Which motherboard should I buy?

[keith8]

Which motherboard should I buy?
I plan on ordering a P4 2.53GHZ.
I would also like to know which memory I should order.

 

[yodayoda]

get an athlon XP 2400+, two sticks of Crucial PC2100 RAM, an Asus A7N8X Deluxe, and a good heatsink. overclock the sucker to FSB to 166 MHz and tell *ntel to buzz off!

 

[Sharpedge]

Yodayoda

Are you suggesting the AMD solution over the P4 because it will be better performing then the P4 or on par but a savings in the cost to perfomance ratio?

I ask this because I presently have a P3V4X with 1ghz P3 and have contemplated upgrading for too long. I like what I see on the nforce2, but also like the P4PE. I am leaning the P4 route only because the chipset has been around and maturing so it seems. Though the dual ddr on the nforce is quite tempting too.

Thank you for your response or any others that would help to make this not just a want to upgrade but a logical path as well.

Computer is used for office applications, gaming (sometimes extreme gaming), and some cad type programs.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Are you suggesting the AMD solution over the P4 because it will be better performing then the P4 or on par but a savings in the cost to perfomance ratio?

I ask this because I presently have a P3V4X with 1ghz P3 and have contemplated upgrading for too long. I like what I see on the nforce2, but also like the P4PE. I am leaning the P4 route only because the chipset has been around and maturing so it seems. Though the dual ddr on the nforce is quite tempting too.

Thank you for your response or any others that would help to make this not just a want to upgrade but a logical path as well.

Computer is used for office applications, gaming (sometimes extreme gaming), and some cad type programs.

xp 2000+ and beyond
P4 2.0 and beyond

if your choosing between these two, i'd consider these things.

1. upgradeability, what are your upgrade path requirements. will you be happy with the processor you get for 2-3 years or will you be looking to upgrade in 6 months.

If your going to upgrade your cpu w/in 6 months i'd go w/ the AMD / Nforce2 solution. If not then i'd go price.

2. Price / Performance. If your going to stay with your current processor more than 1 year, i'd go with the solution you can get for less money.

 

[o1die]

I like my p4 setup, but the asus nforce 2 board is probably the best mobo on the market right now. If you're looking for specific features on your next mobo, then for price/performance, it's hard to beat the a7n8x. The new granite bay boards are too scarce and way too expensive. I'm still waiting for sis 655. I hope sis responds to my email soon. I'd go for the 512 meg winbond case 2 pc3200. Hardcore cooling has some for $149. If you stick with the p4 setup, go for the asus p4pe or albatron px845 pev pro II.

 

[GeoffS]

Sharpedge - never ran any real benchmarks, but I have a P3V4X with a P3-1100E (non-Tualatin, 100fsb). For the DC projects I was running, my XP1600+ rigs running at 1.4GHz produced about 75% more WUs than the 1.1g Intel did. This was with comparable ram and both running Win2K Pro. The XP+ was running on an ECS K7S5A. So, cost-wise, definately the AMD route. Performance-wise, can't give you any difinitive benchmarks, but the XP solution seems to be more impressive. As far as DC projects are concerned, I've yet to hear anyone say that a P4 does well

Geoff

 

[Vette73]

I say go nForce2 board (like Abit, Epox, or Asus) and a good .13 micron Athlon XP. The nForce2 board are supposed to unlock those auto.

 

[Sharpedge]

Thank you all very much for your input.

My upgrade path has been on a 2 year cycle. In the case of my present system last year I upgraded the processor to 1ghz.

In making this upgrade no matter which way I choose P4 or AMD I would still need the following a new case and ram so that leaves the route down to the board and then the processor for it, 2.4b or XP2400. Narrowing down the board to either a P4PE or A7N8X deluxe. Whichever one I would more than likely retain it for a couple of years with minor upgrades such as video card or faster processor. So let me ask this. In one year from now, there will be faster processors available, which route is going to let one take better advantage? Will Intel release something faster but with the requirement of needing a different chipset to use? Whereas AMD will increase speed but retain present pin size to be more backwards compatable?

Again I appreciate your response, I hope I have helped by narrowing down such a broad question further.