P4 Mobo-D865GBF

Starion15 · Sep 29, 2003

Hey all!

I've searched this site, and really couldnt find much on it (suprisingly). Maybe its hyphenated (sp?) at some point and thats why my searchs arent getting anything, but at any rate, here we go.

I'm looking into getting one of these (<A HREF="http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/bf/" target="_new">D865GBF</A>) to go along with a P4 3ghz. I had always planned on upgrading with a newer AMD cpu, so I never payed much attetnion to the happenings of the Pentium mobos. Is this one any good?

The only reason I'm switching "camps" is because I can get the 3ghz cpu and mobo together for $200, which is a very tempting offer. That in mind, would it be worth it anyway?

Thanks for any advice!

Starion

Edited by Starion15 on 09/28/03 09:08 PM.

Starion15 · Sep 29, 2003

Hmm, I dont know why my link wasnt working, but it is now.

pIII_Man · Sep 29, 2003

I never recomend people to buy intel boards, i would recomend the is7 or any other 865 mobo with pat enabled (the intel board does not). Intel makes very stable motherboards but you really just get that, stability, they are normally slow and have few settings and featueres and cost much more.

If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

pIII_Man · Sep 29, 2003

there was a little discusion about intel mobos <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=550029#550029" target="_new">here</A>

If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

Starion15 · Sep 29, 2003

Well, thats mildly disappointing. However, I dont really want to dish out another $100+ for a different mobo. That would be more money, and I'd have another motherboard to add to the collection. So, how much worse, would you say, is the Intel board versus say, the Abit IS7 (mentioned in the other thread)? Would it perform that much worse? Features wise, would I be missing anything real "important"? I'd like to try and overclock the cpu, but thats not really a must for me.

Crashman · Sep 29, 2003

up to 3-5% slower than a "performance" board using the proper settings.

Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!
Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!

Starion15 · Sep 29, 2003

Hmm, 3%-5% doesnt sound too bad.

Also, I did a search for "PAT", and got every post that had the word "compatible" in it. So would you mind reminding me what it does?

Thanks.

Crashman · Sep 29, 2003

Sorry, PAT is not officially supported for the 865 chipsets. While some manufacturers have found a way around this, certainly Intel wouldn't. This is because forcing PAT on the 865 reduces people desire to pay more for the 875, which is on the same core.

PAT is a memory shortcut that reduces latency and gives you a 1-3% performance boost.

Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!
Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!

Starion15 · Sep 29, 2003

So, does that earlier estimate cover the lack of PAT? Or am I looking at a 4%-8% performance loss?

Even with that loss, do you think it'd be worth the money? The cheepest P4 3ghz I see on Pricewatch is $365, so $200 for both doesnt look to bad to me.

Thanks for the tips!

EDIT: Oh yea, does this board allow for memory latency timing, fsb, and other BIOS available changes?Edited by Starion15 on 09/28/03 11:59 PM.

Crashman · Sep 29, 2003

PAT can't be garunteed on any 865 board as Intel had pledged to make it impossible to enable on recently released chips.

Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!
Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!

endyen · Sep 29, 2003

Since the mobo is costing you nothing, try to sell it and put the money into a decent board.

Starion15 · Sep 29, 2003

Good adivce all around. Thanks a lot!

I have come up with some more questions though.

I will most likely try and E-Bay this board and get another. So, I went back to THG main, and looked (again) at the "Big Business: 18 P4 boards In Price / Performance Face-Off" article. I found most of it to be quite usefull, though one thing confused me. Based on the Benchmark, and what he/she said (does Tom actually write any of this stuff anymore?), the Intel D865 PERL seemed to be the best performer, but the performance increase couldnt justify the cost. So, just for the fun of it, I went to Pricewatch and did a search for it. I found several sites, such as <A HREF="http://www.accupc.com/itemDetail.jsp?pid=mid865perl&refer=PriceWatch" target="_new">this</A> one, which is selling the board for less than many of the other boards on the list of 18. So my question is, whats wrong with these boards (refering to the one at the end of the link). Why are they so cheap here, when they are supposed to be so expensive? Are these like the castrated versions or something? They look about the same to me.

