Configuration with P4, 3.06

[Ihab]

I am getting a Pentium 4 processor 3.06 GHz ....
My question is ...
What's the best MOBO and RAM that go with that processor?
And what kind of PSU should i get?
Thanks.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Ihab on 03/17/03 08:37 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Mephistopheles]

The best mobo is still the good old i850E with PC-1066 RDRAM, but not for long. Next month it´ll probably be i875, known as <i>Canterwood</i>, with an 800Mhz-FSB and Dual-DDR400. It´ll probably be expensive, but I´m willing to bet it´ll be worth it. It´ll also support Prescott, the next generation of cpus from Intel.

If I had to choose a particular mobo now, I think I´d go with the Asus P4T533-C. It is a fine board and should service you well.

Oh, and about the PSU... don´t really know, you´ll have to wait for some other post... sorry .

 

[Ihab]

So you recommend that i go with RDRAM ... what about DDR 333? ... would it be much of a difference?
And the Asus P4T533-C Motherboard only supports Pentium 4 1.4GHz to 2.2GHz ... so will this go with 3.06?
I am thinking about the Asus P4G8X DELUXE ... isn't it any good?
Forgive my ignorance as i don't really know much.
Thanks.

 

[Crashman]

It doesn't "only" support anything, it supports everything on the market right now. Asus never updates their spec page to include new processors released after the board! I loose a lot of sales on eBay that way. BTW, I run a CPU at 1466MHz on a board that "only" supports a PIII 700 according to the spec page.

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

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Depends on what you're upgrading for. If you are upgrading and you need something now here is what to get:

if you choose a DDR system go with either asus or abit with the 845PE chipset. Look at the IT7MAXX 2.0 w/ 845PE chipset. Loaded with features and you are blessed with ABITS tech support. You may want to chose the fastest RAM you can find here. I chose ddr2700 and it looks like i'm gonna have to buy new RAM anyway to ake advanage of the 200mhz FSB.

If you choose a RDRAM system, the only chipset to get is the 850E i do believe. Unfortunatly i know little about rambus boards. Perhaps someone else can help you with this.

If you can wait the i recommend to wait at least 3 more months. Prescott should be in the 500 dollar range at 3.2ghz, boards with the 800mhz FSB, and 400mhz DDR or 1200MHZ rdram should be more then enough to grant an upgrade. If you got a computer and it works keep it and wait; new stuff is around the corner.

I hear RDRAM is great for video editing. My next upgrade i may choose a RDRAM path myself because i'm begining to do quite a bit of video editing now that i have a dvd burner.

I hope this helped a little anyway. It's up to you though. If you did get a 3ghz p4 and a board and 512-1024megs of RAM that would be plenty fast to do what you want. So don't get discuraged. It's up to you if you want the latest stuff for the same money.

Life is irrelivent and irrational.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=9933" target="_new"> My Rig </A>

 

[Ihab]

So the Asus P4G8X DELUXE is a good choice, right?
What about the RAM ... Should i go with RDRAM or DDR?
and PSU?
Forgive my ignorance.
Thanks

 

[Mephistopheles]

As for waiting, I agree it´s the most reasonable option right now. If you can wait a month or so for Canterwood - i875 - you´ll be in for a treat, because not only does it support 800Mhz FSB and dual-channel DDR400, it also supports the new Prescott Processor. So, if you get a Canterwood mobo, you have a clear upgrade path for 2003 and 2004. <i>(Hey, wait a minute, I´ve already said that here, in this same thread!</i>

That´s what I´m doing right now. Waiting for Canterwood. And gathering money for an upgrade.

 

[Ihab]

Well actually i am not upgrading, i am making a new one.
So i think i am not gonna go with RDRAM as i believe it's a bit more expensive and not as popular as DDR and the difference in the benchmarking is not that big anyway, or am i wrong?
Considering the mobos, i have 2 options right now ...
1st one ... Abit IT7MAX2 Ver 2.0 Intel 845PE chipset that goes with DDR DIMM 200/266/333 ...
2nd one ... Asus P4G8X DELUXE that goes with DUAL CHANNEL 4x 184-pin DIMM Sockets (PC2100) ...
So would there be much of a difference if i get the Abit mobo and use a single channel DDR 333 or get the Asus one and use a dual channel DDR 266, bearing in mind that the Asus mobo is more loaded than the Abit one and it's much more expensive, but money is not the issue right now. Which one should i get?
I am gonna get the ATI Radeon 9700 or the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, i am not set yet.
And the power supply ... should it be 420W, 470w, or what goes with that configuration?
I think i am not gonna wait for the Prescott Processor or the Canterwood mobo as they would be much more exepensive and as i read no one is sure when they are gonna be available.
So would you please advice me as i don't know much.
Thanks.
Forgive my ignorance.

 

[FUGGER]

Right now, the DC DDR motherboards (P4G8X and 8INXP) are great performing board, the best of what is currently available for the 3.06 w/HT.

If you need to save money, the best 845PE board is the IT7 Max2 Rev2.

