Post your "which mobo, which cpu" questions here!

2phastPRO

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
278
You dont NEED hyperthreading...but it sure as hell helps with multi-tasking if you do alot of encoding and the sorts.
 
Originally posted by Nohpys
Proc: Intel Northwood Pentium 4 3.2C w/ Hyper Threading
Mobo: Abit IC7-Max3

But what RAM? The board supports 4x DIMM support Dual Channel DDR400 Max 4GB

Should I be looking at dual channel stuff? (i really dont know anything about this)

I don't know if you can even get Mushkin in the UK but anyway:
http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushkin.storefront/3ff33b4001cdca8a273fc0a801020645/Catalog/5403

What thing on there is the right one?

Dual channel is a motherboard feature. It sends data at four times during each clock cycle instead of twice like regular DDR, or once per clock channel like old SDRAM. This means you're able to put a lot more data through the system per second compared to the old single channel DDR boards.

You'll use the same memory for a dual channel or a single channel DDR setup. But you'll have to use two (or four) seperate sticks of memory, you can't run Dual DDR with one or three sticks of memory. Dual DDR memory must also be the same size and speed, and should be from the same maker. Some memory makers like Corsair and Mushkin offer paired memory sticks for Dual DDR applications, but they are the same memory sticks that you can buy individually.

What memory to buy depends on if you are going to overclock. If you're going to run your system at the default speed there is no reason to buy anything faster than a pair of good, low-latency PC3200/DDR400 sticks. Crucial, Kingston, Corsair, OCZ and Mushkin all have good offerings in both 256 and 512 sizes.

It gets trickier if you're going to overclock. There is PC4000 memory available that will run at DDR500 with very loose timings. There is also PC3500 with tight timings that can sometimes overclock to 500 and beyond if you loosen the timings. And, as always with overclocking, there are no guarantees of performance either way. Ten guys might get Geil memory that overclocks like a mother but your stick might only be capable of the stock rating.

I'm a big fan of Mushkin for their level of service. They're not just the best among the memory makers, Mushkin has the best service and support of any PC component maker I've dealt with. If you can buy through a UK distribuitor or through direct import, I'd strongly recommend either the PC3500 or PC4000 Low Level Black 2 memory.

Geil has been getting some great performance recently, but this is a company with a long history of inconsistent performance and troubled service. I still recommend Corsair over Geil, but if you're willing to take a chance you might want to put Geil after Mushkin.







BHD
 
hows this look?

intel 3ghz 800 fsb
asus p4c800-e deluxe
corsair TWIN1024RE-3200LL 1GB DDR400 XMS3200 Ultra Low Latency Memory 1 w/Black Heat Spreader

im curious to know if the memory will go good with the mobo.
 
Glad I could help.

About the memory, yeah. If you can find the Level II Black in the UK I'd take that, but the Level I is good stuff, too.

Good luck.




BHD
 
Originally posted by methodicaloutlaw
hows this look?

intel 3ghz 800 fsb
asus p4c800-e deluxe
corsair TWIN1024RE-3200LL 1GB DDR400 XMS3200 Ultra Low Latency Memory 1 w/Black Heat Spreader

im curious to know if the memory will go good with the mobo.

It'll work great at the default speeds, but like I said in the post at the top of this page, Corsair XMS3200 doesn't overclock well on 800MHz systems.
 
I'm going to be building an Intel system. More than anything, I want to be able to overclock like mad. The only problem is I kind of have a budget. About 350$ +/- 25$
So far is what I've decided on:

P4 2.6c
not sure what brand of pc3500- pc400 ram
not sure what abit motherboard to get.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would like to get past 3.2ghz speeds. what would I need to achieve this?

THanks
 
Which mobo should i get for the 2.4C (or higher depends on funds;))
I need sata and raid support ,upgradeability to prescott and good oc.
Currently i'm thinking about those mobo's:
Abit AI7
Gigabyte GA8IPE1000 pro 3
 
Originally posted by M3at
I'm going to be building an Intel system. More than anything, I want to be able to overclock like mad. The only problem is I kind of have a budget. About 350$ +/- 25$
So far is what I've decided on:

P4 2.6c
not sure what brand of pc3500- pc400 ram
not sure what abit motherboard to get.

THanks

Get 2.4C not 2.6C

RAM:
Geil Golden Dragon 3500 Or Higher
Mushkin 3500 Black Lvl 2
OCZ Golden Pair 4000

Abit Something huh? IS7 or IC7 or IC7-G or Asus P4P800 will get you to 3.2 mark with ease... orcourse you will need to get a better heat sink. and Arctic Silver 5 All that should equal about 450... I suggest you save up
 
what is the point of RAM timings? anyone care to explain in depth about what they are for and what is caused by changing them? it is all just numbers to me. and what are some good RAM timings? How do you change them? How do you access BIOS?
 