Right now, that one there is holding my top spot.

Thanks for the help!

Edited by Starion15 on 09/29/03 04:46 PM.

Starion15 · Sep 30, 2003

Oh yea, does anyone know how this board does with overclocking? Can I still change things like fsb, ram timings, and the like? Does it "do" it very well?

Starion15 · Sep 30, 2003

*BUMP*

Starion15 · Sep 30, 2003

*BUMP*

endyen · Sep 30, 2003

Again with the intel board. They are no good for ocing and have no pat. Most people seem to prefer the 865 chipset but used by Abit, Asus, or Msi.

Starion15 · Sep 30, 2003

lol, its nost as though I have some unnatural love for Intel, its just that-that board was supposed to be the fastest, and its fairly cheap. O'well.

Which of the 'other' boards would you say be the best, for a reasonable amount of money?

pIII_Man · Sep 30, 2003

just get the board, for that price it is a steal. I am assuming you need to get the mobo and cpu bundle to get this deal? If not get an is7 or p4p800.

If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboyEdited by piii_Man on 09/30/03 10:38 AM.

Starion15 · Sep 30, 2003

Yea, they come bundled together (also with XP Pro). So I have to get both.

So I've gone ahead and looked at some of your suggested-ish boards.

I've got <A HREF="http://www.pcrapids.com/home.asp?pw=y&pwl=search/productdesc.asp?lsskuid=MotAsuSock01885" target="_new">this</A> Asus board on my list, which I like, cuz I like Asus. However, I cant seem to find any actual reviews on it. Are they out there anywhere?

I've also looked at <A HREF="http://www.nexcomdirect.com/itemdesc.asp?CartId=13561380NBIG-ACCWARE-G37&ic=MBABIC7" target="_new">this</A> Abit (IC7). Based on the reviews I've found, it looks pretty good.

So between those two, which one would you say is better? Both with features and overclockability.

Thanks a lot!

pIII_Man · Sep 30, 2003

i wouldn't recomend that board, sis chipsets are clasically slow (but still pretty stable), the intel board will probably be faster. You will probably want to look at the p4p800 from asus. If its a bundled deal go for it! I am sure you wont be able to beat that price. But the abit IC7 is a nice board, you may want to just stick with a cheaper and equally well performing pat enabled 865pe board. Make sure you check out the p4p800 and p4c800 before making a decision.

I know the p4p800 overclocks slightly better than the is7
i do not know how the p4p800 compares to the ic7 however.

If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

HardWareBoss · Sep 30, 2003

He can't go wrong with Abit IS7 for $109.

Starion15 · Oct 3, 2003

Sorry, work and such has kept me away. After readin' some reviews, I've pretty much narowed it down to these two:

<A HREF="http://www.buyxtremegear.com/is7.html" target="_new">ABIT IS7</A>

<A HREF="http://www.gameve.com/store/gameve_viewitem.asp?idproduct=1038&showit=1" target="_new">MSI 865PE NEO2-FIS2R</A>

I like the first one because it performs pretty good, and is very "affordable".
However, I like the second one because it was one of the top performers (top in many tests), and this one is in the retail box that comes with all the "toys".

So, do you think there is anything 'important' about either one I should know about?

This doesnt really belong here, but, I was planning on putting two of <A HREF="http://www.buyxtremegear.com/geil3500256u.html" target="_new">these</A> in there, or one of <A HREF="http://www.buyxtremegear.com/geil5.html" target="_new">these</A>. I assume they would work OK for both boards, right?

Thanks for the help guys!

Sartori · Oct 3, 2003

$200 for both?? That sounds a little too good to be true doesn't it? Are you sure its a 3.0? Is it used or retail? And does it come with a fan/heatsink?

HardWareBoss · Oct 3, 2003

HyperX PC3500 $123 at New Egg last Time I looked.

HardWareBoss · Oct 3, 2003

Now if you want to save money? You buy P4 2.4C OC to 3.0. Worked for me.

P4 Mobo-D865GBF

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