Need a motherboard for my P-4 2.2 CPU

[palmtree]

This is my spec-sheet for my new computer. I particularly
appreciate your advice regarding the motherboard
that handles the devices I have.
*****Did I miss anything and what else do I need????****

-=My Goal=-
In summary, except I do no game on my PC, I do want to build
multimedia-intensive system. The system, ideally, will be not a
platform on which I work, *but also* a *entertainment center* for
me. For example, I want to do video-editing, make my new system
an digital audio monster, and with the PC, control home-electronic
devices e.g. TV, DVD player, and CD player. Well, these are the
things I can think of for making the most out of the my new system.
Please advise, as well, on the things that I am not even aware of.
The above writing will never be wasted, because I think these are
the things I want to do with my new system, and I want to build my
new system that achieves the above goals.

The following are what I will have for the new system, all of the
which have been bought and in hand.

***CPU Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz with 845 Chipset, Socket 478***
1. IDE HDD drives (6): Western Digital 120/100GB, 7200RPM
2. Sony DVD-RW (1)
3. CD-R drive: PlexWriter 40x10x40 (1)
4. Floppy drive (1)
5. DVD drive: Liteon LTD-163 (1)
6. Radeon 8500 All-In-Wonder 2D/3D Video Card
7. Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum
Audio Card
7. USB 2 card, SCSI card, and FireWire card by Adaptec
8. 3com Network Card
- 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI TX NIC (3C905B-TX)
9. NEC MultiSnyc LCD 1850 18" display

To be purchased:
Lian-li PC-71 (Black)

Questions regarding the motherboard:

***For the motherboard, I neeed***
- I need RAID-controller on board. Or a seperate IDE-controller
How many IDE-controllers can I have for 1 system. Since I will
have at least 10 drives
- I need Infrared Connection on the board.
- I need the motherboard with i850 chipset.
- I need solid over-locking capability

My problem: I have too many cards, SCSI card, FireWire card, USB2 card. I assume I need to have some of them on-board. Else I will run out of PCI slots.


1. Since I will have 10 drives including IDE HDDs for the system, What special attention should be paid when choosing the motherboard? I have been informed that I at least need to have the motherboard with Raid-controlelr, and a IDE controller. Is this information correct? Please confirm. Thank you.
2. For an Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz (845 Chipset, Socket 478), what is the best motherboard (that money can buy)? Where can I obtain some of the latest and accurate reviews about the motherboard of this type of CPU?
3. Except Raid0controller and the IDE controller, what else do I need to have capability of adding limitless IDE/SCSI HDDs?
4. As indicated above, I have already purchase USB2 card and SCSI card seperately. Is the on-board type motherboard better? Please advise. Thank you.
5. Last but not least, what else do I need for the system. Money is not the object. I apologize if this comment offends someone. I have no intention to offend anyone, just being truthful.

Again, I thank you for your being generous and frank in answering my (clueless) questions.

palmtree
---
Email answers are directed to supergenos@yahoo.com
ICQ: 141556968
***Looking for the best/biggest Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz with i850 Chipset, Socket 478, On-board RAID-controller, Infrared Connection, and over-locking capability***<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by palmtree on 03/17/02 05:46 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[girish]

you have only two choices:
Asus P4T-E
Abit TH7-II

the Abit TH7-II has onboard RAID option while the Asus P4T-E doesnt. both are superb boards, and overclock very well.

If you had opted for DDR, I would have suggested the Asus P4B266-E/RAID, all with USB 2.0. smart card reader, RAID, very good overclocking.

Infra-red is now a commonplace on the boards isnt it? It will ahve the header, but you might have to purchase the device separately.

girish

<font color=red>Nothing is fool-proof. Fools are Ingenious!</font color=red>

 

[palmtree]

Thank you for your advice!

First, one issue has to clarified in order to move on choosing my motherboard.

PC2100 DDR-SDRAM eliminates my choice of motherboards with i850 chipset
My initical considerations were:
(a) MSI Ultra 845 ARU
(b) ASUS P4B266
(c) ASUS P4T-E
(d)Intel D850MV

The memory I bought is PC2100 DDR-SDRAM (no return). Because (c) and (d) belong to i850 chipset, and support only RDRAM. I had to eliminate them both right way.

