Yet another "buying advice" thread...

[Cadaver]

I'm planning on upgrading my current system (AthlonXP 2000+, Gigabyte 7VRXP mobo) to something with more oomph (I have my reasons...)

I'm familiar with most Athlon-based motherboards, but I'm a Pentium/Intel newbie...
Someone please tell me if you think buying any one or more of the following items (processor, RAM, mobo) is a mistake. Please forgive the cut & paste.

-CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 256MB 32MX8 PC-3500C2 With Heat Spreader (times two for dual-channel mode)
-ASUS Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron Processors, 800Mhz FSB Model# P4C800 DELUXE Retail
-Intel Pentium 4 / 3.0GHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL

Does anyone have a better suggestion for a motherboard?

Thanx a bunch!

Edit - specify 2x256MB DIMMs

 

[ChefJoe]

You could save a lot of money getting a IS7 from Abit rather than that Asus. Are you planning on running with 512 mb of memory?

 

[Cadaver]

Thanks... I'll check out the Abit.
I'll start with 512MB for now. May move to 1GB at some point.

Edit: Do you mean the Abit IC7? Didn't find an IS7.

 

[Mikie66]

Well if you are not planning to overclock and want stabilty I would recommend INTEL 875P D875PBZLK $212.00, you will get your ICH5R and CSA with this board as well....

 

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by: Mikie66
Well if you are not planning to overclock and want stabilty I would recommend INTEL 875P D875PBZLK $212.00, you will get your ICH5R and CSA with this board as well....

Stability is of course important. Wouldn't mind playing with a bit of O/Cing, but I'm not a true hard core O/C'er. I'd probably boost the FSB a bit if i could.

 

[Mikie66]

Well according to this article the overclocking is limited... http://www.mbreview.com/cwood.php might want to check this out if you have the time!

 

[ChefJoe]

Originally posted by: Cadaver
Thanks... I'll check out the Abit.
I'll start with 512MB for now. May move to 1GB at some point.

Edit: Do you mean the Abit IC7? Didn't find an IS7.

Yes, I mean the IS7. It's the springdale/865 version. It's avail at newegg right now for $125.

 

[OverVolt]

I think with Abit you get what you pay for :Q! Just like any other company (unless you don't do your homework)

What you have right there looks good, it's my exact same setup cept cheaper ram, corsairs expensive i used samsung orig! It's sweet i get 15313 in 3DMarks2001SE, if u care about that stuff. It plays games at 1024x768+ with all eye candy flawlessly, online too.


Looks good! Hope u enjoy ur new rig !

 

[Cadaver]

Thanks for the info, OverVolt.

 

[ChefJoe]

Come now, abit's making really good boards. The only issue I can recall with their boards was that they were a big buyer for those faulty capacitors during P3 days, and they've done more than any other company as far acknowledging and fixing those boards. I agree that asus is good, but they're not leading the pack as far as feature development, and their support is slipping fast based on what I read in the forums here.

My reason for considering a non-P4C800 is that that motherboard won't have CSA implemented, it has that b*tching betty warning system, and it's going to cost $80 more than a motherboard which doesn't offer PAT (which is good for, what, 2% performance increase?) and will have a gigabit controller that you'll likely never use during its lifetime (well, I guess we should ask if you've invested in gigabit networking hardware and have two machines with such NICs). The OP didn't even specify using two memory pieces so we can only assume the PAT feature of the 875 would be used if we believe they'll be using more than 256 mb of ram.

Spending the most money on something does not make it better or trouble free. Not being the cheapest, maybe that's where the "get what you pay for" holds true, but on the high end... really not so much.

 

[AndyHui]

If you can find it, get the regular P4C800, rather than the P4C800 Deluxe. The regular board is a better buy and has a nicer selection of features at a significantly lower price.

 

[Cadaver]

Yes... sorry, I did forget to specify that I was intending to buy 2 DIMMS and use them in DCDDR mode.
Boy, I'll tell you, it seems like all the 800MHz P4 boards have some issues. The Intel board I'm sure is quite reliable, but it's a bit feature-poor for the price (no FireWire, limited sound, etc).

This is going to be a tough decision.

 

[Whitedog]

Why are you so insisting on getting an Intel system then? I mean... if you don't like the features. Are you just hung up on having the 800MHz bus and hyperthreading?

If you want nice "features" and quite a bit of Oomph... Get an Asus A7N8X Deluxe rev 2. Some nice CAS2 DDR400 and a 2100+ tbred. Run it at 400MHz mem/fsb (200x12) at 2.4GHz (easily overclock to this speed). You'll have all the features and "Oomph" you'll need. (and save yourslef 3 or 4 Hundred dollars).
I would say that setup would beat the Intel 3GHz H/T in most benchmarks.

my .02

 

[Cadaver]

I was just suggesting that for $200, the Intel mobo was lacking several features the other manufacturers offered for the same or lower price.
I'm not just hung up on 800MHz FSB or hyperthreading. But since I'm doing a major overhaul to my machine, I thought I'd go with current state of the art. While I don't mind spending $ for quality, I don't want to over-pay, either (which is why I thought the Intel mobo was too expensive for what it offers).

I do like the features of many of the P4 mobos discussed above. I just suggested with so many choices, it would be a tough decision.

 

[ArtemisFowl]

Originally posted by: Whitedog

I would say that setup would beat the Intel 3GHz H/T in most benchmarks.
my .02

Where are you reading comparative benchmarks? On the AMD site?
Whether you like it or not the Intel P4C processor rules the roost now.
Get used to it, at least this week.