Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: AKDejaVu on March 03, 2002, 09:56:03 AM
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I'm ordering a P4-2.2Ghz tomorrow (that's not up for discussion)... and am wanting some advice on motherboards.
I've heard good things about the Sis-645 stuff... but that was some time ago. I've also heard good things about the NVidia chipsets, but most of that was in relation to AMD processors.
Any advice/experiences would be apreciated.
Oh yea... and I was planning on getting an N4-Ti4400 video card when it is released too. I just have no idea who's card to buy.
AKDejaVu
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Deja, if that is the Northwood chip, you might want to look at the ASUS P4B266. I have built 2 systems with this motherboard and have only one issue with them. DO NOT use the onboard sound chip (C-Media).
I have had complete lockups and reboots under W2K when using the C-Media drivers from MS. Stuff a SBLive in and all is good.
When it comes to NVidia video cards, I usually stick with Hercules/Guillemont. They do not skimp on the video ram and cooling.
Hope that helps.
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I like the PNY video cards. I would make sure that there is more then one output to monitors on the card you buy. Is there some reason you aren't going to go all the way with a 4600 video card? Might as well get the top one as your processor is the "best"! :)
<------big Intel fan:)
http://www.pny.com
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Hercules no longer are associated with nVidia last I heard.
DJ Geforce 3's will be coming down in price anyday now. The GF3 Ti500 and standard GF3 are both better cards than the GF4 MX's.
o course the Gf4 Ti4600 is also an option +)
SKurj
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I've already ruled out the GeForce 4 MX as an option. It will be a Ti for sure. I just wish they'd hurry and get released/stocked somewhere.
AKDejaVu
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Really Skurj,..I just bought a Hercules Ti card for another client. Is this something new, or is it a rumor?
Would not surprise me though. NVidia is not making any friends in the industry lately. I hear MS is working on XBox2 and it will not be NVidia based.
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AKDejaVu
Any specific reason why you don't like RDRAM and lets say ASUS P4T-E ?
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The price difference between RDRAM and DDR Sdram is really slim right now. If I were building a P4 system for myself, ( ha :p ) I'd go with RDRAM. (Even though Intel is planning on dropping Rambus by the end of the year.)
If you look at the benchmarks on Tom's site with their overclocked P4 you can see that the 2.6 Ghz P4 w/ Rambus (overclocked) beats out the 3 Ghz P4 with PC2100 DDR ram. The DDR ram based system actually seems to gain very little performance as the clockspeed goes beyond a certain level, this tells you that the memory (or something else specific to that system - i845D chipset itself? ) is holding the system back.
From a performance standpoint RDRAM is the way to go, but truthfully anything you pick is fine, as long as you don't go with the "old" i845 with PC133 SDRAM. I've heard good things about the Asus P4B266 as well. (i845D)
On the video card, GF4 Ti 4400 or Ti 4600 would be my picks. I don't really have a brand preference. I can't say that I've really had a problem with any brand I've tried, as for the most part they just copy the nVidia reference design anyway. (Asus has sometimes done their own thing for their VIVO cards, but those have been solid as well. I personally have owned one of these and was happy with it.)
As for my own opinions regarding AMD vs Intel, I'm pretty neutral right now. The 2.2Ghz P4 performs well vs the XP 2000+ (virtual deadlock). The AMD processor is still cheaper, but it's not as bad as it once was. "Hammer" may decisively swing the pendulum back to AMD, but it's too soon to tell right now. I understand that being an Intel employee you probably aren't considering AMD. (There may be hope for you yet though: One of our Electrical and Computer Engineering professors here at Oregon State University now has an Athlon system in his office, even though he is a former Intel engineer who worked on the P5 and possibly on the P6 cores... ;) )
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Heya Skuzzy
I read it in passing on a review site. I can't recall which, perhaps tomshardware.
They probably haven't sold out of stock, and maybe this only applies to products after GF3..
SKurj
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i have the P4B266 cpu1800 and a asus G3 8200 with windows ME
its been working great:)
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Deja
...just say "Asus P4T-E" when ordering your motherboard. The clerk will probably answer "Ahh yes, wise young grasshoppa"
By far the most stable, uncomplicated, user friendly, very overclockable board I've ever had (and I'm a true mobo potato lol). I've used both the onboard sound, an SBLive and now a Creative Audigy Gamer...they all work fine (although I've wondered if it wasn't the AC97 onboard sound that was locking me up in AH, not sure, don't care lol).
Really dude, go with Rambus, price is not a problem at this point.
...oh, the SiS745 chipset is new. I'd give it a little field testing time before going that route (although you can save nearly $100 on the price of the motherboard with it depending on the brand, that alone makes me a little twitchy about using it). I found some benchmarks showing SiS, i850 and i845...will try to find.
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Originally posted by bloom25
..... I'd go with RDRAM. (Even though Intel is planning on dropping Rambus by the end of the year.)
Huh? Last I heard they were upping the speed of Rambus to 133 (meaning this falls P4 will be 533mgz FSB) I can't see Rambus going anywhere. :confused:
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/02q1/020225/index.html
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If you end up buying a motherboard based on the Via chipset,you should be aware that many are having problems with the Creative SBLive! and Audigy souncards.
I have a Soyo Dragon Plus,but I use the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard,and disabled the C-media onboard sound.
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Originally posted by Tumor
Originally posted by bloom25
..... I'd go with RDRAM. (Even though Intel is planning on dropping Rambus by the end of the year.)
Huh? Last I heard they were upping the speed of Rambus to 133 (meaning this falls P4 will be 533mgz FSB) I can't see Rambus going anywhere. :confused:
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/02q1/020225/index.html [/B]
http://www.ebnews.com/story/OEG20020226S0040 (http://www.ebnews.com/story/OEG20020226S0040)
This is probably the article Bloom is referring to.
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I bought the Chip and MoBo yesterday. I was trying to find an Asus locally but didn't have any luck. I ended up getting an i850 board. I also bought a 40G IBM HD (7200rpm). Oh.. and 512k of RDRAM. And a SB Live! card.
I threw it together yesterday and installed XP on it. It seems very stable. I must say that the XP install was by far and away the easiest install I've ever done. It seems that Microsoft may be getting a clue after some 6 years of futility with Windows installations;)
I'm holding off to see what Vid card prices do after the release of the N4-Ti cards.
AKDejaVu
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Oh.. I decided to go with the 2G Northwood instead of the 2.2. I just couldn't justify the additional cost.
AKDejaVu
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I forgot to add my .02 about the video.
IMHO,the Geforce III TI200 is the best bang for the buck.CompUSA has them for $150 now,and they are even cheaper online.The prices will drop even more when the Geforce IV 4600 debuts this month.
Some like the Radeon series;I personally don't.Great performer,but their driver support sucks,and some games just don't like the card.I could see through the insignia on my wings in WWIIOL,lol.
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Originally posted by AKDejaVu
I bought the Chip and MoBo yesterday. I was trying to find an Asus locally but didn't have any luck. I ended up getting an i850 board. I also bought a 40G IBM HD (7200rpm). Oh.. and 512k of RDRAM. And a SB Live! card.
Well?? Don't leave us guessing! haha. What board did you get?