old, new and upcoming chipsets...

okie, just last week, there were so many threads saying how good of an OCing mobo the abit BE7 or BH7 or the IT7 Max v2 was.. that they were probably the best OCing mobos around. now, the last few days, there are so many threads raving about how good the new Gigabyte 8SQ800's are and how the 8INXP's are good. So just how much better are these new chipsets anyway?

so, i'd like to get some comments and suggestions on which would be a better choice to go with:
a) the new Gigabyte granite bay chipset mobos
b) the new Gigabyte Sis655 chipset mobos
c) one of the old Abit mobos

plz give a few reasons too thnx.
I'm planning to get the computer built during easter and i don't think the canterwoods will be available in canada by then. also, the current benchmarks of the canterwoods don't look too convincing... but if u feel that a canterwood would be better than the above 3 choices, plz give some reasons as well. I'm planning to stick a 2.4B into this system btw

wait 1-2 months and the new boards will be out.
plus Intel should be doing a prive drop in early may

elva lover said:

okie, just last week, there were so many threads saying how good of an OCing mobo the abit BE7 or BH7 or the IT7 Max v2 was.. that they were probably the best OCing mobos around. now, the last few days, there are so many threads raving about how good the new Gigabyte 8SQ800's are and how the 8INXP's are good. So just how much better are these new chipsets anyway?

so, i'd like to get some comments and suggestions on which would be a better choice to go with:
a) the new Gigabyte granite bay chipset mobos
b) the new Gigabyte Sis655 chipset mobos
c) one of the old Abit mobos

plz give a few reasons too thnx.
I'm planning to get the computer built during easter and i don't think the canterwoods will be available in canada by then. also, the current benchmarks of the canterwoods don't look too convincing... but if u feel that a canterwood would be better than the above 3 choices, plz give some reasons as well. I'm planning to stick a 2.4B into this system btw

Click to expand...

These are some really good questions, which I'm going to answer by asking a couple of more questions.

Here goes: How often do you do a board and CPU upgrade? And, is price or performance your first priority?

There is a difference between the performance of the 845PE and Granite Bay/SiS 655 boards, and there will certainly be another level added when the "Canterdale" boards ship in late May or early June. If you upgrade often and want performance at any cost, then I'd recommend waiting for the Canterdale's and Northwood C P4's.

At the other end of the spectrum, if you are building a system that is going to last for a couple of years (or longer) there isn't enough of a performance boost in the upcoming boards and procs to justify waiting. Or passing over the well-proven P4/533 and 845PE combo as it moves into value pricing territory. A 2.4B and good 845PE board has the kind of bang for the buck right now that I don't think we'll see with the newer hardware until the end of 2003 at the earliest.

Decide where you fit in that range and choose accordingly.




BHD

well.. this is my cousin's new computer. i'm guessing he wouldn't upgrade it for a few years. So he'd prolly want to get as good a comp as he can for the budget he has so it can last longer before becoming unuseable. somehow, i need to balance performance and price.

the problem i am faced with is this:
a)The gigabyte S8Q800, S8Q800 Ultra and the ABIT BE7, BE7 RAID are about the same price. (150, 199, 167, 187 respectively)

b)the IT7 Max V2 is about the same price as a 8INXP ($255 and $293 respectively)

i kept hearing how the IT7 Max V2 is the king of OC and how BE7 is also very good. now, i'm hearing that the S8Q800 is very good for OC. so does the S8Q800 outperform the BE7 and/or the IT7 Max V2? or does the BE7 or IT7 Max V2 outperform the S8Q800 and the 8INXP?

such a confusing period right now, with all these chipsets all within such a short period of time

It is hard to choose, but I think its possible to put a lot more stress on yourself than the question deserves.

The motherboard is, of course, an important component in an overclocking rig. But what are the differences between the best overclocking 845PE board and its counterparts from the 655 and Granite Bay camps, if all systems are equipped with equally good memory and processors?

The answer to that question is, not a whole lot. The Granite Bay's are reporting the highest overclocking speeds. I've seen a couple of credible claims of topping 200MHz. By comparison, a very good 845PE setup will get 170-175 without cranking the voltage through the roof.

Now lets put that difference in real money. The fastest reputable report I've heard for a 2.4B (C1) on an 845PE board is just under 3.2 gig. The best reliable score I've heard for a GB is 3.5GHz. That's not a big difference in clock speeds. You'll barely notice the difference in application performance, if you can see it at all.

If you are looking for the biggest overclock, that's fine. But getting it is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. Consider, you're trying to find the best overclocking board for a 2.4B. But a month after you put this rig together, Intel is scheduled to release the 800MHz FSB 2.4GHz Northwood C. That's a multiplier of 12, and if the high multiplier of the previous P4's has been the roadblock some believe, the 2.4C should fix it. (And if the Canterdale boards overclock as well as the current boards. That is not guaranteed.) So your ultimate overclocking rig could be obsolete a month after you build it. See what I mean by trying to nail Jell-O to the wall?

I'm an oldschool overclocker. I don't care so much about having the fastest system. I want the bang for the buck. If I was in your spot, I'd put together a rig with a Albatron 845PE board (great overclocker, very reliable and cheap), a C1 2.4B and a stick of Corsair XMS2700LL. For less than $500 you can have the foundation of a system that has a very, very good chance at running over three gig.




BHD

icic thnx.. i guess i'll hafta think about this a bit more and take into account what is available in my area.

I am waiting until I find out what the Intel 865 chipset is going to offer when it comes to extras.

I was told I should have one of the new 3GHz chips and a D865PERLK board by the end of May.
*Finger Crossed*