looking to build a P4 system

[harbinger52]

I am going to upgrade my P3 700 system to a P4 1.6. what is everyone opinions on MOBO's? I am thinking DDR and want to stay with intel chipset. A mobo that I have been looking at is the MSI ultra although the Soyo fire-dragon looks good to.(don't know if it is available yet). And as far as memory goes should I go DDR or use Rambus since the price on DDR is getting up there.

 

[Amber]

I'm shore that "gerrick" will have something to say about this but,
I would go with an AMD XP and a VIA 266A chip set board,
It will be less $$$ and have more speed
I think that 80% of the people on this B/B are running AMD'S

 

[harbinger52]

I have 2 amd systems. My 3rd is a P3. I just want to keep one Intel.

 

[IceStorm]

I've two P4 systems using the Asus P4T motherboard. They've been stable since they were built (one in May, one in October). The only problem I ran across was that PCI 3dfx cards would cause audio corruption when in use. This occured on an Audigy, Live!, and GTXP, so I don't think it was a Creative issue.

I'm trying out a P4 1.8A, P4B266, and two 256MB PC2700 Corsair DIMMs in the next day or so. I'll post how it fairs.

 

[tornadobox]

i'd go RDRAM. i went DDR with my setup and if i could do it all over again i'd go RDRAM (ASUS P4T-E).

 

[Strawberrymom]

8IRXP

 

[nealr]

DDR

 

[gerrick]

DDR or RDRAM? A month ago or so the question was easier. DDR was still cheaper by a large margin. Now the two are about even.

1. I guess it depends on how useful the memory will be in a year or two? RDRAM and DDR are about to get faster. Not sure if Intel plans on using faster DDR.

2. What programs you will use? DDR favors some and RDRAM favors others.

3. Who will you buy the DDR from? Unless it is crucial or another brand that is very high quality I would buy RDRAM.


Are you going to buy the Northwood 1.6? I guess it is called the 1.6a or something. Good luck!


AMBER: My views on AMD are derived from a business standpoint. I would not run my IT department with AMD machines. I would not give my users AMD machines. I would certainly not stake my business on an AMD server! Since I consider myself a business I would not use them at home. When I go to check email or a play a game it needs to work. I do not want to be forced to tinker. I want to do it on my own time.

I feel it will cost more over the three years my machines must last at work to buy AMD machines. I would spend more time troubleshooting issues I don't need to worry about no. CPU fans for example are not really made to last three years. If my CPU fan burns out the AMD processor may follow. That means I've bought 2 cpus and spent time (which is money) on an issue I would not need to worry about on an Intel platform. All I need to do is buy a fan and replace it (minimal ocst and time). I also use only Intel boxed motherboards. I have to date not seen a failure. Since the motherboard accounts for negligible speed gains or loses it is worth it to me to buy the high quality board. plus Intel motherboards tend to include onboard video so that must be included in the overall value. Remember longterm stablity is a feature that can not be overlooked. It is also the most important factor in my decisions.

I also agree a high number of anand users run AMD machines. I can tell by the number of posts I see. Almost all are AMD issues. Intel is not perfect but the issues tend to be less. I also see even less issues with Intel motherboards. When Intel release a new INF I'm not required to load it. Whan VIA releases a new 4-in-1 driver it is pretty much a neccesity. I'm not against AMD. I like the progress they have made. My reasons are stated above. A few years ago when I was overclocking every chip I owned and hacking add in cards I would have purchased an AMD system. I realized that downtime is bad somewhere along the way.

 

[hashde]

Reliablity is something that I for one am willing to pay for. AMD processors are fine. It's the chipsets, such as those from VIA that greatly reduce reliablity on the AMD side.

 

[Amber]

gerrick,
well put,from most of your replys I thought you just liked to AMD bash,I also use only boxed mob's and I have had Intel's go bad like any can, it's only after Intel gave me a bad time with some 815EEA mob's that I tryed AMD and maybe I like them better because I never bought the first VIA 266 and I have not had any pprob's with the 266A mob's,"and when I FIRE UP my games they always work and I play very hard"


In the words of the great
R.King
"Can't we all get just along"

And my MOPAR is FASTER then your Chevy

 

[gerrick]

I don't just AMD bash. Well I do........I just have reasons. I agree that the cpu is not the biggest part of the problem. Anything VIA touches tends to turn into crap. the reality is VIA makes the best (i use that term loosely) chipset to mate an AMD proc to. I would not buy a VIA chipset board to use with an Intel proc. SiS and ALi scare me also. All three companies have a lot of improvements to make.

