Intel Motherboards? Newbie to Intel again :(

NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
edited November 2003 in Hardware
Well... For the past 2 years I've been using AMD and I think after reading many reviews about the end of the Athlon XP I would like to switch back to Intel.

I would like to go with the P4 3.06Ghz but I don't really know who makes good Intel boards... Ive read a couple reviews on the Abit and ASUS boards and to me they both look decent.

Also.. with this CPU would I just use PC3200 or would PC3500 be any better? I have heard good things about both Corsair and Kingston Hyper X... I will prolly try some overclocking with this machine but not major.. Which ram will be better for stable overclocking?

Any comments welcome :)

If you could leave links for good reviews that would be good too :D

Comments

  • TheSourceTheSource
    edited November 2003
    where are these reviews that the athlon xp is dying?
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    I read one at Toms Hardware Guide. Just said that the Athlon XP has no where else to go...
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Athlon 64 ;)
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited November 2003
    first off i agree with black hawk

    second
    the best P4 motherboards for your money are probably the springdale boards, I.E. the Abit IS7-G and the ASUS P4P800. however, if you want to toss P5 compatibility in there, go ahead and dish out the dough for the P4C800-E.

    on the topic of the CPU you chose, the 3.06 is a bad idea. why? because its a 533 fsb part, which makes no sense. either get a 3.0c (which is actually faster) or even a 2.8c (which in many cases is also faster)

    for the ram, pc3500 never hurts. at the very least, it means you can run tighter timings at pc3200 which is 200 fsb.

    hope that helps
  • BobyJoBobyJo N C Texas
    edited November 2003
    If you want the best performing and most stable Intel chipset mobo.
    I suggest the Abit top end line as well as the Asus top line.
    I have the Abit IC7-Max3, this mobo is a bit expensive ($200.00+)
    but well worth the $$.
    This is the easiest OC'ing board and the most stable system I have had the pleasure of owning.
    The Asus P4C800-e is supposed to go head to head with the IC7-Max3, but the reviews do not show this to be true.
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    Ok.. Let me read through all this lol..

    When you say the 3.06Ghz is a 533 Part... What did you mean? I probably failed to state that I was looking at the 3.0Ghz 800FSB chip which I guess is not 3.0'6'Ghz. The specific ASUS board I was looking at was the P4P800 Deluxe. I would really like an Abit board but I don't think I will be able to spend that much on a motherboard we'll see tho.

    If the PC3500 ram would be better I could probably get that because its not that much of a price jump for the same amount.

    I have heard that the Corsair is the best PC3200 ram for the ASUS board. Is this true or would Kingston or another brand be better to go with? ... If I were going to get the Abit IC7-Max 3... What would be good ram?

    ...Edit! Again! To add... BH, I would kill to own an Athlon 64 system but thats way out of the price range for a birthday/christmas gift :\ (My bday is christmas eve lol, I can get 1 big thing :) )
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I beleive you are looking in the right direction as far as the mobo is concerned, just get the one that fits your budget. All of the boards mentioned support the same brands of memory pretty close and I don't see where one board will benefit one brand any diferently than another. I would recomend Corsair XMS, Kingston Hyper-X and Mushkin Level-II all in PC3500. I will recomend the P-4 2.8/ 800fsb part for the CPU as it will allow more headroom for overclocking due to it's lower multiplier. There a lot of people getting 3.5+ on these with good cooling. For cooling I would recomend either a Thermalright SP-94 or a Thermalright SLK-947U and a good 80mm or 92mm fan with at least 60 CFM.

    Maybe you will get lucky enough for the A64's to drop in price enough by that time to get at least the A64-3200 as the FX53's will be released by then. ;)
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    On my Excel computer spreadsheet list thing :) I have the following...

    From ZipZoomFly (GoogleGear) They have Free 2nd Day hehe.

    Intel P4 3.0Ghz 800FSB for 274.00
    Abit IC7-Max3 for 210
    2x 256Mb Corsair XMS PC3500C2PT for 75 each

    Then from Newegg
    ThermalTake Smart Fan 2...
    Thermalright SP-94

    Prolly in January or there abouts I think I'll buy one of those GeForce FX 5700 Ultra cards as they look quite good for the price!
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Is that extra 200MHz really worth $70.00? Along with not having as much O/C potential? If you O/C a 2.8 to 3.5 and a 3.0 to 3.5 which do you think will be the better performer? I really hope you are saying the 2.8 because of the higher bus speed.

