Intel or Via

[Condorstrike]

Hello I need some help I need a new mobo for my new 2.4 and I cant chose between the I845pe chipset or the p4x400. Which is better?
"I was thinking of the Soyo-p4i845pe v1.0"
but I'm confused as to what chipset I should go with and the overclockability and stability differences between the two.

Think of it as a poll... Thanks...

[gustav]

what will the computer be used for? if its just a folding/seti rig then i guess it wouldnt matter much...but if its for something else, consider the 865PE...it offers so much more, such as dual channel memory...you can get a cheap abit board with it for $80 or less

[deathstar13]

id take almost any 865/875 intel chipset over the via if your ocing.
second is the sis chipsets.
if not the via's arent bad but not taking intel for a ride.

[theflyingrat]

Well, if you absolutely have to get an older single-channel chipset, then definitely the i845PE. Decent chipset, really, with some good OCing headroom for the 533FSB series P4s. If you have concerns about performance or 800FSB support, though, definitely look into the Intel i865PE instead.

Which 2.4 are you looking at using? The B, C, or A?

[Condorstrike]

This is gonna be a working and gaming rig and the cpu is a sucky 533/512cache b-steeping but is sufficient for it's purpose. And overclock it to 3.0-3.2 with air if possible.

How about the biostar-mobo 845 with 800Mhz Fsb HT.

Is there a adifference in memory bandwith when it comes to the
i845:333Mhz memory & p4x400:400Mhz memory?

[Dylruss]

The reason why I got the board I did is because it was cheap. Found out after that their was a reason, no overclockability....DOH! But at least it has the i865PE chipset that is excellent in features, I recommend it or the i875.

[theflyingrat]

Again, I know I'm drifting off topic a little bit, but is there any particular reason why you're so set on an i845PE or P4X400? They're essentially inferior chipsets in the face of what's available for only a few bucks more... not to mention neither Soyo nor Biostar are very highly regarded anymore... Soyo for their buggy BIOSes and Biostar for their poor quality control. Were you being offered these boards for extremely cheap or something? And to stay on topic, the i845PE with DDR333 would be roughly equivalent to the DDR400 on the P4X400. The difference would be imperceptable.

For cheap motherboards,
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-157-027&depa=1
Good, fast dual-channel chipset (SiS 655FX) and even a few tweaking options for a mere $50. Asrock is the budget-oriented subsidiary of Asus, whom still makes some top-notch motherboards.

For $25 more, Albatron (whose products I've enjoyed quite a bit,) offers a decent i865PE board.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-170-109&depa=1

And many of the 2.4b P4s had quite a bit of OCing headroom on them, so "sucky" is hardly the word I'd use. I could think of much worse in the way of CPUs to have around.

Biostar 845 board with 800FSB? I'm not aware of any 845 boards of officially supporting an 800FSB. And the hyperthreading wouldn't matter, anyway, except for future upgrades. The 2.4b does not come with hyperthreading at all.

[Condorstrike]

Sorry I ment to say the biostar with p4vtb with the pt800 chipset, not the I845; and I know the 2.4's aren't HT, I just want HT for future upgrades and as for the 2.4 being sucky I ment the B-stepping which is not the best 2.4 around.
Besides I'm not looking for the latest chipset around as this is not my main rig I so I don't want to spend $100+ on a Mobo for a secondary rig...
Any more imput is apprecieted, please... :D

[gustav]

I'd still say go with the 865PE chipset. It offers dual channel along with other features. Some people go with Intel purely for their superior chipsets. Personally, getting a p4 board with a Via, SiS, or outdated Intel chipset would be a waste of money. Your chances of getting 3.0-3.2 would be better with the 865PE board IMO. Though I don't know how well a SiS chipset would fair when it comes to overclocking, I do know is Via isn't good for it. If its for gaming, dual channel would be best IMO, though the cpu and video card are more important, bandwidth is still needed for more current games. It would be well worth your money to spend $80 on a Abit 865PE mobo at newegg. It only has 2xdimm slots but that should be enough. 4xdimm slots would only be beneficial on such a board if you plan to use all of them as using 3xdimm slots would defeat the purpose of dual channel. There are also cheaper Shuttle, Albatron, and Chaintech along with other motherboards with the same chipset at newegg, though I don't know how good they are compared to Abit and Asus (the two best motherboard manufactures IMO, at least for their mid-high to top of the line range).

[Condorstrike]

Very informative Gustav, thanks
I personally love Asus and I'm pretty much convinced on the idea of going for the 865pe and regarding memory bandwith I personally never go above 1Gig so two slots is fine by me.

The thing is I live close to Tigerdirect and I get better deals going in person than shopping through them online, but they don't hold as much Mobo merchandise as NewEgg. I'll go tomorrow and see what they have and if not I'll just order it from NewEgg. Thanks...

If anyone has different Mobo Companies in mind please let me know. Thanks.