. If I buy a $300 GF2, I want to know that I'm not gonna kill it just to get the 133MHz bus or higher.


<< More usb is nice, but really I have a USB mouse, and that's it. >>


Well that's you...the exception. I on the other hand have a USB mouse, USB keyboard w/built-hub, USB Scanner, Hauppage USB TV Tuner card, 4-port USB hub, USB gamepad, USB Compact Flash Reader, and a USB SmartMedia reader.

USB is taking over the place, and you had BETTER have a place to hook up all of that stuff. It's better to have all the of the support built right into the motherboard chipset than to have to get an add-in card or hub (like I have to do) to get the job done.

Not to mention that the i815 has a built in AGP video card so you could hook up a PCI Voodoo 5 5500 or any other PCI card and have dual displays if you like. It also has the built-in LAN codecs for 10MBps Home PNA 2.0 or 10/100 Ethernet.

The Asus i815 board also has the tasty 1MHz bus increments.
 
Completely agree with NFS4. We have every reason to get i815E over BX, and BX has every reason to be retired.
 
Ok thanks i'll check the review of abits i815. On question i do have is how does ocing with pc100 ram compare on the two chipsets?
 
BX has matured like a fine wine while 815 is an infant. Depends how long you want to keep your board. Willamette anyone? Mustang perhaps? Besides, &quot;BX&quot; is a cool name while &quot;815&quot; sounds girly. &quot;i815e&quot; - sounds like a BMW wannabe. 😛
 
I think the i8xx names sounds a lot cooler than BX, LX, TX whateverX. Not to mention it's code name is Solano, yea, take that 440BX!
 
What perfect timing.

I am specing out a system for a close friend and I was in a position where I was hesitant to recommend a Via board (due to potential incompatibilities - I don't want to be fixing his computer 24/7) but was also reluctant to recommend the P3B-F or BXMaster because of their older chipsets.

I guess I now have another option - I'm going to leave it up to him to choose. Does anyone know any other company other than UpgradeSource that carries this board?
 
Hm... good choice, the i815E is really a solid solution. I dont know any other places that lists the Asus CUSL2, only UpgradeSource, but they dont have them in stock either, just to attract people and get their money down.
 
Oh blah. If they don't have them in stock I'm not interested in buying. Let me contact my normal sources and figure out when they want to get them in. This system is supposed to be spec'ed out and built by next week.
 
I know its a bummer, but if you're in rush, go ahead with Asus P3V4X for VIA or MSI BX Master/Asus CUBX for BX.
 
Lore: Can you tell me the price you get for the mobo from your recources. Then, if the price is good and it's not to difficult i may buy it from you?
 
I say get a BX. They're still faster and quite a bit cheaper. NFS4 is quoting prices on the i815, but everyone else here is talking about the i815e, which is aquite a bit more expensive.

That's me though, bang for the buck. I just don't see why someone should waste all that extra money on an i815e, you just don't get THAT big of an improvement over a BX. Not for the money you don't.
 


<< That's me though, bang for the buck. I just don't see why someone should waste all that extra money on an i815e, you just don't get THAT big of an improvement over a BX. Not for the money you don't. >>


You get guaranteed stability and reliability at the 133MHz bus with the i815/i815E though. I don't mind spending $20-30 for a superior product IMHO.

When I get a mainboard, it normally last for about 15 months before I upgrade. I'd rather have an i815E based board which is prepared for the future than &quot;wing it&quot; with a 2 year old BX board.
 
What board do you want Lore, The MSI 815e pro is in stock a few places around the net but its a bit pricey at 170$, that is still way too much for a mainboard. I cant belived I got suckered into buying it. That board better perform with the same stats of the reviews that I have read about it.

Rain
 
RainCity, would ya mind throwin me links on some of those reviews on the MSI6337 815E pro board....I haven't come across any yet....thanx.
 
IMO, the BX is tired and due to be replaced. my P-II 400 is running comfterbily on a BX, but that is the chipset it was designed for. the Coppermines are ment to run on a 133+ bus speed, and the BX is just not ment to do that. it can run that fast, but everything is out of spec. get the ASUS 815 board, it is going to rule. yea, the BX may be faster than a pre-production 815e board, but there has been 2 or 3 years to tune and refine this chipset. just think, if a chipset that has not been out for more than a couple weeks can compare to the preformence of the BX, think of what it will be able to do in the future when optmised and tuned like the BX is now. dont get another BX board for a coppermine system, IMO it is a waste of money. go with the via or the 815.

- Jason
 


<< You get guaranteed stability and reliability at the 133MHz bus with the i815/i815E though. I don't mind spending $20-30 for a superior product IMHO. >>



First, for the ASUS board you linked to, your going to spend about $70 more, not 20-30.

Listen... I'm not saying the i815e is a bad board, by no means. But I would be hesitant to label it as a &quot;superior product&quot;. It has a couple of small advantages sure, but I don't know if 133mhz bus would classify it as &quot;superior&quot; all by itself. Especially when the BX is still a tad faster. As far as stability goes, I think that the i815e would be no more stable than a quality BX board, if at all. Surely nothing to base a decision off of.

As far as I can tell so far, I'd say they are a push, with some things favoring the i815e and some others the BX. Although, granted, overall maybee the i815e is a little better. But is it $70 better? That's where I say no. That's not to mention getting your hands on one, which seems to be difficult at best at this point in time.

All I'm trying to say is, for all that extra money, what REALLY are you getting in return? I mean, list it out then rate each listing. Do the same for a good BX board, compare them side by side, add up your numbers. I'd bet you'd all be surprised. I just don't think it's the best buy for &quot;price-to-performance&quot;, or &quot;bang for the buck&quot;. If you will. Not at all. You get relatively little in return for your extra cash.

If you REALLY don't like the BX, try to hold out. If you could wait just a bit longer, I'd say wait till August 1st for the DDR Athlon boards and go the AMD route.
 
Don't forget, part of that extra cost on the Asus i815 mobo is due to integrated video and sound. While the video is obviously not optional, I would bet that they will have a rev. available with no sound. That oughta trim $20-30 off the price ...
 
Taking away onboard audio will trim a maximum of $10, thats only if the audio is good. If its crappy then I guess it's only worth $5. The most important factor for the i815Es to be expensive is the on board video, which worth approximately $30, and the ICH2 southbridge which supports ATA100 and 4 USBs, relatively more expensive than other southbridge solutions. An i815 without onboard video/audio, without ATA100 and the extra USB ports, will lower the cost to approximately $110.
 
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