Why i chose the P4PE for my new rig..am i correct

I talk to a few buddies online that build computers for a living and i was going to get the ausus p48x(i think thats what it's called) but because i've heard it's unstable and the fact that one of the guys strongly recomended i choose a board with an intel chipset...i changed my mind.

So now that i was back at square one i decided to check the CPU data base (overclockers.com) and see what mobo popped up most. And from what i could tell the P4PE is the choice board comming from ausus right now.

I dont exactly have to get an ausus board but this one has everything i want except for an 8x agp.

I know the new geforce FX cards are going to be expensive, but my buddie is (rich first of all) spending about 10 grand on his new basment (computers tv's etc) and said he'd buy me the card.

I'm not quiet so rich and i'm wondering if the P4PE's 4xAGP will reduce the performance of the FX. Obviously it wont be quiet as fafst, but i'm also told that as of right now the 8x cards only access that "potential" every once in a while.

So basicly my question is...is it as stable as people make it sound, and if i'm gonig to be getting an FX card, should i get a mobo with 8x AGP

Well, no product is perfect, but the P4PE is as good a motherboard as you can get. The only truly flawed aspect to it is it tends to supply a bit more CPU voltage to the CPU than it is set for, but this is of little concern. We typically want to raise the voltage anyway, so no big deal there.

I have used the P4PE and I like it a lot. The basic version is fairly affordable, and the middle grade adds features like Gigabit ethernet instead of 10/100, dual firewire ports, and the promise IDE RAID/SATA chip. This model is referred to as the P4PE/L/E.

AGP 8X is nothing to worry about. The concept of AGP was supposed to be that it would allow the video card to borrow some of system memory for use as texture memory. Since ram has gotten very cheap this is not a concern. Local memory on video cards of 64-128MB gives us enough texture storage that we don't need to borrow any from the system memory. And if we do the performance is so impacted that the frame rate slows to a crawl, regardless of the AGP rate we borrow it at. It's still an order of magnitude slower than the local memory on the card.

AGP 8X also gives the video card a higher bandwidth bus with which to communicate with the system, but AGP 4X is fast enough for the amount of data that needs to pass the bus, and the rate at which current (and even near future) video cards can process it. Since the bus speed is not the limiting factor at AGP 4X, increasing it via AGP 8X brings basically no benefit. Even if we slow the bus to the AGP 2X spec, the measured performance loss is tiny.

Some are enthralled by the notion of having an 8 to throw around rather than a 4 when speaking of their computer, but I myself believe there is no elegant solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

As i stated in the PM i sent you...you are my new hero.

My friend was telling me the same thing pretty much, so now that i've heard two people telling me the same exact thing i'm really not worried about it.

I do have a question about the onboard sound. It says it supports 6.1 surround sound. But i dont know if that means it has everything i need to plug in my logitech 4.1 system (that i'll be getting with my new puter ) then again i dont know what the setup is on the speakers....i would imgaine there is a left, a right, and a woofer. Maybe i'm wrong tho

timmyqwest, which version of the P4PE are you getting. I am trying to decide between some of the Asus versions. I really think I might go for the cheaper version since I won't need the extras for now. Plus, I believe I can add things later if I need them.

Oh yah, larva is great, isn't he? YUP!

EmTSea19 said:

timmyqwest, which version of the P4PE are you getting. I am trying to decide between some of the Asus versions. I really think I might go for the cheaper version since I won't need the extras for now. Plus, I believe I can add things later if I need them.

Oh yah, larva is great, isn't he? YUP!

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P4PE/R/GBL/F/SATA

I have the same board, and it is good. I have finally got the part I needed to go RAID 0, I'll let you klnow how it works.................but the voltages, and heat, yes, get a better heatsink, as the CPU does get a little hot, and DONT trust the ASUS temp thig, called the probe, as it is not to be trusted.
clocked out now to 3.09

Are the temps high only if you overclock? If I don't plan on overclocking with my 2.53 processor and the heatsink and fan it came with, it should be fine, right?

