What is the best p4 mobo (w/ DDR) for o/c'ing the 1.6A?

[bocamojo]

I've been looking about, trying to get a consensus on what the best p4 mobo is (with DDR support) for overclocking the new 1.6A northwoods. I'm getting ready to build a new system based on this chip. I'm planning to use 256MB of my current DDR stock, a pc2100 crucial stick (until I can afford a stick of kingmax pc2700). I've read different reviews on the asus, abit, epox, and MSI boards that support the p4 w/ DDR, but I still can't seem to find a real consensus. I'm looking for a board that is extremely overclock friendly (all adjustments in the BIOS, including voltage beyond 1.75v, fsb in 1mhz increments, etc), stable, and has ata100, usb 2.0, and AGP. Don't need RAID or ata133 just yet. Any and all suggestions and feedback is much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[John]

When's the last time you checked the motherboard forum?

 

[ToBeMe]

Personally, I like the SiS 645's...........especially the Asus P4S333! I just stuck a 1.6 on mine just to see what it could do since they are relatively cheap.................I set it to boot first time at 140FSB, put windows on, and away we went!!!! I'm now at 150FSB (2.4) with my XMS 2700 and so far stable as hell in XP!!!! I think the Intel boards are also pretty decent, and I also love my TH7II...................IMHO it just seems almost any board is good with these Northwoods.............I know I'm loving them!!! Hope the .13 AMD chips are just as awesome, and I'm sure they will be!

 

[jonmcc33]

I recall seeing one website use the Asus P4B266-C motherboard to overclock the 1.6A to 2.53GHz...

 

[ToBeMe]

<< I recall seeing one website use the Asus P4B266-C motherboard to overclock the 1.6A to 2.53GHz... >>


Give me another hour on this P4S333.............

 

[elekid]

p4b266-C BABY!!! ASUS!!!

 

[bocamojo]

John,
Thanks for the link. Actually, I had read that post... He was basically saying HE narrowed it down to 2 mobos, and was asking everyone to help him choose between the two. I, on the other hand, was asking for ANY mobo recommendations for the best oc'ing platform for the northwood p4 1.6. Also, even though I was asking about mobos, I don't see any problem with posting this question in the general hardware forum, since I am discussing hardware (and more people generally read/post to this forum, so I have a much better chance for receiving feedback). If you do have a link on the mobos forum that answers my post, a link would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

All,
It does seem that the Asus P4B266 is the #1 contender at this time, with a lot of hype also going to the P4S333. What about the ABIT p4 DDR board?Or EPOX? Any info or recommendations on these? Also, as an update to my earlier post, I don't need onboard sound, onboard LAN, etc. Just looking for a fast, stable board that overclocks the p4 well... Would like USB 2.0, but it's not a must. Thanks again for any input.

 

[w9design]

Asus P4B266. My 1.6A has been at 160FSB for a couple weeks now. Nice. If you're hoping for >150FSB I'd get an Intel 845-based board because the chipset runs quite a bit cooler (it's on a .18u process, the SiS is on a .25u)

 

[odog]

i'll tell you first hand when my 1.6A/P4B266-C arrives from newegg!


looking for 2.3+ outta this mobo/cpu combo.....

 

[Athlon4all]

All 3 boards ToBeMe mentioned are the top 3 IMO. But, I would encourage you to go TH7II. It when using Samsung/Corsair RDRAM, can easily hit PC1066 speeds+533fsb and as THG and Ace's Hardware have shown in the past, the P4 benefits largely from the increase to 533fsb+PC1066, the bottom line is that I'd bet a TH7II+PC1066+1.6A+533fsb will beat a similar P4B266 setup that is running at 2.4GHz+600fsb.

 

[bocamojo]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I think I've decided to go with the p4b266. I want to use my existing 256MB stick of crucial pc2100 for now (Although I will upgrade to kingmax 2700 later), so I'm not looking at an RDRAM solution (thanks for the info though athlon4all, that setup looks like it'll really smoke). I checked the cpu database at overclockers.com, and it looks like there is a setup with the p4b266 and crucial pc2100, at 1.85v that overclocks very well (I think it's with standard HSF too). Also, the fact that this board has usb 2.0 and ata100, which were both in my original requirements list, is important. Also, nice onboard sound (although I probably won't use it). BTW, I don't have anything against the ecs boards, I'm just getting the feeling that the ASUS board is worth the extra money, with the stability and oc'ing capabilities it presents (in fact, I have an ECS k7s5a w/ 1.33 TB, and I love it, but not oc'ing at all).

 

[Pauli]

I have just set up a 1.6A with the MSI 845 Ultra ARU and set it to a 133Mhz bus at default voltage and everything is great so far. I tried to up the bus speed to 140 without voltage adjustment but got blue screens. All the other drivers installed smoothly (USB 2.0, CMedia sound, Intel Accelerator) and I am looking forward to seeing just how far this baby can go! You can't go wrong with ASUS, though I've always liked MSI because they seem just as stable and have the same features for less cash. The 845 Ultra just doesn't seem to be very popular for the 1.6A. I can't figure it out, because MSI has always been great for overclocking features. I don't think it has the 3:4 and 4:3 bus multipliers that the ASUS has, though. Maybe that is why everyone is jumping on the P4B266 wagon...