What would you do right now?

Wasn't sure if this was best suited for CPUs or Motherboards since it was a little of both....CPUs got it

I am fairly new to the game and I pieced together a half new/half used setup over the last month or so (Lian PC-7, Shuttle mobo, 633 Cel @ 997, 400W PS, etc.)

My best stable O/C before this weekend was 988. I cleaned up a few things, made a few memory changes and was able to run 997 solid (shows 999.xx MHz in PCMark...does that count?) So I decided that it was time to beat the schniz out of the 1.2 Cel (Tualatin) from my daily machine.

So, taking the Volcano 7 off of the "playing around" system ...screwdriver slips...BANG! Dammit. I continue taking it off with 2 screwdrivers this time (one to push down and one to pry off of the tab), swap in the 1.2, plug it in and no post. Swapped the 633 back in...nothing. Reset the BIOS...nothing.

So now I am fairly certain that one slip of the screwdriver and I am in the market for another mobo. Now the dilemma is, is it time to go to a P4 or stick with the Cels I have for a little longer? I was planning on going P4 by the end of the year, which is why I bought a cheap 370 mobo and settled for using my old 633 to begin (and learn) with, but I have to wonder how much cheaper P4s will be in 6-8 months and if it would be worth waiting. Looking at the current P3 prices, I am not so sure. Did they keep them artificially expensive to make the P4s look cheap or what? I mean, I see 2.0As (512K/400MHz) brand new online for $200 all day long and a freaking P3 1.4 512K Tually is $310?? What's that all about?

I would like to wait until the 533MHz P4s are more affordable, but who knows how long that will take, so I am considering either a 1.8A ($166) or 2.0A ($198) in the 400MHz varieties. I apparently need a new mobo anyway, (need some recommendations on one for a P4 too in case that's the way it goes...I'd like a 400/533 so the CPU will be upgradeable later...goes without saying, but O/C friendly and of course some DDR since I only have PC133 stuff from the 370 boards.

So if you were in my shoes right now and wanted to spend $200-$300 and knew it would cost $300-$400 (CPU/mobo/DDR) to go P4...all the while keeping in my that a $60 370 board would fix it and hold you over for a few months, what would you do?

Thanks for any advice,
Ross

Edited: accidentally left the "do" out of the subject

Here's my system except for cheaper mem:

P 1.8A (currently $167 @ newegg)
Abit SD7-533 mobo (currently $83 @ newegg)
256M PC 2700 DDR333 Samsung(currently $80 @ newegg)

Prices include shipping so the total is - $330

Sub the 1.6A for the 1.8A and you're down to $299

Both prices are in your ballpark. Right now my 1.8 is running at 2.52. So far I really like the Abit board. It was easy to set up and seems to handle the oc well plus the easy bios is a no brainer when setting everything up. The only thing I could say bad about the board is the placement of the power supply attachment. With a little electrical tape and a cable tie though, you can get the wires away from the exhaust fan. Part of the reason I bought the board was the fact that it should support the next generation of 533Mhz P IV's. Hope this helps.

badvector--

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah, I would probably go for the 1.8A minimum if I were to switch right now....there are a couple of new boxed 2.0As going for ~$150 on auctions too, so that's always an option.

I have never used an Abit board (few ASUS and the Shuttle), but have looked into the Epox 4G4A and Abit BG7 when the P4 question came up. The SD7 looks good too. Is that the 645DX/961B or plain old 645/961? That's the other dilemma...SiS, Intel, or VIA?

I started looking around yesterday and while I've seen the 645DX bench a tad higher than the 845E, I am not convinced which one is better overall...and being new to the game, I am not particularly loyal to any chipset and my experience so far is only with 810/815 and VIA 694T/686B on the 370 boards. My brain hurts from looking at all the P4 chipsets and their varying steps. I can't even remember them all, but I remember concluding that the 645DX/961B and the 845E/ICH4 were what I narrowed it down to. I don't remember the VIAs being raved about on the P4 mobos.

Your O/C goes a long way proving the Abit/645 though Is that all air cooled? I have seen some 2.0s have trouble getting 2.6 air cooled and you're right there! Nice O/C...

