Well, I'm stuck (P4 suggestions needed)

[DDad]

Screwed up and opened my mouth on a local school system bid for computers.Wound up with a contract for building 20 P4's (yes, I tried to get them to go with Athlons, no dice)

Need suggestions for the best "bang for the buck" as far as P4 M/Boards are concerned. Also, recommendations as far as vendors, and shipping would be appreciated

 

[Buddha Bart]

I'd skip our usual favorites and head straight for something from the likes of DFI. (not that i even know off the top of my head if they make one).

bart

 

[neuralfx]

as far as the motherboard, i think thr ASUS P4T would be your best option, far as dealers, www.newegg.com is real popular, check anand's price guide, lots of good vendors there, surprised they wouldnt go athlon/durons for a public school.. ah ya jus throw those tax dollars into the fire.. hehe JK.. good luck..
-neural

 

[DDad]

DFI & ECS do make a P4 board, just looking to get the best I can come up with. My normal distributor carrys Abit, but I'm not overly happy with their QC (Abits)

 

[DDad]

Neural-
I strongly suggested Athlons, but they had a grant. Shall I say anymore?

 

[Desmoquattro]

eww...20?...hey building 1 was fun...3 was just as fun...but 20?...ooooh damn. hmmm...i'd go with the ASUS...i think that's the fastest P4 board out there.

 

[DDad]

I'm not so much worried about speed, Stability is Number 1. I've got to be supporting these puppies for the next 3 years. From what I've seen, however, the Asus does look like a good bet

 

[ToBeMe]

DDad......LOL! I know EXACTLY what you mean! I got contracts for 3 districts this coming year and we're building about 50 overall and ALL of them HAVE to be INTEL! I mean I don't mind it but I can't belive how biased this Grant money and Scool Districts are!

We're going with all Asus......considered the cheaper ones........but remember, we also have to sevice these things! LOL!

 

[flood]

TH7- Raid review
"To date we have tested three P4 motherboards and of the three this board has proved the be the best board."

ABIT 0wnz j00!

 

[ToBeMe]

Actually, I have the TH7 RAID on my 1.7 here at home.......it's a nice board but overall, I still like the Asus better and I'm not risking that many builds to Abits RMA record!

 

[Wingznut]

Another vote of confidence in the Asus board. The Intel D850GB is very nice too, since you won't be overclocking. Also take a look at the MSI 850 Pro. Between it and the Intel board, they are the cheapest. But the MSI includes onboard audio.

I think you'll be ok with any of the above boards.

 

[RGN]

If you want stability, go with intel. I used to build systems(~25/month), and of all the stable boards out there the intel was always like a rock. Pricing is not too bad either.

I would _NOT_ use Abit. They have some serious QC problems.

Maybe MSI, but I see no reason when the Intel boards will do what you need for about the same price. There is also the support factor, if something goes bad... intel will he easier to get help out of.

my $0.02

 

[Wingznut]

I guess I didn't exactly explain very well why I suggested the Intel board... But RGN summed up my thoughts very nicely.

 

[Degenerate]

What CPU speed u using? i'd say use a 1.5.

 

[ToBeMe]

We're building all 1.7's here.........

 

[shathal]

My 2 boards of choice for the P4 would be the ASUS P4T and the Intel D850GB ... just my faves.

Things to look out & remember:

* Install the proper software in the proper order:

Make sure you do this:

1.: Install OS (XP will be special - more on that in a bit, if you'll go with XP). DO NOT INSTALL DRIVERS at this moment.
2.: <If Windows 2000> Install Service Pack.
3.: Install Chipset driver (called &quot;INF-update&quot - can be found HERE
4.: Install Ultra-ATA storage drivers (boost performance) - can be found at the same link as the INF-driver.
5.: Make sure you're running DirectX 8 or later.

That's about the most common reasons why P4 systems perform sub-standard (well - sub my standard) because ppl don't know how to install them properly. Windows XP will include INF-drivers for the i850 chipset, so you just need the Ultra-ATA storage driver (it beats M$'s storage driver &amp; automatically enabled DMA).

Right - with that, you should be in for some nice, stable, fast systems. If you need more of a hand, give me a shout .

 

[DDad]

Thanks for all suggestions- BTW shatal- I suspect before all of this is done I'm going to be shouting.... LOL

 

[Athlon4all]

Asus P4T is da best. But for a cheaper solution, you might look into ECS's P4 board. They've always made stable, high performing, OEM boards. Intel's 850 board is probably good for your situation.

P.S. I envy u, i loved building my first PC, and now I'm itching build another but 20!?!?! *Falls over and faints*

 

[DDad]

FYI- Specs call for a 1.4- so that's what I'm going with.
Looking at the 850gb w audio &amp; Lan, beginning to suspect it'll be my best bet

Athlon4all- Faint ain't the word for it- I just wish I'd had Depends on.......

 

[Helznicht]

&quot;I've got to be supporting these puppies for the next 3 years&quot;

EWWW

I hope you budgeted for lots of bubble gum remover and replacement CD-Rom trays..

 

[DDad]

Hmmm, hadn't thought of that- may have to throw in a &quot;normal usage&quot; rider to prevent kind of BS

 

[Flat]

I would go with Intel boards for stability, QC. You dont need the Asus. Also, go with 600mhz RDRAM no need for 800.

 

[NaughtyusMaximus]

Just a quick suggestion to help your OS loads. If all the systems are going to be exactly the same (and I expect they are), set up the first system exactly how you want it and make sure its stable. Stick a CDR in there and a DOS Ghost boot disk. Make a bootable CDR ghost restore image of the computer, and use that on the rest of the systems. Be sure you don't actually load the windows Ghost program on the computer though. I'm sure you don't want to be buying lisences for that many computers...

 

[akiraxtc]

<< I would go with Intel boards for stability, QC. You dont need the Asus. Also, go with 600mhz RDRAM no need for 800. >>



Ewwww... PC600? It'll make your life miserable... go with PC800 there's not much price difference either

 

[akiraxtc]

HEhe DDad don't forget, get a tamper free case, ones that have locks on it and put intrusion detector... it'll keep those state of the art p4 and RDRAMs safe