Need advice on a motherboard..

[WhiteHawk]

Gonna build a system.  Ive been looking at intel MOBO's.
 I see the 845GL looks pretty good for 99.00 bucks.
  I also see the 865glc looks damm good.  Is it $199?  no.  Is it $299?  no.  is it $999?  yes:eek: .
  Whats the best gaming MOBO I can get for $400 or less?

[Kaz]

One of many sites you can check

http://www.tomshardwareguide.com

[pugsly]

Get the abit IC7max3 225.00 at http://www.newegg.com

[WhiteHawk]

Well, my intitial componants will be...
ASUS p4p800 MOBO.........$200
P4 2.8 gHz, 533 FSB cpu...$400
512 MB DDR 400 RAM........$140

Sound card budget of ......$200
AGP card budget of...........$300
Hard Drive budget of ........$150

All other components can be scavanged from my old puter,
Total budget with software and stuff is $2000.00.

That doesnt include the divorce attourney, alimony, child support, etc.

Question, which is more useful for gaming..2.8 gHz with a 533FSB or 2.4gHz with a 800 FSB?

[pugsly]

Why get a CPU that only 533FSB?
When you can get a P4 2.4 800FSB for 160.00
I got mine over clocked to 3.7 it's a great little cpu.
And with that MB you will be able to Overclock like a wildman.

[pugsly]

I would go with the bigger FSB if I where you.
more bandwidth is allways better.

[WhiteHawk]

yea..thnx..I was wondering about that.

[BB Gun]

ummm - why spend $200.00 on a sound card?

Roll some of that money into processor, or RAM or Video Card.

No way you need a $200.00 M-Audio or SB Extigy type card for gaming.  At least, IMO.  The Asus ADI 1985 soundMAX is some pretty good s-h-*-t, and is the difference really worth 200 bucks?

Where are you paying 200 bucks for a P4P800?  Those look like Canuckian prices - but you're in Missouri?

http://www.newegg.com: p4p800 deluxe - $133.00  

Chuck the sound card, grab a Radeon 9800Pro and a gigabyte of RAM PC3200 - Kingston HyperX or Mushkin black is 125 buck per 512 stick at Newegg.  And go with the 2.4 at 800 FSB.

BB

[pugsly]

Also If you go with the Abit IC7MAX3 motherboard It has a good onboard Lan and sound.
Saves you some money right there.

[WhiteHawk]

Ok..hows this combo look?

Abit IT7-MAX2 -
Intel 3.06GHz B HyperThread -
512MB PC2700 DDR  for $666.00?


or this...

MSI K7N2-DELTA-ILSR -
AMD 3200+ -
CORSAIR MATCHED 1GB DDR
for $993


OK..after further shopping

IC7 MAX3..               ........$220
Intel P4 2.6  
512k   800FSB..               $207
Mushkin pc3500  DDR......$186
   2X256
GfTi4200..................... ......Already own it
Sound.....................Use MOBO sound

That leaves a good budget buffer for software and other accessories.  I will add RAM on after system up and running to 1 GIG.  I may be able to go with the 3.06 GHz processor for 330

[BB Gun]

IMO - get a new vid card.  While the GF4 4200 is not bad - when are you going to be able to spend money on the computer again?  Bite off the whole enchilada now.  

I see by the last system specs you posted, you realized the incremental MHz gain costs way too much as you climb the scale.

example:  2.6C GHz 800FSB PIV is 198.00, while a 3.06 is 379.00 (at newegg)

Is 0.46 GHz really worth an additional 201 bucks?

Or,  Athlon Barton 2600 is 98 bucks while the Barton 3200 is 445.00 (newegg again) - is  0.6 pseudo-GHz worth 347 bucks?

IMO, NO - better to spend the differential on a Radeon 9700Pro or 9800Pro.  Your current Vid card will be choking your new system.  Not to mention that its not DX9 compliant, and I *think* AH2 will be DX9 game?

512 MB memory is a decent compromise for now, and nothing's easier to add to a system (and reasonably cheaply!) than RAM.

BTW - what size hard drive?

BB

[Kaz]

For intel, 800MHz FSB cpu's have more life left in them than 533MHz.
Not much room for upgrading with 533MHz FSB.

[WhiteHawk]

Hard drive is the next thing on the list.  Gonna due some cyber shopping.  
  As far as the vid card, I am definatley going to get a new one.  But that will be the last Component.   Depending on how much $ I have left.  If I have to I will settle for the ti4200 for a short while.

What do I look for in a hard drive, just space and rpm's. ?
I can get a 120GB, 7200RPM, 2MB cache for $102.  Or virtually the same for $71 except 80GB.That seems to be anything I ever need.  Yea, I dont need any speed searches for massive files or anything.

I prolly ought to get a case first, my old compaq case dont look like it'll fit anything in there.  What is a good cheap, standard, case?

[BB Gun]

45 bucks:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-150-049

42 bucks:  
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-150-014
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-150-044

35 bucks:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-150-028
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-150-015

Essentially all the same case, with different colors/front bezels.

Almost all the maxtop line uses the same internals but different facias and colors.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?DEPA=1&submit=manufactory&catalog=7&manufactory=1524&description=&page=1

The reason I like them, is they're cheap, the PSU is acceptable, and it has a removable motherboard tray, which greatly eases system building.

I have built 4 PCs with some version of the cases above over the past year (not all of them mine!), and know of 3 others who used them as well.  NO complaints so far.

The only drawback to the case are twofold:
1) sharp edges around the motherboard interface plate, and sharp edges on the drive cutouts - but those are the ONLY sharp edges.  Everything else has rolled edges.
2) the vents in the front of the case are too small.  there's no point in putting a fan in the front lower mounting bracket.  But with the top blowhole and side fan, you don't really need the front fan.

here's an image of my case right after I build the system 6 months ago - I used the black windowed version, along with some ricer accessories :



BB

[WhiteHawk]

that looks prety cool.  thnx