Building a "server"

Stability is job 1.

Guess I'm looking at ~2.0-2.4ish 533fsb chips. Will not overclock.

What motherboard can I trust in?

Onboard SATA Raid for a Raid1 or 1+0 would be nice.

I'm a big AMD fan. But going to give in on this one. I think.

;)
 
Building new Gaming rig with new prescott cpu if the benchies dont blow.

Was thinking ic7-max3 or max2.

Dont have a clue what kinda ram just dont want to spend an arm and a leg. ram/mobo/cpu/video card/hdd/case shouldnt cost more than 1k so that gives you something to play with. For video card i got 9800pro picked out 1gb ram (whichever yall tell me to get) ANTEC case and psu and 10k raptor.
 
In one word: wait.

The Socket 478 Prescotts benchmarks don't blow. "Dry heaves" is more like it. The performance is barely better than a slower Northwood C. If you absolutely have to put a system together today, pick up a 2.4C with a good HSF or watercooling kit and the IC7-G (aka Max II). This combo will match the performance of a Prescott/Max III setup for less than half the price.

But aside from the hard drive and case, everything you're talking about is going to be obsolete four months from now. Intel is going to roll out the Alderwood/Grantsdale chipsets in late March and abandon Socket 478 for LGA775. This is the biggest shift in chipsets since the launch of DDR memory in 2000. I think it's bigger. Alderwood/Grantsdale will launch DDR2 and PCI Express, which will replace the AGP port standard. The LGA775 Prescott chips will also run faster than Socket 478 versions and will benefit from a later stepping.

I'd also be careful about buying a high-end video card right now. The ATI R420 and nVidia NV40 will be in production by June. If you're not familiar with the chip codes these will be the successors for the Radeon 9600/9800 and GeForce FX and the initial news indicates these new cards will offer a significant performance increase.

The downside of waiting for LGA775 is all this new stuff is going to cost a lot. That is what your decision is going to come down to. You can put together a very good bargain rig today that will handle any game you want to throw at it for the next year when Tejas ships. Or you can wait for the first LGA775 boards and PCI Express video cards and pay more for a cutting-edge system.

Either one is a good idea. The only really bad move is paying a lot for today's technology when it's living on borrowed time.







BHD
 
Originally posted by faster7
Building a "server"

Stability is job 1.

Guess I'm looking at ~2.0-2.4ish 533fsb chips. Will not overclock.

What motherboard can I trust in?

Onboard SATA Raid for a Raid1 or 1+0 would be nice.

I'm a big AMD fan. But going to give in on this one. I think.

;)


Your best bet for stability is always with an Intel house-brand board. The D875PBZLK uses a 875P chipset and has just about everything you're looking for. The intergrated ICH5R SATA controller has options for RAID 0,1, but not 0+1. If you want to run a striping plus mirror setup you're going to have to buy a seperate controller card.

There isn't a reason to choose a 533 CPU over a newer 800 proc anymore. The prices for comparable 533 and 800 procs are identical at Newegg. Plus, while you can run a 533 Northwood B P4 on the Intel 875P board, it was designed for the 800 chips and will have fewer potential problems. Pair it with two quality sticks of DDR400 memory and you'll have a rock solid system.




BHD
 
I have a Friend who has an Asus Board. It is the P4B533-E, which is based on the 845E chipset. Will it support Hyper-threading? He is wanting to throw in a 3.06GHz in it that has Hyper-Threading.


Thanks for any help.:)
 
Hey I'm trying to put together a SFF system, not for gaming but other 'power user' stuffs; it will eventually be a media-center PC.
I've chosen the SB61G2 as my barebones [shopping at NewEgg] and I had a basic question about the P4s -

I've pretty much decided on 2.4Ghz Northwood [based on cost, it seems a good place to start], but I see the 2.4a 2.4b and 2.4c ; the only difference I see is the FSB - am I missing something else, or is that it?
 
Time to up-grade from my P3 800
What I have in mind:
ANTEC Model PLUS1080AMG with 430W Power Supply,
P4 2.8C
ABIT IS7
Corsair DDR PC-3200 (256x2)
WD 80GB
OC does nothing for me so it’s not high on my list, any obvious problems with this set-up that I’ve missed? I’ve heard of issues with ABIT and Corsair…true or false?
Thanks
 
Thanks, my final order ended up looking like this though:
Basic case and thermaltake 480W ps
P4 2.8C
ABIT IS7
1GB Mushkin 3500 (2x512)
WD 80GB
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
ATI RADEON 9600XT
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu
Lite-On 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive, Model SOHC-5232K

I should see a performance gain over the P3 850 I’ve been using since 2000
:)
 
Is this a good combination?

