Best P4 mobo?

skyodyssey

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Jun 12, 2003
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Hi all, I am in the market for a new mobo that supports AGP 8X and I want the best I can get. I want to purchad the GeForce 6800 Ultra by PNY and the specs say that it only supports 8x. I currently have the ASUS P4PE (Only supports 4x) and I really like it. I have a P4 2.4 and DDR RAM. I would really like to keep my existing hardware if possible. So I am looking for the best mobo that supports AGP 8x and will support my existing hardware. Is there a big performance difference between 4x and 8x? i seen some Ultras that support both. BTW, will normal PCI cards work in PCI express slots?
Thanks!!!!
 

skyodyssey

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Will the IS7-G work with PC2700 RAM? I think mine is only at 400mhz, but if I read coreectly, this board only supports 800/533. Am I missing something? Does this board allow you to overclock the CPU? Whats your take on the MSI Neo 2? it looked like it got pretty good reviews and it accepts my RAM.
 

endyen

Splendid
Do you have a P4a? I think Asus has an 865 board that supports them if your's is not on this list <A HREF="http://www2.abit.com.tw/abitweb/webjsp/test_report/IS7_Series/01.php" target="_new">http://www2.abit.com.tw/abitweb/webjsp/test_report/IS7_Series/01.php</A>
The IS7-G is the IS7, only with gigabit lan.
Yes it will work fine with DDR333.
 

Cybercraig

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The Neo 2 is a decent board also. The IS7 is the class favorite though.

Abit IS7 - 3.0C @ 3.6ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 

skyodyssey

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Thanks for the info. I think i'll give the ABit a try. Now what will Windows Xp do if I change my mobo and Video card? Will it freak out and make me reinstall? Should I first change the mobo, then put video card in after I have booted windows a few times?

endyen, please forgive my ignorance, but why do you say a prescott is bad for this mobo?
 

endyen

Splendid
endyen, please forgive my ignorance, but why do you say a prescott is bad for this mobo?
The first reason is fairly obvious. The board was designed before Intel uped the power requirements for Prescott. It is still within the board's operating perameters, but getting close to the limit.
The second is more obscure. The heat output of prescott was never even dreamed of. That board, and most electronic devices simply do not like that kind of heat. Things happen, like capacitors dry out, varnish cracks, and of course, the resistance of all components is raised. Prescott is just hard on the other components in a system.

Now about xp. Are you running home, or pro?
What I generally do (not always successfully mind you) is to go into device manager, and delete every device that will be affected. Then I shut the computer down, and change the parts. Usually on boot, windows will just load the new config. Sometimes, that fails, because I missed something. Then I just give up, use another computer to back-up and say that it's carma. You dont have to give up. It is also possible just to put the windows cd in, and do a repair, but if I'm getting the cd out anyway...
 

skyodyssey

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I am running pro. So basically I should remove all my mobo devices? So something like a PCI sound card would not need to be removed? Would you say everything under System devices should be removed?

Thanks
 

endyen

Splendid
Pro is usually easier. The sound card should be okay, but yes everything in System devices. Make sure you dont forget the ide drivers. When I'm feeling particularly worried about success, I delete everything. My success rate is 100% then.