New system: Which mobo?

[Allmachtige]

I havn't built a new system in some time, so I'm overdue...plus I'm behind the times when it comes to what's what. For instance, would it hurt performance to use an ATI graphics card with a nvidia chipset on a mobo?

My budget isn't insane this time around, but I do know of a few things I must have:
1.) 2 x Raptor 36.7GB SATA drives on a RAID 0
2.) Athlon XP Barton 400fsb
3.) Dual Channel DDR400

Well I checked out the SOYO SY-KT600 and it looks promising, but nothing in the specs says anything about dual channel DDR. Is there a similar mobo that includes this feature? I'm sticking with an ATI graphics card, but the mobo chipset is not too important to me. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

[Zeekfu]

newbie here but..
Most everything I have looked at I believe that 1 74gb raptor is better all around and perhaps even a little cheaper than two 36gb in raid 0-certainly not enough to switch but if buying new...

I am sure somone will correct me if I am wrong (or probabably have a different opinion at least based on other info) but I think this is correct.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by zeekfu on 06/08/04 05:08 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Allmachtige]

Interesting about the Raptors, and I hope someone can shed some light on that as well.

 

[Crashman]

Start out with a top quality board and go from there. I'd suggest the Abit NF7-S version 2.0. Since previous versions have been off the market for some time, nearly all retailers are carrying the 2.0, which supports 400 bus.

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<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Zeekfu]

re: cpu
you also you might want to check this out. <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=168861#168861" target="_new">cpu guide</A> I think his point is that for around the same price as the 400 fbs bartons (which in fairness have dropped in price somewhat since the guide was written) one could get a p4 or athlon 64 which in most cases will outperform it.

I am an amd fan myself but I don't think the bartons have the best price performance ratio at the moment. *assuming of course one doesn't already have a mobo and is simply upgrading the cpu* <A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20031223/cpu-guide-21.html#game_index" target="_new">tom's cpu guide</A>
The athlon xp 3200+=$187ish
p4 2.8c/athlon 64 2800+ are a touch less than that atm.
People are recommending the mobile barton 2500 + for the athlon xp "best bang for the buck" chip. I don't know anything about ocing, that is just what I have read on this forum. There seem to be some really inexpensive good boards available for the xp too.


I don't know who came up with amd's marketing but I think they have performed a real coup with the current scheme. Some say their pricing is shameful, but they have managed to finally reach equity by twisting these two different product lines through the same pipe and creating a bottleneck in the downward movement of the price structure. They have also simultaneously created a third platform to compete at the top end. All-the-while they have athlon 64 scaling up and down to fill in the gaps.
Heck for all I know so many people might have upgrade fever that intel may not even be loosing all that much market share, maybe the pot just got bigger. The fact that anyone can even keep a straight face when they price a chip over $1000 must mean someone is making some money.

anyway...once again, I digress.
peace bro<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by zeekfu on 06/10/04 08:27 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Allmachtige]

I checked the NF7-S on newegg.com...not a bad price, but it does support dual channel DDR400 correct? I'm looking into a pair of Mushkin 512's (level 1). My budget is limiting me to either a Barton 3000 or a 64 2800. My take is even though the 64-bit 2800 is clocked slower at 1.8, it won't matter due to it's insane capabilities.

Are there a few boards out there that fit well with a possible 64-bit 2800, dual DDR400's, and my 2 Raptor drives raided together? When it comes to a mobo, I go all the way in price.

 

[Zeekfu]

<A HREF="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/showcase/AMD_showcase.jsp" target="_new">athlon 64/mobo/game offer</A> I am told both the chaintech vnf3-250 and msi k8n neo platinum are excellent boards. New egg has a simular offer. Perhaps others do as well.

 

[Cybercraig]

Yes, Mushkin Basic Green works fine! And don't be a chicken, get a 333mhz processor and raise the FSB up to 400mhz slowly. You'll turn a XP-2500 into a XP-3200 that way and still be running the board spec 400mhz. Better yet, get a mobile chip and faster memory for more speed.
A better than stock heatsink is recommended for speeds above XP-3000.

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Now, let's eat!

 

[Allmachtige]

Am I right when I say that I should just get one big 1gb stick of DDR400 if I get an Athlon 64 instead of 2 512's because the 64's don't support dual channel (non-FX)?

 

[Cybercraig]

No, the timings on a 1gb stick will be slower. Just get 2 X 512.

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Now, let's eat!