Looking for the best p4 m/b

ProteuS · 20th January 2002, 11:23 PM

I'm about to upgrade and I've decided to go back to intel,

I'm looking at getting a P4 2.0g Northwood, gf3ti 500, pc2700 ddr (come into a bit of cash

) and I'm looking for a good overclocking and stable m/board.

From reading a whole lot of reviews the sis645 chipset seems to perform really well, tho Ive only read reviews of the Asus333 and an Epox 4sda+.

Raid and 6 channel audio are a nice bonus too. I can finally turf my Sb live as well.

Just a bit sick of high temps, insabilty etc.

Any suggestions?

Czechmate · 20th January 2002, 11:33 PM

First of all, I'd like to suggest that with the current high price of DDR SDRAM (esp. PC2700), you may want to consider RDRAM as an alternative. 256Mb of RDRAM (as two 128Mb sticks) are priced equivalently to most vendors' PC2700 256Mb counterparts. Also, you will get the added reliability, dependability and stability of an Intel chipset.

The reason for me suggesting RDRAM is that the P4 really was designed to take advantage of the high bandwidth it offers. Whilst DDR offers almost the same levels, if you want the absolute best performance, you'll have to go with RDRAM.

Personally, if I was purchasing a Northwood and a motherboard to go with it, I'd reach for the Abit TH7-II RAID. Whilst I am biased towards Abit, I genuinely believe that this is the finest P4 i850 board - as far as overclocking is concerned, anyway!! It is also packed with features like onboard RAID and an embedded sound controller.

LabMan · 20th January 2002, 11:46 PM

Id surgest the same thing as Czechmate, i have the TH7II non raid and it kicks ass, you wouldnt be disappointed with it

woofer · 21st January 2002, 9:17 PM

I have the TH7 II Raid, i will be pairing this board with a 2.2Ghz Northwood in the next few days.

As Czechmate has pointed out .. people can no longer use the argument"...RAMBUS IS TO EXPENSIVE"...
You can pick up good SAMSUNG RDRAM ..512mb for around AUD$ 380 to $420
I just recently purchased 1GB Samsung RDRAM (Thanks Andrew
Macks/Secretnet..

) for $795

Just for intrests sake check out a few threads at Vapochill.com

http://www.vapochill.com/forum/

there are quite a few users using the TH7 II Raid and some VERY impressive results..

Czechmate · 21st January 2002, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woofer
I have the TH7 II Raid, i will be pairing this board with a 2.2Ghz Northwood in the next few days.

woofer, I am literally shaking with anticipation as to what sort of speeds you will achieve with a Northwood and your Vapochill. Please, for the sake of humanity, share your overclocking feats with the rest of us!!

ProteuS · 22nd January 2002, 12:00 AM

Youre starting to convince me about rdram, Ive just got to justify the cost, 21" monitor, good video (my mx isnt going to keep up with a 21") , cpu, m/board and ram.

I just recieved a lump sum and its prolly the last upgrade for a while, what with a house, new car and a flat or 2.

I really want the fastest and most trouble free combination i can get as its gotta last a couple of years.

Thanks for the suggestions, its been a while since i even looked at intel for my home system.

Cheers.

Biosmaster · 22nd January 2002, 10:01 AM

Just for information, some early benchies with a 1.8a northwood.
Which are available in the Uk.

www.dgwcomputing.co.uk

Microsoft · 22nd January 2002, 4:30 PM

well if you want the best bang for buck P4 board it will be the

8IRXP, gigabyte really sucks on there manuals but i think it has everything except the kitchen sink

BitAddict · 26th January 2002, 12:59 PM

[...]Also, specifically with respect to the "Abit Engineered Overclocking Strips" that are featured on the under side of the TH7II-RAID motherboard, here is what Scott Thirlwell, Abit's resident PR Macho Man, had to say...

