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dang, too many mobos to choose from!

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guppie

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2001
Location
Miami, FL
the majority seems to lean toward an 845PE mobo (Asus or Abit), but is there any difference between these boards that makes one outshine the other? I'd like to setup a P4 2.4GHz (533FSB) system with my GF4 Ti4200, SB Live, and ATA 100 drives. I already have a PCI firewire card and I'm not looking for RAID or S-ATA. Furthermore, 8X AGP really hasn't arrived for the most part and seems to cost alot (both for mobo and new video card) - so I don't need that either.

Asus P4PE, Abit BE7, Abit BH7... So, which mobo do I get? Does it really matter? Does the Abit BE7 support Hyper-Threading? It seems as though the BH7 and P4PE are almost identical? I'd like to upgrade later on to a P4 3.0+ GHz CPU due to HT, but that won't be until they actually become affordable in another 12 months... So I'd want HT compatibility on my mobo.
 
get either teh 8INXP or SINXP from gigabyte

they seem to be two of teh most highly rated boards at teh mjoment anbd certainly they are currently teh highest type of spec you canb get with Dual DDR, Ht support etc.. They are both as fast or faster than RAMBUS chipset as well.
 
hmm.. i fi were you though id wait...

springdale boards should be out end of April and these will support current Northwoods and also 800FSB chips
 
I'm starting to split my recommendations.

If you are looking for the best value, go with an 845PE and a Northwood CPU. You can get a proc and board for $300 that will handle any game you want to throw at it for at least the next eighteen to twenty-four months.

But this set up will be old news in just a couple of months. If that is going to bother you when your buddy gets a new Canterwood rig with an 800MHz P4-or if you use heavy-duty applications that really need every MHz you can throw at it like video editing- then wait. The 865 boards are looking like they are going to have pretty good legs. If they do (and if Intel doesn't come up with a new socket form for the Prescott/P5...a big if) you can concieveably get a couple of CPU upgrades before needing to invest in a new board.

If you are a hardcore overclocker, the upcoming Northwood C give you something else to think about. By June 1 you should be able to buy an 800MHz FSB/2.4GHz P4. That's a multiplier of 12. If the 865 boards overclock anything like the GB's or 845PE's, that chip could be the heart of a monster setup.




BHD
 
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Will the Abit BH7 support 800 MHz FSB? I was over at their website and they had this advertisement claiming that with a 4 phase power solution, the BH7 (using 845PE) is primed to do 800 MHz. Is this claim realistic or just conjecture by Abit at this moment? If this sounds realistic, then how will motherboards with 3 phase power fare? Specifically, I'm referring to the SiS655 boards from Gigabyte. I'm interested in the GA-8SQ800 (the base one for $112).

What is the price going to look like on the 800 MHz FSB chips? Anyone know?
 
Papa_Legba said:
...Specifically, I'm referring to the SiS655 boards from Gigabyte. I'm interested in the GA-8SQ800 (the base one for $112)...

Damn, I didn't even know this board even existed! Just checked it out and its pretty sweet! Anyone have any experience with this one? 800MH FSB, Dual DDR400, ATA 133, 8X AGP, IEEE, 6 USB 2.0, LAN, Audio, and 2-yr mfg warranty? $120???

Is this right??? Someone please verify for me, cuz I know there has to be something wrong or misprinted or not spec'd right...

If so, then this is a "HELLUVA DEAL"!
 
I agree that it's a sweet deal. Not sure about the 800 MHz thing though, thats what I'm trying to find out! BaldHeadedDork raises a lot of valid concerns, I can wait a month or more to get what I want. It's all about value. Overclocking is the ultimate way to wring value from something, but I like to know I'm gonna have the basis to be relatively free of major upgrades for at least 1.5-2 years after I next upgrade.
 
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