Asus P4B533-E or Giga-Byte GA-8IEXP or Epox 4G4A+ or Abit BD7II-Raid ?????

[gsethi]

which one of the above two motherboards would you go with ?


GigaByte GA-8IEXP - $145
I845E chipset
RAID
Intel Lan
Creative Audio
3x IEEE
DDR 200/266
3:4 ratio ? 4:5 ratio ?

Abit BD7II-RAID - $135
I845E chipset
RAID
Realtek Lan
AC 97 audio
NO IEEE
DDR 200/266 possible 333+
3:4 ratio - confirmed 4:5 ratio - nope

EDIT 1:
Dropped the Epox board because people are having problems overclocking it. Seems like no 12v power connector on the board is the problem for that. It is a good board if you are not going to overclock but expect problems with the board under the following two conditions:
1) FSB over 133 Mhz
2) VCore over 1.7 v

EDIT 2:
Dropped the Asus board because like the P4B266, it doesnt supports 3:4 memory ratio over 133 FSB. Otherwise it seems like a good solid board......still its a bit expensive as compared to others.

EDIT 3:
Abit BD7II-Raid looks like a good board. But it only comes with 4 USB ports whereas 6 are supported by the intel chipset. Wonder why Abit went that way. Otherwise the board seems fine.

EDIT 4:
I went ahead and ordered the GA-8IEXP since it has all the features. I still dont know if it supports 3:4 memory ratio like the RXP. it does says AUTO/1.0/1.2/2.0 ratio though. I am hoping that AUTO is 2.66 but will let you all know about that. Will also post whether this board suffers from the rebooting issue like the RXP.

I am going with Original Samsung PC2700 along with Intel 1.6A processor. I got the latest samsung memory (week 18 (1st week of may), 2002). Also the part number is M368L6423DTL (i read that this is Samsung DDR 400). Is it like Samsung is undermarking their memory now ? WOW.......seems hot......but will let you know if it actually overclocks to DDR 400 standards......wait till friday.

PS: i have done research on the boards for the past 2 weeks and have based my opinions on that. Some of you may disagree with me. Please provide me with more information so that i can provide a neutral review for you guys.

RAMBUS vs DDR battle:

To me, i would recommend DDR now since Intel will not be supporting Rambus a year from now. People are correct that Rambus will defeat DDR and they are absolutely correct. But note that PC1066 is not officially supported though.

Also, DDR 400 comes quite close to PC800 and in some cases, it is better than PC800.

In November 2002, DDR II (dual channel) will be out and that will definately meet PC1066 standards. DDR II is in testing phase right now and will be available in Nov along with new chipsets. Interesting year ahead of us with some new technologies emerging soon.

thanks

 

[Beatnik]

Yeah, that Gigabyte looks pretty cool, huh?
I mean and Intel NIC and the Creative sound
on the same board. That's a nice combo. The
rest of the stuff I could do without. I've had good
luck with the Gigabyte 815E boards I've used.

 

[WideMouth40]

I'd be careful with the Epox 4G4A+, based upon a limited sampling of what I've read on other boards. It's not OC'ing very well with CPU's that are screaming on other mobo's.

Peace

 

[oldfart]

P4B533 has the same problem as the P4B266, no 3:4 above 132 FSB .

 

[gsethi]

P4B533 has the same problem as the P4B266, no 3:4 above 132 FSB .

damn this board is off my list then........what about Abit BD7II-Raid (I845E) ? does it has 3:4 at all FSBs ?

seems like Epox is the winner so far......any thoughts on GA-8IEXP ?

 

[gsethi]

down to two motherboards.

on further research, it seems like Abit BD7II-Raid only supports 4 USB ports.....ouch. It also lacks IEEE......what to do....what to do. the board seems to have 3:4 memory ratio atleast.

seems like Abit IT7 MAX is making up on my list. But i really need serial ports. Are there any PCI cards that have serial ports ?

 

[oldfart]

Abit BD7II-Raid only supports 4 USB ports

That can be easily solved with a USB hub or USB PCI card.

 

[Tom]

"Also dumped Epox 4g4a+ because many people are having problems with it running over 133. "

Could you tell us what forums you heard this at ?

TIA

 

[gsethi]

it seems like the Epox board is having problems when you try to increase the VCore voltage to your processor. I think that 12v power conector is playing the role here.

i read about this at HardForums and overclockers.com. People are having no problems at default voltage but when they increase the voltage, they start having problems.

 

[Barrei]

I would go with the gigabyte , I have the 8irxp and it DOES have the 3:4 memory ratio , its called the 2.66 option in the bios under host /dram clock ratio and works at any fsb provided your memory can take the higher mhz at higher fsb speeds , so I'm pretty sure the 8iexp will have it .

 

[THUGSROOK]

im looking at the Abit BD7-II Raid board myself

 

[looper]

gsethi...

Can't you just get a serial to usb adapter cable ? ( if you get the Abit IT7)...

 

[gsethi]

i really like the GA-8IEXP. i have GA-8IRXP right now and love it.

i got a good processor i think. running 1.6a @ 2.4 Ghz @ default voltage. memory ratio 1:1 (samsung PC2100). so i dont have to deal with that rebooting problem with the RXPs. but my memory cant go any higher.

going to get 8IEXP or Abit IT7 (with that USB to serial adapter). I think that i will take the 8IEXP b/c of IEEE and all those extra features. Just hoping that this board wont have the rebooting problem like the other.

i really like the IT7 board too but i do need PS/2, serial and parallel ports. So, economically it wont make sense to buy all these USB to serial/parallel/PS2 hubs.
BD7II-RAID looks good too but no IEEE and only 4 USB ports......(need for USB hub here).

so i am 90% sure now that i will get the GA-8IEXP

thanks

 

[XMan]

Weird, there was no mention of problems with the Epox in this review. He got a 2.4B to 2.88GHz, at DDR400.