Intel® Pentium® 4 3.2GHz / 512k Cache / 800Mhz FSB

(2) Kingston 512MB Non-ECC, CL3 PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory

Asus - P4P800 Deluxe - Socket 478 ATX Motherboard
 
P4 2.6c
DDR (400) PC-3200LL XMS Corsair
Abit IC7-Max3
Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu

I would like to try to get this to ~3.3, think it's realistic with this setup? I'm trying to find a good balance between noise and performance, otherwise I'd just go all out and buy the craziest cooling ever.
 
Upgrading from my hellishly hot 1.4 T-Bird and trusty 8K7A(I'm tired of sitting next to a jet engine.)

P4 2.8C Northwood w/ retail HSF
Mushkin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 "2-2-2 Special" Dual Pack
Radeon 9800 Pro with VGA Silencer


I keep hitting a brick wall when it comes to choosing a mobo. I do not plan on OC'ing, so I was thinking Intel 875...

Then I heard about people having trouble with voltage and running tight timings on these boards? Now, from what I can understand, this has been rectified, and you can now change the voltage if you are having issues @ 2.5v? I'd hate to pay for the 2-2-2 and end up settling for settings I can get for less money.

I've also read that there is some kind of issue with PAT not being implemented correctly? Has this been fixed as well? I've tried searching around and have just managed to confuse myself further.


I'd appreciate any clarification on these matters.


EDIT. Nevermind, I decided to go with 1gb of Kingston Dual Channel CAS3 PC3200. It is mentioned as supported on both Intel and Kingston websites, plus I didn't feel the 2-2-2 was worth the $70 premium.
 
Best budget board with onboard RAID and audio, while letting me overclock?

I hear good things about the IS7
 
Need to upgrade my 4 year old machine. I use it mainly for gaming, but also some intensive programs like Photoshop. Won't be doing any overclocking. I have a general idea on what I want, but when it comes to the details, I have no clue.

What I need:
Mobo: No idea
CPU: Something Pentium 4
RAM: 512Mb minimum
Vid: Have my eye on the Radeon 9600 Pro (~$125)

What I can spend: $500ish

I'd really appreciate any help you nerds can give me. :D ;)

Thank you-
Wulfgar
 
Hi guys, I am undertaking a new project at the moment. I have recieved a Apple G5 Case that I am going to mod for a PC. The thing is, it is designed for 4 slots so I have to go with a micro ATX board on it. I was planning on getting an MSI 865pem2-ils, but it isn't available in the US as of yet. I am mainly looking to do a water cooled system with over clocking and I am having problems finding a motherboard to do this with.

Any suggestions?
 
Hey, I'm looking to upgrade my old system ( p3 800 mhz) but I'm not sure which cpu to get. I have been looking on zipzoomfly.com and I can't decide between two processors.

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor Northwood 3.06GHz, 533MHz FSB, Socket 478 Retail

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 3GHz, 800MHz FSB, Socket 478 Retail

the prices are almost identical, but I'm not exactly sure if the 800mhz bus makes that much of a difference? I mostly use my pc for games, and sometimes ps. Plan on getting at least 512 mn ram for now. Also, what mobo should I get, looking for something a little cheap, maybe jumperless?

Thanks in advance
 
Also another thing I've been wondering about is the new lga 775 sockets ( said to be out this summer?), and pci-express (which will be supported by a few 6800's) Would it be worth it to wait (prob end of year) and upgrade to the new stuff, or go ahead and get a 478 skt p4 3ghz, mobo, and ram?
 
hows this look?

ABIT IS7-E
P4 2.6Ghz 800FSB SL6WH Costa Rica
512Mb Kingston HyperX PC3500(2x256)

i have another question, whats the diff. between normal IS7 and IS7-E? (whats "E" for?)

Will IC7 be a better choice for this setup?

thanks

nf
 
All depends on what you're wanting to do with the system. I'm not too sure if the IC boards would offer any more overclockability than the IS series, but it might be worth checking into if that's what you're wanting to do. Other than that, I don't see that big of a difference between the 865 and 875 chipsets. And personally, I would go with the Mushkin RAM. Timings are a bit tighter and it's less expensive. And as far as the differences between the IS7 and the IS7-E, the only one I can see is that the E version doesn't have any native firewire ports whereas the regular IS7 comes with 3 of them. And the E board is about $8.00 cheaper (According to NewEgg).
 
