Confused about motherboard memory support

[dave326]

I am going to be building a computer soon, and so far I have picked out the following parts:
AMD Athlon XP 2400+ CPU RETAIL
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard RETAIL
2x 256MB PC 3200 cas2 cl 2(probably geil)
80 gb Maxtor 8mb Cache HD
Lite On 52x24x52 CDRW
1.44
Lian-Li PC60 with 400 watt enermax PS
win xp home full

The budget for this computer is about 1000 dollars for a full pc except monitor.
It will be a gaming PC, but stability oriented.

Already own a gf4600 ti

The reason for the AMD selection is that the NForce2 chipset supports DDR3200(400), whereas the Asus P4G8X (Intel7205) only supports DDR 2100 according to manufacturer specs. Also, the 845 chipset is agp 4x (yes I know graphics cards don't utilize it, but this will be my computer for 2 or 3 years so I want it to have upgradeability)

This confuses me because I see numerous computers, including the Tom's Hardware 800 FSB p4, which has the Asus P4G8X, but running 2x 256 MB Corsair Micro DDR400, CL2. The article "the Iceman Cometh: p4 at 4.1ghz"
<A HREF="http:// http://www17.tomshardware.com/cpu/20021216/index.html " target="_new">http:// http://www17.tomshardware.com/cpu/20021216/index.html </A>
clearly states that the motherboard has dualchannel ddr 400 support. My question is, could you run faster ram than 2100 in this motherboard, or is it due to overclocking? If so would that cause stability issues?

Another aspect of computers I don't fully understand is the high end powersupplys. I figure that about 400 watts is right for this system, since that will allow more hungry graphics cards etc. Since I won't be overclocking this computer more than 10% over stock, do I need to buy a enermax or thermaltake PS?

And finally, would a p4 2.4 or 2.53 with a Asus P4G8X be faster than a amd 2400+ ASUS A7N8X, all other things equal?
I personally prefer Intel CPU for some reason, but due to the apparent lack of a motherboard that supports fast DDR and agp8x, I'm leaning towards the AMD combo.

 

[Crashman]

Have you considered a different chipset? The 7205 chipset is far from being the fastest. In fact, the SiS 648 is faster, and it's single channel! Gigabyte knows how to make this chipset stable with PC3200 at full speed, Asus...doesn't.

Faster still is the SiS 655 chipset. Basically a Dual Channel version of the 648 (as far as features go), Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte all make boards that have met Anandtech's stamp of approval. And all three manufacturers are now using the B0 stepping of the chipset for proper HT support. You should go to Anandtech and read the reviews of these great boards!

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[tuesday630]

Crashman's recommendations are all good, but the original Athlon setup you outlined is good too. If it comes down to a price consideration, go with the Athlon setup you mentioned. It will upgrade well.

Also, I wouldn't put too much stock in motherboards and chipsets that are advertising greater memory bandwidth than the front-side bus can handle- like DDR400 on a 333MHz FSB. Personally, I think it marketing numbers hype.

---There may be more than one way to do it, but why would anyone want to remove the fur from a feline?---