[PuzzledTaco]

Hi again all. I was thinking of buying a new motherboard because I found one that fits my needs for only 85 dollars. I'm not sure if I should buy it though.

The main reason I want a new motherboard is because my current one has a 4x AGP slot and I'm not sure if the 4x will be compatible with video cards in the future. Will I be ok for a long time with the 4x, or will I need an 8x?

Also, the one im looking at is 800/533/400 FSB. Will my CPU run at 800 FSB (runs at 533 now) or is this for newer chips only? (I have a Pentium 4 2.4GhzB).


Thanks!

 

[Mental_Myopia]

Which motherboard is it, and which chipset is on it? The chipset is one of the main things to look at when shopping for a motherboard.

4x AGP should be fine for quite a while since the 8x AGP cards function well in a 4x slot. Until a month ago, I was still using 1x AGP with a nice GeForce3 Ti200 card. You won't be able to use the next generation AGP Pro cards with 4x AGP, though. If you'd like a new motherboard due to the price and the chance to upgrade your system a bit, make sure to get an AGP Pro slot so that you can take advantage of this new technology.

As for your FSB, your processor will need to support the 800FSB in order to use that. Otherwise, it will still operate at 533. Do you have any identification or packaging that came with your processor so that we can check its capabilities? When did you purchase your CPU?

 

[music freak]

Sounds like you are looking at the same type of board I have. Are you looking at Asus or Intel? If it's the Intel, it also supports 800/533/400 FSB with my Pent 2.4GHz chip. Your chip will be capable of 800MHz IF you get two 512 400 DDR or higher memory sticks, one in each DIMM slot, A and B. Any other memory will only afford you 400MHz speed. I'm also assuming your chip and board support Hyper-threading. My board will support up to 4GB RAM, and is RAID ready. I know Asus has a similar board.

You can use either 4x or 8x AGP video cards.

I don't know about the Asus board, but my Intel board runs great. I have absoloutly NO issues with anything.

 

[PuzzledTaco]

My Motherboard (PCChips) specs:


533 MHz FSB: PCChipS M935LR, 533/DDR w/Video, Audio, LAN



The advanced features of the SiS650GL/962 System Board include :
Supports Intel Pentium 4 1.4~2.2GHz CPUs with frequency at 400MHz FSB in Socket 478.
Supports Intel Pentium 4 2.26~2.8GHz CPUs with frequency at 533MHz FSB in Socket 478.
Provides 2 DIMMs for PC133 SDRAM, 2 DDR DIMM for DDR266/200 SDRAM modules, and memory size is expand up to 2GB.
Embedded 256-bit 3D AGP 4X Graphics Accelerator with 64MB frame buffer, support AGP 4X 266MHz mode, up to 2GB/s bandwidth,333MHz true-color RAMDAC, solution up to 2048x1536x16bpp NI , AGP 2.0 spec. compliant.
Provides 1 4X AGP slot, 2 PCI slots.
Provides an AMR slot; DirectSound AC97 Codec on board, for Audio, Modem and Network application.
10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet on board, supports IEEE 802.3 and 802.3u standards, and fully compliant ANSI X3.263 TP-PMD physical sub-layer.
Bundled optional an AMR V.90 Fax/Modem card for internet application.
SiS 962 chipset supports USB 2.0 & ATA133
2MB Flash ROM on board, provides complete Advance Configuration Power Interface (ACPI) and Legacy PMU; Ultra DMA 66/100; fully compliant with PC'97 and PC98 Spec.
Provides ATX power connector supports various functions of ATX Power such as Suspend, Shutdown, Wake on LAN, Wake on Modem, Wake on Alarm, Interrupt Wake-Up from Keyboard/Mouse, and Keyboard Power On/Off.
Built-in Hardware Monitor circuit supports Thermal, Power and Fan Speed monitor.
Supports PC99 Color Connector for easy identification of peripheral devices.
MicroATX Form Factor
The mainboard has a full set of I/O ports and connector
- 2 PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard.
- 1serial port
- 1 parallel port
- 1 MIDI / game port
- up to 4 USB ports ( 2 backpanel ports, onboard USB headers providing 2 extra ports for USB 2.0).
- Audio jacks for microphone, line-in and line-out


Bundled 3Deep, to deliver the precise imagery and display accurate color in your monitor.
Bundled Super Voice for Fax/Modem and Voice applications; MediaRing Talk for Internet Phone communication. Bundled Trend Micro's PC-Cillin2000(OEM) for Windows98/Me/NT/2000/XP and internet virus protection.
Bundled Adobe Reader, AMIflash, Awdflash, CD Ghost, Language Genius, PC DJ, Recovery Genius, Tools, and USB.