I did serious comparasion of (a) and (b), and I feel that (a) meets almost all of my needs.
e.g. Pros about MSI Ultra 845 ARU:
- ATA133 RAID supported by Promise PDC 20276
- On-board IDE controller
- 4 on-board USB 2
Cons:
- Since the motherboard is for i845, it does not support dual CPU. However, I do not have strong feel to have dual P-4 2.2 GHz at this moment.
- No dual RIMM support. But again that is difference between chipsets 845 and 850. Cant do anything abou it.
In summary, all of the cons stated above are not originated from MSI motherboard itself but from the difference in chipsets.

ASUS P4B266 offers none of the below the MSI motherboard offers, and does not meet my needs either.
- NO: ATA133 RAID supported by Promise PDC 20276
- NO: On-board IDE controller
This model ASUS offer additional features that are either redundant or has nothing to have with my needs. For example, 6-channel audio and On-board LAN. I have my LAN card already.
What I want the most is the On-board RAID controller and USB 2.

Still, I want to spend next 2-3 days doing intensive research and study of the motherboard that *trully* meets my needs the *best*. The below are some of my additional questions about the MSI 845 Ultra ARU.
(a) How many memory banks? I see only 3 there, but the specs say 4.
(b) How is the over-clocking capability this model provides?
(c) Infrared connection: It may well be that I missed it during my reading of the specs. Does this MSI model offer this?
(d) What is length of warranty MSI offers for this model?
(e) I bought Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 for my new system. Can I run this on this motherboard?

This is result I got from Intel's Motherboard Selector:
http://appzone.intel.com/boards/MotherboardDetail.asp?MotherboardID=1396

Thank you again for all of your educational advices.
1. I will use only Rounded Cables for my new system.
(a) But can I know what length of the cable I need to buy?
(b) What brand/model provides faster access rate?
2. I will use one SCSI HDD for running my W2kPro OS, and use other IDE HDDs for storage and servers. I only need about a SCSI HD of 10-15GB.
What brand/model would you recommend?
(3) What is the most efficient/safest way to assign all of my drives to the motherboard. Please note, I do need as much online-drive space as possible.
These are what I plan to use for the system. Total 9 drives.
1.
(a) 1 SCSI HDD
(b) 5 IDE HDDs (at least): 3 Western Digital 120GB, 1 Western Digital 100GB, 1 Maxtor 160GB
2. Sony DVD-RW: Will use *only* to burn DVDs
3. CD-R drive: PlexWriter 40x12x40: Wil use this burn CD-R. Since PlexWriter is the best, cannt skip this.
4. Liteon LTD-163 DVD Drive: Since Lite-On is the best for what it does, I need this as well.
**Based on the drive I plan to use, do I still need an IDE-controller?** If I do, I will get the Promise ATA100 TX2. Is this the best choice I can make?

Oh, as for Power Supply, I will get Enermax 550W [EG651P-VE (FMA)]

I am sorry for this very very long post. Thank you for your being generous of at least reading. And thank you for your time!

palmtree

Looking for the best Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz with 845 Chipset, Socket 478<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by palmtree on 03/19/02 01:48 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[gtlam]

I'm in the market for the same thing and I am down to those two choices also. I like that the ASUS has 6 PCI slots, but it's a minor issue. It looks like the MSI has all the ports you'll need as far as external USB ports. Do you know what external ports the ASUS comes with? I want to get a case with front external USB ports. Do either motherboard come with those? I'm not sure which to pick either but am leaning towards the ASUS because it sounds like it performs a little better. Let me know what you decide to go with.

 

[Crashman]

This is really insane. You paid HOW MUCH for that P4 2.2GHz, only to slow it down to what, 1.8GHz performance with PC2100 DDR SDRAM? Bad move, waste of your money and our time. The only chipset that even RESEMBLES high performance for DDR on the P4 is the SiS 645DX, and that only gets good scores when using PC2700, not PC2100. So get the TH7-II and some RDRAM or quit wasting our time with your poor decisions.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[girish]

I thought he asked for a RDRAM board! we dont get any Abit boards here in India, and having used the P4T-E, I;d recommend it! TH7-II is a great overclocking board, as i gather from the opinions here!

Anyway, the P4B266 is also a good choice since it decouples the processor FSB with memory, and it is possible to run memory at 200 MHz (it does have these settings, but you do need DDR capable of running that fast) so RDRAM or DDR-RAM it really doent matter, DDR wins by a nose due to lower latency, getting as much as the stipulated 3.2 GB/sec at stock CPU FSB!