"The story is that an engineer did his own mod which included these strips. I asked everyone why they were on the board and it was almost like they thought they had done something wrong by putting on something they used, on their own mod devices. Anyway, I talked to that engineer and he said that with RAMBUS systems, the strips should increase overall system stability, especially when overclocking. He went on to say that during overclocking, this will also increase stability between all the devices and the board. How do you test this? The engineers don't really know either. They say that through use over the past year, they know it is effective. Other than that they have also run EMI Tests during regular usage and while overclocking. The boards with these strips definitely came in with lower EMI than the systems without.[...]

I like the sound of that! Was plagiarised from here btw:
http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/...7ii-raid.shtml

BitAddict · 26th January 2002, 1:02 PM

Did I mention CPU voltage adjustment up to 2.2V ?

woofer · 26th January 2002, 1:26 PM

CoolPC ..Has your Northwood been fired up in anger yet??

BitAddict · 26th January 2002, 1:42 PM

It is awaiting the arrival of a TH7II-RAID and 512MB Kingston Rambus from Synnex on Wednesday next week :-) To tell you the truth this is a purely self-protective measure. I've got an exam on Wednesday as well and if I had the Northwood to play around with anytime before then I sure as hell wouldn't get any study done...

Bravo · 26th January 2002, 2:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CoolPC
[...]Also, specifically with respect to the "Abit Engineered Overclocking Strips" that are featured on the under side of the TH7II-RAID motherboard, here is what Scott Thirlwell, Abit's resident PR Macho Man, had to say...

"The story is that an engineer did his own mod which included these strips. I asked everyone why they were on the board and it was almost like they thought they had done something wrong by putting on something they used, on their own mod devices. Anyway, I talked to that engineer and he said that with RAMBUS systems, the strips should increase overall system stability, especially when overclocking. He went on to say that during overclocking, this will also increase stability between all the devices and the board. How do you test this? The engineers don't really know either. They say that through use over the past year, they know it is effective. Other than that they have also run EMI Tests during regular usage and while overclocking. The boards with these strips definitely came in with lower EMI than the systems without.[...]

I like the sound of that! Was plagiarised from here btw:
http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/...7ii-raid.shtml

thats pretty amazing. Its nice to see a company not only taking a look at engineering ideas, but implementing them.

20th January 2002, 11:23 PM	#1
ProteuS Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Perth, bugger Sydney Posts: 169	Looking for the best p4 m/b I'm about to upgrade and I've decided to go back to intel, I'm looking at getting a P4 2.0g Northwood, gf3ti 500, pc2700 ddr (come into a bit of cash ) and I'm looking for a good overclocking and stable m/board. From reading a whole lot of reviews the sis645 chipset seems to perform really well, tho Ive only read reviews of the Asus333 and an Epox 4sda+. Raid and 6 channel audio are a nice bonus too. I can finally turf my Sb live as well. Just a bit sick of high temps, insabilty etc. Any suggestions?

20th January 2002, 11:33 PM	#2
Czechmate Intel Insight Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: 2eme Regiment Etranger des Parachutistes Posts: 785	First of all, I'd like to suggest that with the current high price of DDR SDRAM (esp. PC2700), you may want to consider RDRAM as an alternative. 256Mb of RDRAM (as two 128Mb sticks) are priced equivalently to most vendors' PC2700 256Mb counterparts. Also, you will get the added reliability, dependability and stability of an Intel chipset. The reason for me suggesting RDRAM is that the P4 really was designed to take advantage of the high bandwidth it offers. Whilst DDR offers almost the same levels, if you want the absolute best performance, you'll have to go with RDRAM. Personally, if I was purchasing a Northwood and a motherboard to go with it, I'd reach for the Abit TH7-II RAID. Whilst I am biased towards Abit, I genuinely believe that this is the finest P4 i850 board - as far as overclocking is concerned, anyway!! It is also packed with features like onboard RAID and an embedded sound controller. __________________ "The logic which tells me to go with a better priced and higher performing AMD system is overpowered only by my undying love for the BX chipset." OCAU Extreme Cooling Club Peltier Member