I think that the AMD CPU is also not as refined as the Intel CPU. AMD has some serious heat and design issues to deal with. A user should not be able to unlock the multiplier using a hardware hack. That tells me it was an afterthought on the part of AMD. When AMD hits .13 the heat issue should dissapate (ha). The next chip should also have all the lessons learned from the Athlon chips. The Athlon chips learned from the K5 and K6 chips. My biggest fear is no waking up and having all AMD machines, it is waking up and not having AMD. They make things cheaper all the way around. I think they should follow Intels lead and produce boxed motherboards. I think that would give the buyer more trust in the name brand.

I get great service from intel on Boxed boards. I returned a VC820 to them and had a repleacement a few days later. The board had been sitting with magnets or something on it at a friends house for months.

I also try not to buy Americans cars. So your Mopar is faster then my Honda. (it is stock by the way. just a standard ex no exhaust or anything)

 

[SpaceWalker]

I just put a new P4 system together for my self.
A P4 2Ghz and 512 Samsung ECC PC800 on an ECS P4ITA2 (i850)motherboard...
i gotta tell ya, pared with my GeForce3, it screams...

 

[AA0]

AMD doesn't have heat issues, since the P4 does consume much more power then the K7s, but intel doesn't release their max. power usage.
Also the multiplier trick was done on purpose, AMD wanted to get us on their side, which worked. AMD isn't stupid, they figured out their first year+ of killing intel ahead of time.


IMO, anyone buying a cheap motherboard deserves what they get. 90% of problems come from those boards. Chipsets are not the problem, they are completely stable, the real problem is the OS and a board which has cheap RAM timings.

 

[dbwillis]

I made a P4 system using a Shuttle AV40 baord and a 1.5 w/512 of DDR, its ran perfect since day 1.
there was someone on the for sale area that was selling the same setup (w/only 256 of DDR) for $260.

 

[Boonesmi]

hehe another vote for the athonxp system


gerrick ive seen alot of your posts around and i dont know why you have had such bad luck with amd systems (to be honest i dont get the impression you have really ever even used much in the way of athlon/athlonxp systems) but thats another story, LOL

 

[Amber]

 

[Strawberrymom]

why dont you thread crappers go away hes interested in a P4 system and isnt asking about no AMD. no wonder people hate AMD

 

[ncg]

I've had nothing but good luck with the 850 chipset on the ASUS P4T and P4TE boards... great speed and stability... and rdram is around the same price as ddr these days!

 

[harbinger52]

Thanks strawberrymom.
I love AMD set ups, But I want to build a P4.(just because) What is everyones opinion on the VIA and SIS chipsets for the P4 vs Intel?

 

[DoubleL]

Bunch of BS, I build both Intel and AMD and the most problems I see are with the Intel, I use to run Intel only but got tired of all the problems, It is one thing to say I have better luck with one system over another, If your fan goes out on your AMD processor it will over heat and the computer will shut off, I have yet to see a AMD processor burn up from the fan going out and I have started mine without a fan and run it to show someone that was worried and heard all the stories, I have also built some Intel systems that run great and as stable as a rock and the people wouldn't want a better computer, Just as I have with the 266a systems, I don't try and talk people into a system and I don't say my word is God, I just never did have any luck with intel so I use AMD,

 

[DashK]

Harbinger52,

If you wanna build a P4 system get a motherboard with an Intel chipset. Intel makes the best chipsets in the world IMO, so why not pair that with one of their own CPU's? 2 I can suggest is the DDR i845D or the RDRAM i850.

If AMD made motherboard chipsets as good as Intel no one would even be thinking about Via, I hope AMD gets back into chipsets, because they make really great CPUs and it's a shame that there aren't better choices of mobo chipsets in AMD land, although nForce is probably going to change that.

Word of warning though, if your after speed, don't get an Intel made motherboard, get one made by another company, it will be a lot faster.

 

[harbinger52]

DashK
I do plan on getting a intel chipset. how over clockable are the P4's with Rdram vs DDR? I like to push things.