A onboard RAID option is a big plus for the P4B266, which the P4T-E lacks, but Abit TH7-II does have!

I would recommend him the Abit TH7-II for what he said in his opening post, and P4B266-E if he goes the DDR way.

girish

<font color=red>Nothing is fool-proof. Fools are Ingenious!</font color=red>

 

[palmtree]

Interesting point.
Please provide benchmark that justifies your comment. Thank you. If I am enough convinced by the difference in speed between DDR and RDRAM, I will get RDRAM and get rid of those 2 pieces of DDR.

PT

palmtree

Looking for the best Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz with 845 Chipset, Socket 478<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by palmtree on 03/19/02 04:15 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[pvsurfer]

Can I reading be this correctly? ...six (6) IDE hard drives providing over 600GB (and 3 optical drives)? OMG!!!

Listen-up dude. If there's truly a sound reason for all those drives and massive online storage (and I really doubt it), you need to abandon any idea of IDE and go SCSI. Otherwise, you will have the worst cable mess imaginable inside your case, not to mention asking way too much of the PCI bus!


<b>God bless the <font color=red>U</font color=red><font color=white>S</font color=white><font color=blue>A</font color=blue></b>

 

[Crashman]

Does anyone in here actaully read the columns?
<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q4/011217/index.html" target="_new">http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q4/011217/index.html</A> shows a mixed bag of results, in some test RDRAM is far superior and in others it looses it's lead entirely. Overall it does that much better in memory intensive programs, and not much better in processor intensive apps.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[pvsurfer]

On the other hand, I can only imagine how sweet it must be to be able to just throw all that money at that component-mix without <b>first</b> giving thought (or having any concern) as to how it's all going to work!

<b>God bless the <font color=red>U</font color=red><font color=white>S</font color=white><font color=blue>A</font color=blue></b>

 

[Crashman]

Heheh, I should get 45 of those cheap little 10 gig drives for my three channel SCSI RAID card...

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[pvsurfer]

Why not? - afterall, you can hang 15 on each cable!

Crash~ you're just too much.

<b>God bless the <font color=red>U</font color=red><font color=white>S</font color=white><font color=blue>A</font color=blue></b>

 

[Crashman]

I'm actaully considering 6 drives. Really. On two channels, because my controller is Ultra 80 but I get up to 133 (PCI bus limmit) on multiple channels.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[arsend]

My first suggestion is to use the same HD sizes, when you buy HD that are different sizes, you will only be able to use the smallest one to set a RAID Array: ie- a 20 GB, 30 GB and 40 GB HD will only read as a 60 GB drive if you stripe them together. In combination with the HD's I suggest Gigabyte GA-8IRXP P4 Titan, as it is the first to offer a Pentium 4 @ over 3 Ghz, it also has RAID on board and can support up to 8 HD, and 2 CD ROM drives. This is if you want to stick with a normal Pentium 4. I would suggest to you:

A) Read <A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/02q1/0203131/index.html" target="_new">Tom's Article on Dual MB</A>

B) (since Money is not an Object)Build a computer with the following specs instead:
Tyan Thunder <A HREF="http://www.tyan.com/products/html/thunderi860.html" target="_new">S2603</A> or <A HREF="http://www.tyan.com/products/html/thunderi7500.html" target="_new">S2720</A>
(2) Pentium Zeon 2.2 Ghz Processors

Then Setup a SCSI Array as this board can handle as much as 14 SCSI devices, as well as 4 IDE Drives.

Add the other components minus all the controler cards. You will not need the LAN adapter, as all boards with RAID (SCSI or IDE) have LAN adapters on them. I have to go but will post at home soon.



If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[palmtree]

After serious considetions, I decided to go with DDR not RDRAM. After intensive research, Gigabyte's GA-8IRXP is the motherboard I found so far, I will buy it. It is better for me than any other motherboard I looked at.

Official specs: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/products/8irxp.htm
Tomshardware review:
http://www4.tomshardware.com/mainboard/02q1/020318/i845ddr-31.html

Of course, if you think I shoul not be so blind about GA-8IRXP, because there is a better alternative, by all means, please let me know. I accept all kinds of advices, and your reviews about GA-8IRXP. Thank you.

1. I want to make this is absolutely sure, the chipset type. At the official site it says it is Intel 845 chipset, but At that Tomshardware's review, it says it is 845D. I want this motherboard 845D not 845. Any1 could confirm? I am going to call Gygagtbyte this morning.

