P4 Motherboard ?

[harleyquinn]

Hi all, I'm back with more questions about PC parts. If the mods would prefer I not post these questions, please let me know and I'll then ask for people I can PM. I figured others might have the same ?s and could benifit.

I'm going to build my own PC for the first time. It'll be a slow process, buying the parts as I have the money. I'm looking into parts right now. I want an ATX motherboard that can support a P4 2.4 Ghz with 533 Mhz FSB (at least). I'd like it to have at least 6 PCI slots, an AGP slot, mouse/keyboard port, and 3 (or more) fan connectors.

Keeping in mind that I am on a limited budget and would like to spend no more than $120 on the motherboard, can anyone recommend a good one. I found some on newegg.com, I'm just not sure which are good and which aren't.

Also, what chipset should I be looking for? Anything else I should know or is there anything I listed above that I don't need or I'm leaving out? I have a book to help me, but you guys are a better source of info.

Thanks again.

IMO you can't go wrong with ABIT or ASUS. I have had outstanding results with both companies. As for which model of board, well that kind of depends on the things you want on board the motherboard. I reccomend one of their RAID mobo's. this allows you to set up 2 hard drives in such a way as they appear to be one large drive, witch results in an increase in performance since the I/O's are divided between two spindles. I am currently using the ASUS P4B533-E boards myself.

[harleyquinn]

Thanks, Magik.

Bumping this in case anyone else has some other suggestions.

Also, any opinions on what type of RAM is better? (DDR, SDRAM, etc)

[ 06-03-2003, 12:31 PM: Message edited by: harleyquinn ]

[Mouse]

Have a wander round here [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Night Stalker]

I have to echo Magik. ASUS is fantastic. All of their MoBos are very customizable. Typically fans don't factor in on the MoBo, but the case. I currently use the comercial name of the case that Alienware uses for their computers (can't remember at the moment).

Try to plan your chipset to have some updradability to it. That way you can upgrade the CPU with out getting a whole new PC.

[Cloudbringer]

Harley, we are upgrading my pc now and my honey built one for a friend. We've got ASUS motherboards and they are fantastic! I've got a 2.6 pentium with it and even Nacht is saying the motherboard is what he'd want. I think it supports up to a 3g processor and 3g of memory.

Try googlegear, we got a pretty good deal there.

[ 06-03-2003, 03:47 PM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Animal]

If I was building a P4 today, I'd grab the Intel D875PBZ motherboard. It supports the latest 800MHZ FSB P4's, Dual Channel DDR400, Serial ATA RAID, 6 USB 2.0 ports, and all kinds of other goodies. At $175US, it's a little out of your price range though, but the more you can afford to spend now, the less you have to spend later to upgrade it.

A few notes:

RDRAM seems to be a dead horse. Look for a board that supports Dual Channel DDR. Not just DDR, it has to be Dual Channel for best performance.
The Intel 850E chipset based boards are pretty decent, but they only hit a 533MHZ FSB and support RDRAM only. This chipset is at the end of its road.
6 PCI slots seems a little bit much? I'm not sure what you could possibly need 6 PCI slots for, but you'll find most boards have about 5.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. If your budget is $120 for your mobo, spend $150 instead. Cut corners somewhere else, but the motherboard isn't the place to do it.

[harleyquinn]

Originally posted by Animal: If I was building a P4 today, I'd grab the Intel D875PBZ motherboard. It supports the latest 800MHZ FSB P4's, Dual Channel DDR400, Serial ATA RAID, 6 USB 2.0 ports, and all kinds of other goodies. At $175US, it's a little out of your price range though, but the more you can afford to spend now, the less you have to spend later to upgrade it. A few notes: RDRAM seems to be a dead horse. Look for a board that supports Dual Channel DDR. Not just DDR, it has to be Dual Channel for best performance. The Intel 850E chipset based boards are pretty decent, but they only hit a 533MHZ FSB and support RDRAM only. This chipset is at the end of its road. 6 PCI slots seems a little bit much? I'm not sure what you could possibly need 6 PCI slots for, but you'll find most boards have about 5. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. If your budget is $120 for your mobo, spend $150 instead. Cut corners somewhere else, but the motherboard isn't the place to do it.

Is there a good one you can recommend for around $150? If I have a 533Mhz CPU, will I be able to use it on a 800 MHz FSB Board or do I need to get a 533/800 MHz Board (or are those both the same exact thing)?

Thanks all of you.

[harleyquinn]

Bumping to get an answer to my last question from anyone who might know

Hey Harley, I'd suggest the Asus P4G8X Deluxe GD Here are the specs.
http://www.asus.com/products/mb/sock...d/overview.htm

I think the price is right around $159.