21st January 2002, 9:17 PM	#4
woofer Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Swifts Creek, Victoria Posts: 520	I have the TH7 II Raid, i will be pairing this board with a 2.2Ghz Northwood in the next few days. As Czechmate has pointed out .. people can no longer use the argument"...RAMBUS IS TO EXPENSIVE"... You can pick up good SAMSUNG RDRAM ..512mb for around AUD$ 380 to $420 I just recently purchased 1GB Samsung RDRAM (Thanks Andrew Macks/Secretnet.. ) for $795 Just for intrests sake check out a few threads at Vapochill.com http://www.vapochill.com/forum/ there are quite a few users using the TH7 II Raid and some VERY impressive results.. __________________ OCAU Extreme Cooling Club Phase Change Member Opteron 175 @ 3200 Mhz 1.5v 10x320..... Swiftech Storm CPU Block DFI NF4 SLI-D ..... 2 GIG Corsair 3500LL Pro 3-4-4-8 @ 530mhz 1T "2"XFX 8800GT xxx SLI- 725/2000 .....

26th January 2002, 12:59 PM	#9
BitAddict Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,563	Go the TH7II-RAID! [...]Also, specifically with respect to the "Abit Engineered Overclocking Strips" that are featured on the under side of the TH7II-RAID motherboard, here is what Scott Thirlwell, Abit's resident PR Macho Man, had to say... "The story is that an engineer did his own mod which included these strips. I asked everyone why they were on the board and it was almost like they thought they had done something wrong by putting on something they used, on their own mod devices. Anyway, I talked to that engineer and he said that with RAMBUS systems, the strips should increase overall system stability, especially when overclocking. He went on to say that during overclocking, this will also increase stability between all the devices and the board. How do you test this? The engineers don't really know either. They say that through use over the past year, they know it is effective. Other than that they have also run EMI Tests during regular usage and while overclocking. The boards with these strips definitely came in with lower EMI than the systems without.[...] I like the sound of that! Was plagiarised from here btw: http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/...7ii-raid.shtml

26th January 2002, 1:26 PM	#11
woofer Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Swifts Creek, Victoria Posts: 520	CoolPC ..Has your Northwood been fired up in anger yet?? __________________ OCAU Extreme Cooling Club Phase Change Member Opteron 175 @ 3200 Mhz 1.5v 10x320..... Swiftech Storm CPU Block DFI NF4 SLI-D ..... 2 GIG Corsair 3500LL Pro 3-4-4-8 @ 530mhz 1T "2"XFX 8800GT xxx SLI- 725/2000 .....

20th January 2002, 11:46 PM	#3
LabMan Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 715	Id surgest the same thing as Czechmate, i have the TH7II non raid and it kicks ass, you wouldnt be disappointed with it

22nd January 2002, 12:00 AM	#6
ProteuS Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Perth, bugger Sydney Posts: 169	Youre starting to convince me about rdram, Ive just got to justify the cost, 21" monitor, good video (my mx isnt going to keep up with a 21") , cpu, m/board and ram. I just recieved a lump sum and its prolly the last upgrade for a while, what with a house, new car and a flat or 2. I really want the fastest and most trouble free combination i can get as its gotta last a couple of years. Thanks for the suggestions, its been a while since i even looked at intel for my home system. Cheers.

22nd January 2002, 10:01 AM	#7
Biosmaster Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Wrexham UK Posts: 2	Just for information, some early benchies with a 1.8a northwood. Which are available in the Uk. www.dgwcomputing.co.uk

22nd January 2002, 4:30 PM	#8
Microsoft Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Secret Govt. Facility Posts: 400	well if you want the best bang for buck P4 board it will be the 8IRXP, gigabyte really sucks on there manuals but i think it has everything except the kitchen sink

26th January 2002, 1:02 PM	#10
BitAddict Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,563	Did I mention CPU voltage adjustment up to 2.2V ?

26th January 2002, 1:42 PM	#12
BitAddict Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,563	It is awaiting the arrival of a TH7II-RAID and 512MB Kingston Rambus from Synnex on Wednesday next week :-) To tell you the truth this is a purely self-protective measure. I've got an exam on Wednesday as well and if I had the Northwood to play around with anytime before then I sure as hell wouldn't get any study done...