AMD guy looking to switch. need some advice.

[Pyros]

I have always been a AMD user, but lately have been itching to try out a P4. I have the same problem with intel as most AMD peeps do though. They cost soooo much more. Anyways, I want to try intel out and I finally found a good deal on a P4 mobo and would like an opinion on how well it works and OC's. Its a Soyo Dragon P4S645D (which I believe is the Dragon lite.) Is this board any good? what about the SiS 645 chipset? I can pick this up for about $45.00 new, so I would like some Intel peeps advice before I take the plunge. Tks.

 

[BaldHeadedDork]

You couldn't get me drunk enough to use a Soyo board. Bad overclocker, horrible reliability problems and miserable support when something does go wrong.

The best cheap Intel board is the Abit BD7II and BD7II RAID, which go for $91 and $105 at Newegg. That's more than you might be looking to spend, but this is still a much bigger bargain than the Soyo.


BHD

 

[Pyros]

Wow, I didnt know soyo had so may problems with there Pentium boards. Other that not giving me much fsb to oc with, my AMD soyo board rocks. Maybe I'll keep looking then. BTW, are any of the new celeron chips worth buying? I havent heard much if anything good about them. tks

 

[micamica1217]

Wow, I didnt know soyo had so may problems with there Pentium boards. Other that not giving me much fsb to oc with, my AMD soyo board rocks. Maybe I'll keep looking then. BTW, are any of the new celeron chips worth buying? I havent heard much if anything good about them. tks

realy??? the last mobo I would get for an AMD was the soyo dragon ultra. if I remember corectly it only OCs to 154fsb.

now match that against asus or epox....

I have to say, they gave a great bundel with the board, yet many peeps could do nothing with it.

I too would highly recamend the abit bd7II, alot of the peeps here tryed it, and they seem to love it.

you might want to pair it with a 1.8a from intel.....

it should hit up to 2.8-2.9ghz max OC.

good luck

mica

 

[Hawk]

If you want to try a P4 go for the northwood you won't be sorry. If you want a bargan get the 2.26 @ newegg only 190 retail box. It's a great 533MHz FSB overclocker. I agree with BaldHeadedDork on the MB I have an Abit bh7II board and really like it for the $. Good luck! and welcome to intel!

 

[Buzzdog]

Pyros,

Welcome to the intel side As far as mother boards goes, the Abit BD7II series or the Abit IT7max I or II. I have had the BD7II-R, had to RMA it when it died on me. I upgraded to an IT7maxI right when the II's came out, it saved me about $60 over the new board. The big advantage of the IT7 series over the BD7 series is you get more vrimm to play with. That will help you in a more stable OC, especially if you are going to run your DDR at 3:4. Both boards are great in that you can lock the PCI/AGP.

As far as a PIV CPU, I would hold off until you can get your hands on a 2.26 c1 stepping CPU. What is soo great about a 2.26, it has a 17 multiplier. You can not unlock the new Intel CPU's so you need to start at the lowest multiplier that you can. The 2nd best CPU you could get your hands on would be a 1.8a c1 when they come out. That would give you a multiplier of 18. You might end up with a higher OC over stock with the 1.8 chip, but if you are looking at total system performance you will be happier with the 2.26. The extra FSB will pay off nice with the DDR.

For memory, I would recomend a stick of Corsair XMS PC3200cas2 512. I have a stick of it, and LOVE IT

You can build the system now if you want to. The reason I am recomending that you hold off until the c1 stepping CPU's are available at the lower speeds is that you will have a better chance at a higher OC. The highest speed PIV's are c1 stepping right now, and that is the stepping that they will more then likely run the northwoods out with. Intel is then supposed to move to the prescott core to push past the 4GHz barrier.

Good luck, and keep reaching for higher.

Buzzdog

 

[Jkasmann]

Definetly get a northwood (pentium 4 A or B). Dont mess with the celeron because it really isnt worth it. 2.26 is a good choice, 1.6A or 1.8A are also good if you can find a good deal on them (probably the cheapest route). They often have good deals in the newegg refurbished section on Abit motherboards and on processors, so keep an eye out there. I agree that the current abit p4 boards are great!