Best Socket T Motherboard?

[ringfinger]

Hello all. Just curious what your opinions are on the best Socket T LGA775 motherboard? I am looking to build my own machine, first time by the way and I'm just trying to decide on obviously one of the most important components. I'm looking at getting either the Intel P4 650 or 660 (not sure on that yet either). I've heard ASUS is a very good brand. I'd like to have atleast 1gb DDR2@667 and SATAI-II connections. (Will a SATA-II connection be backward compatible to SATA-I?) Like to have the PCI-E and normal PCI. And if at all possible an old fashion IDE controller too, I've seen boards with both. Sorry for the longs post. Any options/configurations are welcome. TIA!

Edited August 17, 2005 by ringfinger

[jcarle]

ASUS P5WD2 Deluxe is king of the world right now. Edited July 30, 2005 by jcarle

[ringfinger]

WOW! That is a sweet MB... and not bad for the price either. Thanks for the reply. Any other recommended components that will work with this MB? Thanks.

[boooggy]

go for that asus .... is one of the best.

[mendipjohn]

Sounds quite a grand spec platform for a first time build

Nothing wrong with being grand at all, but my advice to people these days is dont spend money unecessarily on computer hardware. My thinking is that system performance is measured as much by the tasks it is used for as well as benchmarks and reviews, and when you account for running costs as well, I encourage people to focus on good value, reasonable performace components and longer term cost effectiveness. Whatever you buy now, given a few months, it wont be so special, and may well be much cheaper. Check socket T is the right path for your build before deciding anything

(sorry if that is a little off topic)

Edited July 30, 2005 by mendipjohn

[jcarle]

@mendipjohn -

On the contrary, you can never spend too much on the power supply and the motherboard... those are determining factors in everything else that you will build into your computer. They also determine the life of your computer. Buying the highest technology motherboard available combined with a reliable high quality power supply gives you the option to upgrade for years to come.

Anyone building an Intel based computer should always go for LGA 775 socket, DDR2 memory, PCI Express slots and SATA II interfaces on their motherboards for the highest upgradibility life possible.

@ringfinger -

Aside from that motherboard, the only other must have recommendation I would have for you would be a solid reliable power supply from a quality driven company such as Enermax or Antec.

After you have a high technology, reliable, quality motherboard (for the reasons above) such as the ASUS P5WD2 Deluxe and a solid reliable power supply, then the rest comes down to your budget. The rest doesn't matter as much because it can be upgraded, changed and improved as your budget allows.

I do however recommend that you stick to either Seagate or Western Digital (with 8MB buffers, 2MB buffer hard drives are of lower quality) for your hard drives if you value your data. Stay away from Maxtor, Fujitsu and IBM.

That board would allow you to install a Pentium D 820 which is reasonable in price and give the power of a dual-core processor.

Kingston memory is lifetime garanteed and of great quality and works wonders with ASUS boards.

I like to match ASUS boards with ASUS video cards, but that's just a personal preference because their video cards match the quality of their motherboards and are always compatible with each other.

And I'm in love with the Pioneer DVR-109 dvd-/+rw dual layer drive. That's an all-in-one optical godsend.

[mendipjohn]

@jcarle

Indeed I agree, I would never suggest anyone buy cheap, low quality parts which are likely to fail Particuarly as you mention, the core components such as mobo, cpu, ram, psu, hdd, even graphics cards perhaps. Summarised, any of the more expensive components are worth getting right first time round, as if they do fail, you ca end up in alot of bother.

I was just suggesting that on the basis of the cost of hardware, and the power consumption of hardware, the latest technology isnt always worth purchasing unless your really keen, or have need to use it

[rikgale]

Also it is worth investing in a good case. Something roomy and airy. A good case will last as long as you do and will probably be able to hold many computers during its life time. Make sure that there is lots of room in side as this helps when putting it together and with air flow. I am currentley using a Lian-Li PC-V1000. A lovely quiet case.

Edited July 31, 2005 by rikgale

[ringfinger]

Thank all of you for your input. I realize it is kinda of a high end machine for my first time build, but I've been needing to upgrade for a long time and want to have something I will have room to upgrade farther down the road. I think this board is perfect as I didn't want to get the dual-core Pentium D's right off the bat but just wanted something with HT, and an external SATA?? I mean c'mon, that rocks!

JCarle, thanks so much for your imput. I was leaning toward the Kingston memory as I have heard the same as what you said, but was totally lost on which PSU and Vid Card to get.

As far as the cases go, is there a site somewhere which tells you compatibility to which motherboard you'd like? Like I put in the P5WD2 Premium and it will tell me what my options are? Like rikgale said, i'd like to get something roomy to allow for good airflow and something thats easily opened as well.

Thanks again for the imput and if you ahve anything else to add please do!