EmTSea19 said:

Are the temps high only if you overclock? If I don't plan on overclocking with my 2.53 processor and the heatsink and fan it came with, it should be fine, right?

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You should be fine. I'm currently overclocking my 2.53 to 2.85 and everything is at default. The vcore and the memory voltages. I'm also using the heat sink stock. I might get a new heat sink when summer gets near.
Mike

Good, cause I have my computer on a lot, and I don't want heat to be an issue with the stock sink. I will probably be using default also.

Two questions:

1) I am not currently using RAID and not sure I ever will. Should I get a Motherboard with out it, or should I get one with all the bells and whistles? If I do get RAID, do I have to disable or delete it, and if so, how do I get it back if I need it?

What brand is the best P4PE out there? I have been reading that the Asus might be having some cold boot problems? I am a little worried about this.

EmTSea19 said:

Good, cause I have my computer on a lot, and I don't want heat to be an issue with the stock sink. I will probably be using default also.

Two questions:

1) I am not currently using RAID and not sure I ever will. Should I get a Motherboard with out it, or should I get one with all the bells and whistles? If I do get RAID, do I have to disable or delete it, and if so, how do I get it back if I need it?

What brand is the best P4PE out there? I have been reading that the Asus might be having some cold boot problems? I am a little worried about this.

Click to expand...

It's your chose what to get. Personlly, I decided to get the P4PE/L without raid because I now I'll never need it. When I had a Gigabyte motherboard with Raid, I was able to disable it by a jumper on the board. However, I have no clue how disable raid on the Asus since it's jumper free. In addition, if you get one without raid, you can always buy raid and add it. A lot of people on overclockers recommended P4PE so I got one. So far so good.

Mike

Hey trikotret, I am leaning towards the basic P4PE versions too. They are cheaper, and why should I get a board with features I won't use? The lower price will allow me to upgrade to a more feauture rich board if I ever decide I need to. Plus, I won't have extra problems from features I don't use. I mean the more stuff you have on the board, the more stuff that can go wrong, right?

I am even thinking of buying the inexpensive Intel D845PESVL, it's only $112.00. I don't know anything about Intel boards, so I am going to do a little research first.

I just want a solid, inexpensive, Pentium 4 board that will support my 2.53 CPU, at least 2700 DDR Ram, good graphics card, front USB ports, and work great.

I know I am getting some things for my system that I want and don't NEED, but I don't want to go overboard on everything.

on asus p4pe, is there any memory issue if ever you use 2 sticks of ddr333, is it true that it will run as ddr266? does having a 1gb of memory will somewhat slow down the memory speed?

lewell said:

on asus p4pe, is there any memory issue if ever you use 2 sticks of ddr333, is it true that it will run as ddr266? does having a 1gb of memory will somewhat slow down the memory speed?

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I didn't hear of any problems but I have 2 sticks of crucial 266ddr and they are overclocked at 300mhz.

Mike

leathersmt, I was under the impression that in order to run RAID 0 or 1 you have to use a standard IDE ATA133 drive as master, and then two SATA drives in the RAID array, but maybe that was my P4S8X. Check the manual, unless you got your hands on SATA, in which case I am extremely envious.

" I have finally got the part I needed to go RAID 0, I'll let you klnow how it works"

I would guess that by this he means he got a serial ATA to parallel ATA adapter that allows him to hook current HDD's to his serial ATA bus. There are several models available but they all appear to be very very similar, and most seem to run about $35.

Edit: And if you want to do RAID on the P4PE, you will either have to have a converter or at least one serial ATA drive. I was somewhat disappointed myself when I couldn't run RAID 0 on 2 parallel ATA drives. Guess I'll just have a wait 3 months or so and hope the serial ATA drives aren't rediculously overpriced.

EmTSea19:

An Intel mobo is an even better choice than the Asus board if all you're going to do to is run stock speed only.

Ive owned alot of boards and the P4PE is hands down the best.

3 Flaws. Voltage, soundmax needs more volume, and the dreaded Asus temp readings.

caboob, why is the Intel a better board if I don't plan to overclock? What features are better? Does anyone else agree with this? Will an Intel board be better than an Asus board?