No problems noted in this review, either.

Also, I did a search over at the overclockers.com forums . . . and only one guy seems to be having problems with it, and his problem is a dead board. Overclockers.com

At the AOA forums, two problems reported - but one is a repost of the same member from OC.com. The other sounds like a driver or video card issue. AOA Forums

Could you provide some links to the threads you are talking about?

 

[gsethi]

Weird, there was no mention of problems with the Epox in this review. He got a 2.4B to 2.88GHz, at DDR400.

must be a reference board.....thats the only review that i have seen which has done higher than 133 FSB stable.

if you go over to HardForums or Overclockers Forums, you will see that people are having problems running this board over 133 FSB. i think this is the problem with the board.

if your processor can overclock well at default voltage, then this board is good.
but
if you have to increase the Vcore voltage, you might end up getting problems because of the lack of the 12v power connector.

i know that in the review, he got 1.850 v but again, he is the only lucky one that i have seen so far.......i dont want to risk it but i dont know yet.
i still have this board at the back of my mind but ......................

 

[XMan]

Updated my post with some new information - could you post some links? Because most everything I'm reading is positive.

 

[gsethi]

heres one link on HardForums: 2 people in this post having problems, 1 other who says his is running fine:
here

Problems reported at Overclockers:
here

the problems reported are that people are able to run their processors at higher speeds in other motherboards but not in this one.

The board seems very nice though. Once all the issues are worked out, this will definately be overclockers best board but.......wait and watch.
also No IEEE on this board though. Lan and Audio components are Realtek.

PS: i am not trying to make it seem like the board is bad, i really liked the board at first but giga-byte just seems like a better option right now for $10 extra.

 

[XMan]

Problems reported at Overclockers:
here

Re-read that thread. His motherboard died.

Also, in reading that HardOCP thread, 2 guys had success, 2 others did not. I'm still on page 2 - but that's generally the way things go. If you're going to overclock, nothing is guaranteed.

 

[gsethi]

xerox man, what do you think about this board ?

i have mixed feeling about the board. Both negative and positive sides of it.
here my list of pros and cons for the board:

Pros:
Great Overclocking features : PCI/AGP Lock, 3:4 and 4:5 memory ratio
Epox Name

Cons:
No IEEE
Missing 12v power connector - might hamper overclocking, not confirmed though
Realtek Lan/Audio/Clock Controller - wont harm performance but Intel is better

 

[XMan]

Cons:
No IEEE
Missing 12v power connector - might hamper overclocking, not confirmed though
Realtek Lan/Audio/Clock Controller - wont harm performance but Intel is better

I'm planning to use one of these for my new system, so I've been doing quite a bit of research. The IEEE is no issue as I will be using an Audigy. Same for the LAN - I have 3COM NICs. I'm not sure what you mean about the clock controller. The 12V power connector is a non-issue according to the Epox tech on the AOA forums.

Here's an interesting thread about the Gigabyte board you were asking about earlier.

 

[gsethi]

yeah, i read that thread for the Giga-byte. thats why i am still having second thoughts about it.

If the options in the BIOS are the same as in the current 8IRXP, then this is surely the best bang for your buck.

here are the options in RXP board:

FSB: 100-200
Voltage: 1.5 - 2.x ?
Memory: 1:1, 3:4 at all FSB
PCI/AGP divider: Pll/16, 24, 32, ......there are 5 options. you cant lock the PCI/AGP bus which is a con but you can come pretty close at any fsb using the dividers.
CAS settings: automatic (SPD) or manual

you can basically do any kind of overclock with this RXP. if the EXP has the same options as the RXP, thats the best bet to go then.

 

[gsethi]

found some reviews on the Gigabyte GA-8IEXP and Asus P4B533-E along with some other boards over here

seems like the AGP slot on the gigabyte is not tuned up properly. Also it lacks the 2.66 (3:4) memory option like in the GA-8IRXP. wonder if that option is included in the "AUTO" feature ? Is "AUTO" = 3:4 ratio on this board ? However, it does comes with PCI/AGP locking feature along with numerous other overclocking feature. this board can go all the way upto 350 FSB (anyone planning on going there ? )

The Asus P4B533-E also does good. The review doesnt states whether it has 3:4 memory ratio or not.

 

[oldfart]

It does....up to 132 FSB. Then its 1:1 133 and up.

 

[gsethi]

ok....the EPOX is officially out of my list now. The 2 people at HardForums who said that board worked fine for them have now changed their minds. It seems like they are also having some issues with the board. They are coming to the conclusion that the missing 12v power connector is the culprit here.
So, i am not 99% sure than I am not going to but Epox.

The Asus is also out of my list because of no 3:4 memory ratio over 132 FSB.

that leaves the gigabyte and Abit. right now i am in favor of giga-byte because of its features. If only someone can confirm whether it has the 3:4 memory ratio like the 8IRXP ? does "AUTO" on this board means 3:4 ratio ?

Abit.......seems like an excellent board. But no IEEE and only 4 USB ports.......this is second on my list now.

will let you guys know which board i will go with but EPOX and ASUS are out now.

Thanks

 

[looper]

Gsethi...

Which Abit are you considering... the IT7, or the BD7II ? Both look super, but I know a bit more about the IT7, and little about the BD7...