Edited July 31, 2005 by ringfinger

[jcarle]

Computer cases come in two major flavors. ATX and microATX. Those are the motherboard form factors, which is an industry standard. ATX will support ATX motherboars as well as microATX, however microATX (being smaller) will only support microATX motherboards. There are other standards, but there's too many and not very common, so you need not worry about them. Your motherboard is an ATX motherboard. So the case you choose must support ATX motherboards.

You can pretty much pick any case you like, the differences in cases are mostly quality and style. One thing to remember though is the number of bays a case has. Internal 3½" bays serve to put hard drives, external 3½" bays serve to put floppy drives, card readers and zip drives, while external 5¼" bays serve for optical drives. The bays you need depends on the expansion you want to make with your computer. If you plan on having only one optical drive and a single hard drive, then a small mid-tower is enough for you. If you choose to go with more hard drives and multiple optical drives, you'll want something more towards a full size tower.

Just remember one important thing when picking your case. If the case is not made by a quality company such as Antec or InWin, then chuck out the power supply that comes with case and buy yourself a reliable Enermax, Antec, PC Power and Cooling or Sparkle Power power supply.

Here are some of my favourite recommendations for ATX cases that will support your motherboard:

• Antec TX640B, $105.00 USD
  
• Antec SLK3700-BQE, $79.99 USD
  
• Antec Titan550, $180.00 USD
  

(If you're wondering why they're all Antecs, it's because they're quality cases that you won't cut your hands on when working inside that feature some of the best power supply on the pc market today.)

Edited July 31, 2005 by jcarle

[ringfinger]

Thanks JCarle... I understand that I will need to get an ATX case and PSU, my question is how can I find one that is compatible with the specific MB iteself allowing for the ports on the board. For example, the links you provided... I don't see anything that will allow for all the ports on the MB to be accessible. How can I find one that will fit the board perfectly? Or with these cases, is there a way to change out the metal in the back or some way to make them fit?

[jcarle]

Part of the ATX standard is that all ATX cases must have a removable I/O shield. Also, each motherboard must include the appropriate I/O for itself to be installed in the ATX case.

Your motherboard will include a shield similar to the one below that you will install in your case.

This makes it so that ANY ATX motherboard will fit into ANY ATX case.

Edited July 31, 2005 by jcarle

[ringfinger]

Wow... really feel like a noob now. Thanks JCarle, I figured there must be a recmovable/customizable way to fit the boards. On to my next thing... RAM. Do you recommend the 533MHz RAM or the 667? Would I be better off with first just getting 1 stick of 667 and another later or 2gb of 533 right off the bat? My ultimate goal is 2GB, but I know that the 667 is a heftier price. Also, ECC or Non-ECC?

As far as the processor, I'm stuck between the P4 3.4 and 3.6. Is there a p4 3.4 with a 2M L2 cache? I don't think I want to shell out the extra cash for the 2M L2 cache on the 3.6... and is it even woth it? How much difference in performance do you think I would notice between the P4 3.4 1MB L2 and the 3.6 2MB L2?? Whats the best performance/cost ratio? TIA.

Edited August 1, 2005 by ringfinger

[jcarle]

For memory, 667MHz DDR2 is a little expensive right now. You'd be better off buying yourself two sticks of 512MB in a matched pair, such as Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - OEM, $98.89 USD. You'll get more performance two 512MB working in dual channel at a 533MHz then you will with a single stick of 1GB working in single channel at 667MHz. I'd save up, wait for 800MHz DDR2 to become available and reasonably priced, because the ASUS P5WD2 Premium is one of the first motherboards to support 800MHz DDR2. And for the ECC RAM (error correcting code), it's memory that will correct itself if it has errors. It's not really needed in a workstation computer, it's typically used in servers due to it's higher cost.

One of the best performance/price ratio processors right now is the intel Pentium 4 530J Prescott 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail, $173.99 USD. The difference between 1MB and 2MB of cache is not as impressive as the increase in clock speed or the performance advantage of a dual core processor such as the intel Pentium D 820 Smithfield 800MHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor - Retail, $237.49 USD.

Edited August 1, 2005 by jcarle

[ringfinger]

Alright, thanks for the advice. I just want the fastest! As everyone does I'm sure, 173 for the 3.0, 227 for the 3.2, 269 for the 3.4... I'm so torn. However, right now I'm running a maxed out Latitude CPxJ with 750MHz p3, 512MB RAM and 80gb HD... LOL. So a 3ghz will still rock. I guess I'll have to make the decision soon.

Next, is it possible/a good idea to combine different MHz of RAM together? Like if I take your advice and get the 2 x 512 Kingston 533 can I have both the 533 and say 800 running at the same time or will the 533 RAM restrict me to only 533MHz on all sticks?

Also, JCarle... can you explin to me the difference between the northbridge and the southbridge?? I notice that in the 'package' with the MB there seems to be a cable for the southbridge (I went to Fry's today and saw it in the description on the box). This looks like something that is manualy connected.. what is it's use and is the northbridge hardwired? Thanks.