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P4 1.8a instead of XP 2000?

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First, until today, never even considered p4s. I am getting ready for an upgrade but "have a limited budget" I HAVE to get mobo, CPU, 256m or more DDR ram, case, cooler, and floppy and I must do it for 425US including shipping. This is what I thought I was getting from Newegg. I am pretty certain I want them, given their reputation.
I do not intend to overclock the AMD. Keep in mind, I do not need any ISA slots, but I need at least 3, if the mobo has onboard LAN worth squat.
Gigabyte GA7VAX mobo $89
XP2000 Retail with fan and cooler $90
512 meg KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/512 32x64 PC2700 DDR $113
Sony floppy drive $8
Case MAXTOP CSX-147K-GF-USB-GRAY 350w and front USB $39
Thermaltake volcana 9 smart and silent CPU Fan $25
All told, with shipping $385, well below my limit of absolute upper limit of $425
I know that I can save a few bucks on the OEM version of the CPU over the boxed OEM version, but I feel more comfortable with the boxed one.

The gigabyte MOBO is worrying me. I understand it has had some vid card issues. Not married to that mobo
Anyway, now various things have led me to consider a p4
I can keep most of what is listed above, and just change mobos and CPUS. Figgered on getting a 1.8a ghz P4 and overclocking it. If I can hit 2.4 with it, the extra 53 bucks it costs will be well worth it. However, if I pay 53 extra bucks, then I am over budget. I can live with 256meg of ram for now I guess, that will save me about 53 bucks which is the difference, but I want that ram. The worst problem is that I have spent years in the AMD mindset, and have researched my purchase now for at least 3 months. So I think I have a pretty good feel for the AMD side. I am confident that if I decided on a nforce2 chipset, I can find a motherboard I am happy with for the AMD in no time flat. But I am so unfamiliar with the pentium side, even with a good weekend of research, I still don't really understand what is good and what is bad for the P4, especially when I feel like I HAVE to overclock the 1.8a ghz processor to get the value out of it.

I know that for OCing, Asus fits the bill, but you pay a heavy price penalty. I would like to find a P4 MOBO with similar features and price of the AMD one, and be reasonably sure I am can squeeze that extra 500 or 600 mhz outta the 1.8a. Otherwise, I will just stick with the XP and use the extra heat it produces to warm my feet.

Stability is important, features next.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Honkwomp on 01/19/03 10:25 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

More about : 2000

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Motherboard Expert
Overclocking Expert

The 1.8A is an easy overclock for 2400MHz.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>
Motherboard Expert
Overclocking Expert

Oh, and if you want a nice, solid, inexpensive board, consider the Asus P4S533 (not the newer, less reliable P4S8X).

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

Thanks ever so much for the reply!

Then as long as I can stay under that 425 budget, then it looks kinda like a no brainer. Far as I know the volcano 9 works just fine on a socket 478 p4, so really all I need is a mobo!
I will look at the mobo you suggested. I like to game, but I am not playing the absolute cutting edge stuff. And besides, money is a big factor.
I am assuming that even with the P4s multiplier lock, I can get the performance to above a xp2000 with just the increase in bus speed. Nothing I have is top notch, so I doubt that the other components can tolerate much increase in speed. LOL this opens a whole nuther can of worms :) 
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Motherboard Expert
Overclocking Expert

you'll want the Retail Boxed CPU and the Retail Boxed cooler, you get a 3 year warranty, low noise, and great cooling that way.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

Thanks again. I looked at new egg for the mobo you suggested, it is outta stock. If it is not instock when I go to order tues, then this is the mobo I will probably get instead.
ASUS P4PE/L Motherboard for Intel P4 478

I had to give up 256 meg of ram but I came in at 390 including shipping, so I am still where I want to be.

The CPU is a retail boxed version with cooler and fan, and so I was able to delete the Thermaltake volcano 9 can and save 25 bucks.
But I still get most everything I want. I cannot wait to upgrade. My current k6-2-450 socket 7 system is getting kinda lame ;) 

dude, getting the AMD retail box is a waste of money - its the same CPU, but boxed with a fan instead... the only reason that the warrantee on the "retail box" CPU is longer than the OEM one is because there's a clause in the retail box warrantee - it says that the warrantee is void should you use any other cooling device on the CPU. Now for the extra cash, why don't you pick yourself a video card instead of a better motherboard (since the one you're getting is ok)... look for a Radeon 9000 64mb if you're not doing any serious gaming, or for a little more go for a GeForce4 Ti4200 (about $120).

Woohoo! Broke the 30-celcius barrier with through the loud and innefficient world of air-cooling! Also, never - NEVER - play with gum in one hand and hair in the other... just trust me.

Well as far as the retail box, gotta go with crashman on that ) I am about maxed out budget wise, but I will remember that vid card. The Geforce2 MX I bought was probably one of the worst mistakes I have ever made, 64 meg of ram or not! ;)  My wifes ATI kicked it's ass all over the place, depsite the fact that they were supposed to be comparable cards at the time, and they were comparably priced.

a 1.8P4 should be fine for now (still rare to find a program that needs even 1ghz !!!) XP2000 is equal to any socket423/478 P4 up to 2ghz definately...

is it summer already ??? oh, its just the heat haze coming off my PC...
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