advice on motherboard/processor combination

[Nethawk]

This used to be so simple!

I will probably go for the fastest PIII processor due to cooling issues. I am building again from the ground up, this time to concentrate on home theater(the quieter the better)/gaming functions, both with a 21" monitor and a 40" widescreen RPTV. Will conclude the roundup with 64mb GeForce Ultra, SB Live, HDTV OTA card.

Motherboard should also be friendly to overclocking - have pretty much stuck with Abit and ASUS in the past.

Could I get a recommendation on the best mboard/chipset combo for a PIII1000 given my wishes?

Another concern with this setup is how big should my power supply be.

Thanks much.

 

[Guest]

Hi there!!So if you wanna get a good intel platform,guess you should know that Asus CUSL2(intel i815E chipset) is the best current mobo as long as you can spend on it.Or else,try on Asus P3V4x(which im using now and it gives me a good bang for my bucks) or Asus CUV4X.Regarding processor,you've choosen the P3 1G right??nothing wrong with it as long as you get yourself 300W p/s and a good HSF(e.g orbs) for best "peace of mind" system.

 

[Guest]

Hey,

If I were you I would go over to AMD. Their processors are cheaper and faster. If you can hold of for a bit you can get a very nice dual Athlon board. You could be running a 2.4ghz. Just a thought.

Timothy Stankus
One of the First AMD Athlon Users =)

 

[bojon1]

Have to say that for your application the AMD Thunderbird will be the better choice. Much cheaper, much stronger. If you are planing on video editing, a raid card (or onboard) would be a smart addition. You'll need the additional disk speed. As far as noise goes, here is a free trick. Take the packing foam from all the componentes and hot glue it inside the case. It makes for good/free sound deadening.

 

[Guest]

Yes Asus CUSL2 is good, but... as I remember you can install up to PIII 933 Mhz on that mobo. This mobo got a Golden Award from Anandtech.
Asus P3V4X is very good too, a lot of awards, but.. you can't install higher than PIII 733 Mhz (but strangly in some sites it says it supports up to 800 Mhz - it should either overclocking or some different chipset)
Asus CUV4X is not as good as above mentioned mobos. I prefer CUSL2 these days for highest PIII processors.

AMD T-Bird is another good choice. I didn't try it yet, but it should rock too. 🙂

 

[Rop]

I would go with an AMD tbird and the KT7 Raid. I own a Tbird 800 with a normal Kt7 Run Linux and Windows great and it is my frist AMD. Honestly can tell you that AMD got ti right finally!

 

[Magus]

*seconds what Rop says*

 

[SoulReaper]

If you really want a good motherboard for a PIII, check out the Abit BX-133 RAID. The onboard RAID is a very nice feature to have. But...Personally i would go with an Athlon T-Bird if i were you. The out perform any PIII on the market. I recomend the Abit KT7-RAID and a T-bird. You won't regret it.

 

[Guest]

Ok guys they are all good choices but i would wait for 2 months for the DDR-Ram boards to come before i would make a choice but if you cant and you want to use a PIII than the Asus cusl815e would be the best choice they are reliable and and fast.

 

[SoulReaper]

nothing personal but i would never get that motherboard. the last good intel chipset was the BX chipset. All the reviews will tell u that. If ur looking for a real motherboard...one that won't give u hassles or give u wierd errors, check out the Microstar board i described in my earlier post. We have 6 of them at work and they run like a dream. We picked up a asus cusl815e and it gave us nothing but problems. believe who you want...but definately do your homework on motherboards before you perchase. And as far as DDR goes, it doesn't look that spectacular until mid next year. i plan to wait until they get the bugs out of DDR before i perchase.

 

[Guest]

Ok on that well I did do my homework and so far i have had no problems with this board the only thing you have to do is upgrade bios to version 1002 and that takes care of things.For a board that can be installed and running in 15 mins what more can i say.If you go and read on Toms site it will tell you that the Asus board was his choice.

 

[Rop]

I would not wait for the first version of boards with DDR chipsets as expirience will tell you that the first version of any type of chipset's are a bit flacky. We all praise the last great chipset from Intel the BX chipset. But we should remember as well that the chipset was a tad flaky at first..

I would stick to what is best on the current market. Took me a while to make up my mind between AMD and Intel this time around. But i always do my homework before i upgrade and belive i made a great choice with the KT7 and the Tbird 800. By Oct of Next year i will upgrade again. And hopefully the DDR chipset will be just right at the time. Be it AMD or Intel we will all benefir from the year of the Athlon and we will see great products come from this

Why do I use LINUX ? Cause its the BEST OS
Why do I use Windows? Cause its the BEST Nintendo..

 

[Guest]

Good comment as we all know that all new boards do have there flaws the BX is still the most stable platform but I went for a 815e M/B for the fast HHD option and was able to use sd-ram
The DDR stuff will be a good option given time to fix any bugs down the road abit.

 

[Starhawk]

Don't worry about heat so much, everything this fast is warm, just get a really good heatsink and fan...and get an AMD chip instead. Really. Even if cost was no object you're better off with a 1.1+GHz Tbird and an A7V.

 

[Guest]

hiya, just read your review on the msi boards. is it really that fantastic? i have a small question, just bought an AMD 1GHZ + MSI K7TPRO 2, 3DLABS VX1 AGP 32MB, was wondering if you would know of any problems witht his setup? i have read that the KT133 chipset is kinda problematic, and i am getting a little worried. I do CAD/CAM/3D work...