Which mobo to get?

[ckeck]

Hey everyone, quick question...

I am running an old P3 933 w/ a Radeon 9700 Pro video card...and just got Doom 3, and it BARELY runs...not even fun to play its so choppy...

So I was thinking about getting a P4 2.8-3.2 processor w/ HT off eBay or something, but I am CLUELESS which motherboard to go with...

Could someone give me some good suggestions? I like Intel boards, but I will gladly buy another if it is good...just need to know what to look for.

Thanks in advance for all the help...

 

[SpikeyNL]

You might want to explore the reviews of, for example, http://www.anandtech.com/mb before asking questions about what to buy. Or, do you really beleive what whatever stranger tells you to buy and you'll just buy it?
Spikey

 

[ckeck]

Well, I am looking for some suggestions, then I will read the reviews on those mobos...

There are a TON of choices out there...just looking to narrow it down a bit...

 

[prometheusxls]

My philosophy to mobos is that chipset outranks all other factors. Look for the chipstet that has the features that you need. Then look for the best quality and features to price ratio. Then buy that. Remeber an Asus board with tons of nice features and addons with a crappy chipset is still crap.

 

[o1die]

I'd save your money and do the upgrade right. The athlon 64 3000 retail boxed is about $180 (monarch computers). Mwave had the chaintech nforce3 250 for $69 last time I checked. And memory prices fluctuate daily, so you'll have to check on those.

 

[ckeck]

Well, that makes sense, but I don't know which chipset works with those model P4's...thats really what I am trying to find out...then I will look at the actual boards...

And for the other poster...I am not an AMD guy, so thats out of the question...thanks though...

So guys...which chipset works best with the P4 around 2.8-3.2GHz w/ HT?

 

[trexpesto]

Frys combo deal
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1367194&enterthread=y

 

[Theslowone]

I guess what people are trying to say is what do you want it to do and what cost are you willing to pay for those features, If you want the most expensive board out then ask the question that you asked. Will it be one of the better boards? Yes. Will it be the best for your needs? Probably not.

Do you want sata, raid, sound, gigabit ethernet, overclocking ability, firewire?

I would rephrase your question to get a better answer.

 

[prometheusxls]

Theslowone is right, the correct answer to your openended question is essentially: well it depends... I am not sure that the good Gen of P4 boards is even out right now, being an AMD man myself. P4 seems to be between Gens ATM. Basicly the key question you need to answer is AGP or PCI-X?

 

[shasta66]

Try this link at PC-Media Tech forums. The second thread down is about motherboards.

http://forum.pcmech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2

 

[SpikeyNL]

Ok, asking advice/idea's first is also a good idea. In my opinion the first thing you should do is decide what you want to do with your new comp. For example, I prefer the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum but a lot of people really don't need this board for the things they want to do. So, ask yourself questions like Am I a die hard gamer? Do I only want to be able to write letters and print them? Am I a materialist and do I want the top of the bill? How importent is a computer for me? Describe it on this forum and ask people for their advice. You'll be sorry when you buy something great, the best there is, for a lot of money and then, you're only writing letters and surfing the web so now and then...

 

[o1die]

I just picked up a Fry's combo deal, with 2.8c northwood and 848p-a ecs board (only $149.99). I will use the ecs board as a spare. I'm running this cpu at 3781 (270 fsb) at 1.5 volts with an msi 865pe neo2 LS. Highest overclock I've ever achieved, using generic pc3500 memory.

 

[carlosd]

Just curiosity. Why on earth do you want to get a P4?? Such a mediocre processor.
Give me just a valid reason.