With the DC DDR boards you should go with a matched pair of Kinston HyperX PC3000C2 (budget oriented performance w/ better timing at lower FSB) or HyperX PC3500C2 if you plan on serious overclocking. I know that Mushkin black (PCB color) and Corsair platinum work fine too but you will pay premium for corsair and mushkin you might get remarked memory less agressive timing.

Rambus is very fast but DDR beats it in latency, DC DDR can match performance on RDR currently.

350w to 450w should be fine, lean to the higher PSU if you are running RAID drives.

800Mhz FSB parts should be hitting the market in June/July, expect motherboards to be $250+. Im sure we will see a few $300+

Im currently on a SiS655 with DC DDR and HT working correctly. I cannot break 4Ghz with my 3.06 that I know will do 4.14Ghz. DC Memory timing on this board cannot break 400Mhz 2-6-2-2 enhance off @ 170FSB 3.9Ghz

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6176517" target="_new">current rig</A> yes Geforce FX 5800 Ultra 580/1120. I wasted no time ripping off the blow dryer and replacing it with a waterblock w/ pelt. The fricken thing was made to operate at 170F without fan active, the copper plate was also on the RAM and would heat the RAM beyond what it normally runs at. the heat plate is a very bad idea, it gets too hot to touch and takes up 2 slots. On this particular motherboard the riser card for the 1394 ports is located in the way.

I can tell that the Granite Bay motherboards I was running are stronger than this one. not by much but I can tell a difference with the games I play and benchmarks I post.

I know this is not a <A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=4819419" target="_new">fair compairison,</A> IT7 Max2 R2 also at 169FSB with a slower 2.66C1 @ 3.4Ghz (500Mhz despairity not on DC DDR) with a Radeon 9700Pro.

Yes the R9700Pro so owns the Top end Geforce FX severly overclocked and IQ dumped to the poorest quality.

I used newest drivers, tweaked system, sub zero temps, dumped IQ, single tests @ max Mhz,and yet I still could not break 19K

Even with newest drivers, R9700Pro beats the crap out of the FX in 3DMark2003.

This should be <A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=5951448" target="_new">proof enough</A> that Granite bay w/R9700 is the best route currently available for the P4.

Disreguard my cooling methods, I push each as hard as it will possibly go and will test multiple boards to find the best one of each. Do not expect to reach my speeds overclocking I am mearly showing you what they are capable of and performance levels.

<b>"Granted I dont own a P4. But I read enough stuff and waste enough time on forums newsgroups IRC and computer news sites that I proberly know more then if I DID own a P4." -vk2amv</b>

 

[HardWareBoss]

Prescott with Canterwood is the way to go. IF!!!! you can wait a couple of months.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Mephistopheles are you going with Prescott and Canterwood?

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Well RDRAM is actually faster. Is it noticably faster, i don't know.

Single channel or dual channel? logic tells me dual channel is faster. However you have to buy TWO sticks of memory! I'm not up to the latest techs. Personaly i would go with something proven and stable which is the 845PE chipset.

As for power supplies look into enermax. I recently got a 430watt enermax psu. I heard it was great.

Do yourself a favor and go to www.newegg.com ... they not only have pictures of everysginle item but they also have comments from users. You shouldn't use this to base on what to get but it would help nonetheless.

Get the ati 9700 pro - it's faster.

Ignorance can only be resolved through research.

Life is irrelivent and irrational.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=9933" target="_new"> My Rig </A>

 

[LtBlue14]

3.06
P4G8X
2x256MB (or 2x512MB if you want 1GB of memory) pc2100 ram at lowest latency, that should be real cheap
i say pc2100 because its bandwidth is ordinarily 2.1 gig/s but with the dual channel interface of the P4G8X you'll get 4.2GB/s, conveniently the exact bandwidth of a 3.06 processor
run the ram and fsb synchronously, which means FSB = 133 and ram = 133 mhz, a 1:1 ratio
for PSU, get name brand above all else
enermax or antec are easily found anywhere. i'd get an antec truepower 430W or an enermax 431W (called EG465, not 431)

<A HREF="http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=120&dPage=1" target="_new">WinXP tweak guide</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=145&dPage=1" target="_new">WinXP tweak guide 2</A>

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well, yes, but I´m not so sure about Prescott yet. What is important is that Canterwood should be out in a couple of months, but Prescott isn´t coming out until much later this year. It actually depends on how my budget behaves... But I´ll get a Canterwood, that much is for sure, and later on a Prescott as an upgrade or something. I just don´t know if i´ll be buying things mid-year or New Year 2004... I wish I had lots of money. (wish I were Ihab!! He´s buying state-of-the-art here...) I hope to be playing Doom 3 by the end of the year...

Also, I´ve already got a P3 550Mhz, a P3 933Mhz and a laptop P3-M 1Ghz. They are networked, and I can play Quake 3 on all of them... How long will it be until I can afford to play Doom 3 in a network of 2 doom 3-capable machines?... I wonder...