Thanks for the info,
Ross

Go get yourself and ABIT ST-6 that will hold you over untill fall atleast. Then the prices on the P4 will be down and new DDR should be out along with other options from AMD and Intel. Just get the MB you dont want to spend $400 now when you system is perfectly fine. Wait untill it is no longer fast enough for you before you give up on it all together. I am not sure what MB you have in your main rig, but if its not the ST6 I would put the ST6 in your main rig and put the celeron 633 in your old board. That way your daily driver gets the upgrade.

It's based on the 645DX chipset. I was a noob to the chipsets myself too (I upgraded from a P 200 on an AT board) so I had no loyalties to any particular set. At the time I was building, the reviews indicated the 645DX was pretty good and for the price I figured I'd give it a try. My processor is currently being air cooled by a Volcano 7+. I could hit 2.4 air cooled with the stock IHS that I had lapped and applied ASIII. With summer coming, I wanted to make sure it would stay cool though. At 2.4 with stock I would run 39 idle and would hit 51 under load. Now I run 37/47 at medium fan speed and ambient is probably 5 degrees higher. I also added 3 more case fans. I am running 2 intakes @ 48.5 cfm each and 3 exhausts (1 exhaust @ 28cfm, 1 top blowhole @ 28 and 1 pci powercooler @ 42). That cut my system temps by 10 degrees. On a side note, I didn't have the cash for a SB audigy and the review of the onboard sound for the Abit said it was really good for onboard sound. So far, I'm also impressed with it too. If you do go the way of the Abit, you will want to download the original bios and flash it. It lets you adjust your processor voltage up to 2 or 2.2 volts, I don't remember which. For some reason, they removed this ability from the newer bios releases. This will keep you from having to do the wire wrap mod to boost your voltage up. From some of the posts I've read, the 2.0A's don't oc as well as the 1.8A's and 1.6A's. I still sometimes wonder if I should have saved money and gone 1.6A. Still depending on what you want, 2.4 for the 1.8A is an easy oc at 133 fsb.

{PMS}--

Ah, a voice of reason. Yeah, probably better to spend ~$70 and just go with a new 370 board for the time being, wait and see what comes out in the coming months. What new DDR? They'll be up to PC4000 by then?

My "main rig" is a store-bought HP 510n. Yeah, I know. It does what it's supposed to, just not much fun to play with. It happens to have a semi-decent CPU (which I am dying to stick in my "fun" case), but everything else sux, including the BIOS and mobo (watered-down ASUS). I was able to O/C it to 1416 via FSB CPU (118FSB...42 PCI bus, which is probably what is holding it from going any higher). There's no way to up the voltage short of the wire trick, using the stock HS/F, only 2 case fans, no memory adjustments. Figure it will go 1.6-1.7 no problem in the "fun" box.

Thanks for the sanity...I thought for sure no one would be able to tell me to wait and I wouldn't be able to control myself on my own

badvector--
OK, cool. Abit's site lists it as just 645/961 (not DX), but like you, I've already read some pretty good things about the DX version. I'll have some time now to read up some more on them and see new steppings/combos come out in the next few months.

Damn, they actually run that much warmer? Everytime I see 35-45 idle temps, I just assume they're AMD <ducks> I've been running 22-23 system/CPU temps @ idle and 29ish stressed for hours @ 1.825V on the 633 (all fans @ 11.3V--rheobus' max). It will hit 30-31 stressed with all fans on low and CPU fan ~3500RPM (extremely quiet like that).

What kind of case are you using? I still have the stock fans in the Lian (31CFM ADDAs--2 in/1 out + 2-fan PS out). I'll obviously need a new HS/F for a P4, so I can use the 53CFM off of the Vol 7 somewhere more useful. I've been dreading having to go with higher flowing/louder fans and already made myself a rheobus (http://home.austin.rr.com/rossmisc), so I am ready when the time comes.

I was thinking the same thing on the 1.8A as far as O/Cing, but thought maybe not enough people have the 2.0s yet or something. The 1.8A does seem extremely O/Cable. I'd be completely happy with 2.4-2.5 out of one, but I guess I'll just go for another 370 mobo for now and see what happens in a few months...maybe I'll be able to pick up a 2.2 533 for $200 by then (yeah right!)

Thanks for all the help...
Ross