Michaelius said:
Which mobo should i get for the 2.4C (or higher depends on funds;))
I need sata and raid support ,upgradeability to prescott and good oc.
Currently i'm thinking about those mobo's:
Abit AI7
Gigabyte GA8IPE1000 pro 3
i would recommend the ic7-max3 but skip the prescott and dont really bother getting a faster cpu unless you are really worried about a few hundred MHz since they seem to be toping out around the same speeds ... well just my opinions (sata raid is lovely btw)
 
Glyphic said:
Hey, I'm looking to upgrade my old system ( p3 800 mhz) but I'm not sure which cpu to get. I have been looking on zipzoomfly.com and I can't decide between two processors.

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor Northwood 3.06GHz, 533MHz FSB, Socket 478 Retail

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 3GHz, 800MHz FSB, Socket 478 Retail

the prices are almost identical, but I'm not exactly sure if the 800mhz bus makes that much of a difference? I mostly use my pc for games, and sometimes ps. Plan on getting at least 512 mn ram for now. Also, what mobo should I get, looking for something a little cheap, maybe jumperless?

Thanks in advance
okay man ... like what i just told previous dude ... about the best value for your cash atm would be a 2.4c (800mhz fsb) and if you browse around here you will find that these cpu's (with other good components) have no problem breaking 3GHz cpu running speed
 
I am very glad that hardforum is back up and running!

I have an Abit IC7, a 2.4ghz P4c (800 FSB), and 1 GB of Mushkin PC3500 (the black level2).

I have had some success overclocking to about 3ghz, but am now just running at stock speeds.

Should I just keep this proc, or is there a proc out there that would give me a faster overclock? I would welcome your thoughts on either upgrading or keeping this same proc.

Also, how would things improve if I used RAID? I am currently just using a few hardrives, all different sizes, and am not using RAID. I couldn't certainly spring for a second drive identical to one of the ones I have now, and do RAID. I mostly use my pc for gaming.

Thanks!

Steve
 
raid is much love for games ... the game and different levels load sooo much quicker. and you do not need 2 perfectly identical drives to set up a raid 0 . its just the most space effective, say you have an 80GB and 120GB sata drives ... raid 0 would be the smallest of the array times the number in the array. wo you would have 80GB * 2 for a 160GB raid array, losing a good 40GB but doubling the speed. perfect ir you want to play with raid before spending the cash on a matched drive or whatnot. also as a side note ... put your array on the southbridge if applicable (i dont remember the exact raid set-up of the IC7 or if its the same as my board)

okay cpu ... with the intels the higher speed you purchase (at least from what i have noticed) the crappiers your overclock. your current cpu should make it up around 3.2 to 3.4ish and then a 3.2GHz are getting around 3.8ish. so it seems to me the most cost effective intels are actually the cheapest ones in the first place....
 
Figures I was unlucky enough to be ready to buy when the forums went down didn't see your post until the other day, oh well, I'm happy with what I got, although it is a bit loud
 
Looking for opinions ...

I currently have

P4 2.53 on a Intel D845PEBT2 mobo

This set up as served me well but lacks dual channel and Hyper Threading.

Im looking to spend $300 and upgrade to

P4 2.8c - 3.0c on an Intel based 865pe based mobo.

I'm not much of an Overclocker which is why i stick to the Intel branded boards. I guess my question is will i see a noticeable difference with Hyper Threading and dual channel mem? Any input is appreciated.
 
Hyper-Threading is great, put your cpu to work .. and still do other simple tasks like you are not working the CPU. well the rambus memory (if i remember correctly) you are using now is dual channel memory, the ddr sdram just happens to be a lot more cost effective, but that is just my own thoughts. but yea its a lot smoother.... one thing i really have to suggest is a mobo with sata raid, its caused the most noticable of all differences, and second most has been hyperthreading
 
Hi everybody.
I'm planning on building an Asus P4C800 E-Deluxe based Intel system.
I want to overclock it moderately, valuing stability over performance (I'd be happy reaching a 250 FSB value).
My CPU of choice would be a 2.8 Prescott, because I like the 1MB cache and HT, but perhaps they are not as useful as a stronger OC'ing. Would you suggest any other CPU?

Plus, what is your advice about RAM? Is branded DDR 400 (say, G.E.I.L., Kingston, Corsair) good enough to achieve a @3500MHz OC? Should I go after more expensive modules, or settle with a lower FSB setting? What is your experience ?

Also, I own a Enermax EG465AX-VE(G) FMA 460W power supply. I guess it should be enough to power this system, plus a RAID 0 SATA setup and a ATI 9600XT gpu, but perhaps someone has experienced some trouble with such a power-hungry system as this would be, so I'd rather ask first.

Thank you.
 
Back
Top