__________________________________________________


The motherboard im looking at (Asus, 85 dollars):

800 MHz FSB: ASUS P4S800, 648FX, DDR400, AGP 8X,audio/lan

CPU Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/Celeron
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology ready
New power design supports Intel next generation Prescott CPU!!
Chipset SIS648FX
SIS963L
Front Side Bus 800 / 533 / 400 MHz
Memory 3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 3GB non-ECC DDR SDRAM memory
(PC2100/PC1600 up to 3 DIMMs; PC3200/PC2700 up to 2 DIMMs; 1GB PC3200/2700 with 32 DDR chips up to 1 DIMM only)
Expansion Slots 1 x AGP8X (1.5V only)
5 x PCI
1 x ASUS Proprietary WIFI Wireless Lan Connector
Storage 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
LAN Integrated 10/100 Mbps LAN controller + VIA VT6103 PHY
USB 2.0 Integrated 6 USB2.0 ports
Special Features S/PDIF out interface
ASUS Instant Music Lite
ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2
ASUS EZ Flash
ASUS MyLogo
Overclock Features ASUS JumperFree
ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
CPU, Memory, and AGP voltage adjustable
SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 100MHz up to 266MHz at 1MHz increment
Adjustable FSB/DDR ratio, Fixed AGP/PCI frequencies
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x Parallel
1 x Serial
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Audio I/O
1 x RJ45
1 x S/PDIF Output
4 x USB 2.0/1.1
Internal I/O Connectors 1 x USB 2.0 connector supports additional 2 USB 2.0 ports
CPU / Chassis FAN connectors
20-pin ATX Power connector
4-pin ATX 12V Power connector
Chassis Intrusion
S/PDIF out connector
CD / AUX audio in
GAME/MIDI connector
Front panel audio connector
BIOS Feature 2 Mb Flash ROM, ASUS JumperFree, Award BIOS, TCAV, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ASUS EZ Flash, ASUS MyLogo, ASUS C.P.R., ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2
Industry Standard PCI 2.2, USB 2.0
Manageability WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion, SM bus
Support CD Drivers
ASUS PC Probe
Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software (OEM version)
ASUS LiveUpdate Utility
Accessories User's manual
UltraDMA cable
FDD cable
I/O shield
Form Factor ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6"(30.5cm x 24.5cm)
Audio ADI AD1980 SoundMAX 6-channel CODEC
S/PDIF out interface
______________________________________________


To 2nd post: Is the chipset on the Asus(SIS648FX SIS963L )
board above this good or should I look for a different one?

To 3rd post: I have 768 DDR RAM right now (one 512 one 256) and my processor doesn't have hyperthreading so am I stuck on 533 FSB?


Thanks for your replies!

 

[PuzzledTaco]

Anyone?:no:

 

[clintfan]

P4S800...LAN: Integrated 10/100 Mbps LAN controller + VIA VT6103 PHY

This is another really new mobo, came out in August I think. I could not find any reviews on this mobo, which if I were you would worry me a bit.

With the SiS chipset instead of the Intel, I can't comment much, except that this sort of puts it not in the same series as the other p4x800x mobo's Asus has been offering this year, so a lot of the tips & hints that have been circulating around here won't apply. Anyway there's a fair-sized http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD00MDA=]CHipset review here.

A couple things stick out from the review: the speed of the Northbridge/ Southbridge interconnect link seems to be a good step up from Intel's 875P/ICH5 offering: 1GB/s instead of 266MB/s; this is really nice. The IDE ports also step up to ATA/133, but there is no SATA. Also, although the 963 chip apparently supports 3 firewire ports, none are output to this particular mobo.

My only other comment is that besides the P4P800VM, this is the only Asus mobo in the recent P4 series using an integrated LAN module instead of a separate LAN chip, so there could be some risk there in terms of unknowns. IMO though, you ought to get better throughput from an integrated LAN such as this, than you would from a PCI LAN such as on the P4P800.

Hope this helps,

-clintfan

 

[Mental_Myopia]

I don't think that your CPU will be able to take advantage of the 800FSB, but the new mobo will support it if you get a newer P4 down the road.

The AGP 8x slot is cool if you've got an AGP 8x card to stick in it right away. If you don't need AGP 8x for a card you have, I'd recommend holding off and grabbing a mobo that has the AGP Pro slot.

The new mobo should give you some improved performance, which might be worth the $85. If you'd benefit from integrated sound, and are interested in overclocking, go for the new board.
:winking:

 

[JerryWMac]

at present no...

 

[b3n]

The Asus mobo at $85 is a good deal, compared to its corresponding specs. But just because there's an 8x AGP slot, you shouldn't get a cheap vid card with 8x support, the quality will not be as good compared to getting a 4x but of higher quality. IMO that's what i believe.