need help to decide between 2 mobos

[Guest]

I'm upgrading my computer and putting in a P4 2.2Gig, 400Mhz FSB. I don't know whether to go with Intel's USB 2.0/Audio/CNR version of their D850MV motherboard, which has the 850 chipset and uses RD-RAM, or their D845EGB2 board, which has the 845E chipset and uses 266Mhz DDR-SDRAM (and has USB 2.0).

I've read that my computer will probably be a bit faster with the 850 board, due to the RD-RAM, but since Intel's latest chipsets work with DDR-RAM instead of RD-RAM, I'm wondering if RD-RAM is on its way out and I should go with the 845E chipset, for future expansion. Is there anything I should know that might influence my decision?

Also, on a related note, can I even use the D845EGB2 motherboard, since my P4 is 400Mhz and not 533Mhz?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[Crashman]

You could use that board, but I wouldn't recommend it. You could get better performance out of an Asus P4T533-C, which also works with both "400" and "533" bus CPU's. You could also get better performance out of a P4 1.6A overclocked to 2133 at 133MHz FSB, aka "533". And save money. And have USB 2.0 on an i850 board. better yet, most 1.8a CPU's will go to 2.4B speed using the same method.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Guest]

Um, I'm a newbie, so I don't know what 1.6A and 1.8A CPUs are. How can I tell if my new CPU is 1.6A or 1.8A?

Also, I've never overclocked a CPU before; how do I do it? And finally, I noticed that the P4T533-C has built it LAN and audio -- will this affect my ability to use my SoundBlaster Audigy sound card and my wireless PC card?

Thanks for your help,
Rob

 

[Crashman]

The 1.6A and 1.8A are also known as Northwood 1600 and 1800MHz P4's, and can be identified by their having 512kb of Cache, instead of 256kb. The importance of the Northwood to overclockers is that it uses the .13 micron process, as opposed to the .18 micron process of earlier P4's. This means the transistors are smaller and closer together, making the thing able to clock higher. Having other improvements such as the larger cache size also improves performance.

You can turn off features you don't wish to use, such as onboard Sound and Lan.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?