Thinking about getting a p4 rig...need some help.

[Carmine_Paterno]

I want to build a cheap p4 rig to mess around with. I definetly want to go rambus unless of course you guys say not to.

What would be the best motherboard to go with? Im also thinking about getting a 1.6a chip.

What do you guys recommend i do?

BTW just to make things harder for you guys...I have a problem. I only have about 200-250 dollars to spend, and subtract 25 for a heatsink and i need ram.

Thanx

 

[Tweaked!]

Good luck on your endevor, theres nothing cheap about pentiums. I have 2 of them, and I'm going to be converting to amd for the next rig. I don't have the deep pockets for the Pentium. Although I really like the pentiums, They've always done me right.

 

[batboy]

As much as I love the performance of my Northwood system and as much as I'd like to talk you into getting one, I don't think you can do it with a $250 budget. Now if you got a SIS645 chipset mobo that uses DDR memory like Epox or MSI and the 1.6a Northwood, that would be in the $200 to $250 range. BUT, you still need a power supply that will support P-4's and still need to get RAM. At least DDR memory can sometime be found cheap if you get used memory. You'll take a slight performance hit with DDR, but not too much compared to the amount of money saved. Now if you had a $550 budget, I'd say Abit TH7-II, 1.8a Northwood, two 128 meg Samsung RDRAM, a 350 to 400 watt P-4 ready power supply, and a good CPU cooler. This sytem would kick butt and is nearly guaranteed to hit 2.4 gig running at 133 FSB which means you'll get the most out of the RAM performance too.

 

[Carmine_Paterno]

Thanks alot guys....Your absolutely right.

I think ill just get a xp 1700+ and later on ill get a 8kha+ and another 400w antec. By the way... I just redid my cooling on the duron and a7a266. Im idling @ 29C @ 1400 1.888v. Full load is like 32C. Time to hit 1450 on this duron 1.2ghz.

Thanx

 

[Tweaked!]

Now you're on the right track!

 

[DaveB]

Beware the BS!

1. The SiS 645 boards don't need a special power supply.

2. A non-overclocked AMD XP 1700+ draws more watts than an non-overclocked P4 1.6A.

3. Many AMD mobos have power supply issues.

You can go either way, an XP 1700+ with a Shuttle AK31 would be a nice cheap and overclockable system. Or a P4 1.6A with an Epox 4SDA mobo. Your choice. Just make your decision based on correct information.

 

[KingB]

I think batboy was getting at the fact that the PSU needs an auxillary power connector for a P4 and this could possibly mean a new PSU for some people. No question about your power issues though.

 

[MadMan007]

Some P4 boards only have the 'ATX12V' connector-the special 2x2 pin connector to supply extra current to the P4. Many of the ASUS boards can use a regular Molex (hard drive) connector, but I have heard that is a second choice from using the ATX12V one.

IMO: save up some more and in another month you can get better stuff for less $$

 

[DaveB]

And some boards. like my Epox 4SDA, only have the regular ATX connector. No 4-pin or 6-pin auxiliary connectors are provided on the mobo. So no special power supply is required. Is this clear now to everyone?

 

[Peter007]

DaveB, am I hearing you correctly that SOME P4 Motherboad don't require the aux power????

I've been holding off from P4 upgrade because I don't feel like spending more $$$ on another power supply

Do you know if this apply to ALL Sis 648DX chipset?

 

[DaveB]

Yeah, I don't know how to be more clear on this. My Epox 4SDA ONLY has the regular ATX connector. The Asus P4S333 uses their EZ connector setup, which just involves hooking up one of the power supply molex connectors, so no special PS is required. The MSI 645 Ultra does have the 4-pin +12V AUX connector though. I would recommend that you use a 350W quality PS though since a P4 running at 2 GHz+ draws similar wattage to high-end AMD XP CPUs.