    With what you save you will be able to go from that FX5700 to a R9800 Pro and be king of the heap! :)
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    Yeah... Ive been reading more and doing more looking around. I think I may buy a 2.8Ghz one for 214 and get Corsair TWINXMS 1Gb... (which is PC3200C2)
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I would stick with the PC3500 memory. You will need it for the fsb's you will be able to reach with what you are building. FSB's of 250 (500 DDR) are common and PC3200 is only rated for 200 but generally good for a bit more, still not the territory you will be headed for. ;)
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    Is there a real advantage to this "TWINXMS" stuff? Or is it just that they test them together??.. If thats the case then it must not matter and I will for sure get PC3500. Another question... Is 1Gb worth the extra $100?
  • BobyJoBobyJo N C Texas
    edited November 2003
    I purchased the P4 C 3.0ghz x 800 fsb cpu simply because I wanted a cpu in the 3.0ghz range and I did not want to have to rely on OC'ing in order to get there. The rig I have will OC to 3.7 ghz but I just do not run the cpu at those speeds over a long haul. I do not want to burn out the cpu, even though the cpu's have dropped a lot from the $394.00 I paid for mine. I still belive the IC7-Max3 is the best mobo to be had. If you will read through the Abit threads and the Asus threads you will understand what I am talking about. Each of us can do what we want, one takes a 2.4 C processor and runs it at 3.0ghz speeds. That is perfectly good if that is what a person wants. I wanted to have a cpu that will run at 3.0ghz or higher, but I did not want to have to rely on OC'ing in order to get there. This is the most wonderful way of thinking in this country. Just remember the "C" line of P4's are the only ones to get. (2.4's-3.2's) You can't go wrong that way.
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    Thanks... I have a bit over a month to decided what I really want. 3Ghz or 2.8...

    About how much do you guys think I would be able to overclock with the TT Smart Fan 2 and Thermalright SP94? +AS3 :)
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited November 2003
    a lot

    depends on the CPU though
    and admittedly also the board, although that IC7-MAX3 shouldn't be a limiting factor
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    You would be able to buy two individual sticks of memory but when you buy the twin packs they have already tested them together. All O/C'ing is truely dependant on the individual chip. Every one has it's own personality so to speak. Running 2x512 sticks of ram will not O/C quite as well as 2x256 sticks as the larger sticks will have a much higher demand on the voltage and bus systems. But the 2x512 will allow windows, newer games and things like photoshop to rum much more smoothly.
  • NeoFXNeoFX Utah, US of A
    edited November 2003
    Well.. Im a big gamer and I realize the demand of some of the new games but 512Mb of PC3500 should work for quite awhile...

    My system now can run Photoshop CS and 3dsm5 just fine so I don't really see much of a reason for 1Gb now :)

    I was thinking that the larger the sticks the less overclock I will get... Guess I was right, thanks for the answer :)
  • BobyJoBobyJo N C Texas
    edited November 2003
    If you are using a nF2 or nF3 mobo, the memory must be the same latency or the system will not perform as well as expected. These i875P mobo's work well even with mix and match different brands as long as they are the same speed.
    I run 2x256 mb of Crucial memory and 2x256 mb of Samsung, all memory is PC3200 the Crucial is CL2.5 the Samsung is CL3.0.
    I have no problems with running this memory in my mobo. I have the settings set to AUTO or SPD whatever is the default.
    I understand I can OC higher if I had PC3500 or PC4000.
    I can OC to 3700mhz with the memory I have.
    I could probably go to 4.0 if I had the better speed memory. Maybe some day, I will get the PC4000 and see how it does with that.
    All is well, so I am running the system like it is for now.
  • yaggayagga Havn't you heard? ... New
    edited November 2003
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  • Red-SquirrelRed-Squirrel Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2003
    The thing to watch with intel boards is little tricks. I ran into a computer (comcrap) that had an intel motherboard that had an AGP slot, but it turns out it was not supported by the actual board. The slot was there, but not "connected" anywhere. So don't judge the box by it's cover, it may show a component, but it does not mean it works. :( Another reason I stay away from Intel now. Other reason is that it's much cheaper to go with AMD. (unless you're looking at the new 64 chip)
  • yaggayagga Havn't you heard? ... New
    edited November 2003
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