2. Does Gygabyte make a motherboard with similar specs as GA-8IRXP's that has 4 memory banks not only 3?

Again, thank you for your immense help
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by palmtree on 03/21/02 11:22 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[FatBurger]

1. It's the same chipset, the D is put there do make sure the reader knows that it's the DDR version. As long as it has 184-pin DIMMs (for DDR), then it's the i845(D).

2. The Gigabyte i850 board does.

<font color=blue>If you don't buy Windows, then the terrorists have already won!</font color=blue> - Microsoft

 

[palmtree]

I just called Gygabyter support persnnel . The following is the summary of the conversation.
1": Gygabyte officially recognizes 8IRXP as *Intel 845 chipset*. The person I spoke with assumes that Tomshareware, to differenciate, labels the 8IRXP as 845D, because it supports DDR.
2''. The one Gygabyte makes with 4 memory banks is modeled, 8ITXE. It has no on-board RAID, USB2, LAN. In other wors, it is entirely different from 8IRXP. Thus I will buy 8IRXP.

Thank you,

palmtree

 

[arsend]

Have you taken my suggestions about the Hard Drives. If you plan on hooking them up as a RAID Array (which I highly recommend) you will need to make sure that all of them are the same size, except the one which will have your OS on it. Also, many of the RAID cards, as well as the one on board do not support CDROMs DVD RAMS or any other device except the HD, so when installing your components, make sure that you place these devices on a slot that can read them. As far as HD are conserned, I recommend Maxtor HD's in a RAID array as they have the highest potential as far as speed in a RAID array.

To learn more about setting up RAID arrays under Windows 2000 or XP, go over to <A HREF="http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/01q3/010906/index.html" target="_new">Tom's</A> review on the subject (for Software RAID under Windows 2000/XP) or <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.html?i=1491" target="_new">Anandtech's</A> review on Hardware RAID cards.

Out of the 2 options, Software Raid is the cheapest and really does not put to much of a preformance cost to the more expensive side. An IDE Controler that I recommend is the PROMISE ULTRA133TX2. With software RAID under 2000/XP, it compares to all the other IDE Raid Arrays and costs 1/2 the price.

If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[FatBurger]

Gygabyte officially recognizes 8IRXP as *Intel 845 chipset*. The person I spoke with assumes that Tomshareware, to differenciate, labels the 8IRXP as 845D, because it supports DDR.

Right, exactly what I was saying. The reason the need to differentiate exists, is that the SDRAM and DDR chipsets are identical, Intel just basically said "Ok, you can start using DDR now.".

<font color=blue>If you don't buy Windows, then the terrorists have already won!</font color=blue> - Microsoft

 

[palmtree]

Of course I take your advice very seriously, as well as other people's suggestions and advices. I just flew back from my business trip. Sorry for the delay in responding.

Well, the below is my configuration plan. Please advise or bitch about it. Thank you. Meanwhile, I will reread your last post and as well as the links you posted. I appreciate your help.

palmtree
###################
I have 5 HDD and 3 Opticals (1 DVD-RW, 1 DVD-ROM, and 1
PlexWriter 40x10x40)

In my GA-8IRXP motherboard there are 4 IDE connector (2 for
RAID and 2 for normal IDE)

I have 5 HDD:
The order of my HDDs is:
- 4 WD100
- 1 WD120

I have 3 Opticals:
The order of my Optical drives is:
- DVD-RW
- CDRW
- DVD-ROM

@@@ RAID IDE @@@
4 WD100 drives are to be connected to the on-board RAID IDE
connect(50cm round cable)
This is placed at the bottom or near the bottom of my Lian-li
PC70USB PC Case.
---RAID HDDs are the same size and made by same manufacturer
(I will use ONLY Western Digital 7200RPM drives )

@@@ E-IDE @@@
1 WE120 - Primary master ( intall OS )
DVD-Rom - Primary second
DVD-RW - Secondary master
CDRW - Secondary Second

########################
Everything now is bought. The below are what I have now. Please advise on what should added and/or replaced. Thank you.
***CPU Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz with 845 Chipset, Socket 478***
1.IDE HDD drives (6): Western Digital 120/100GB, 7200RPM
2. Sony DVD-RW (1)
3. CD-R drive: PlexWriter 40x10x40 (1)
4. Floppy drive (1)
5. DVD drive: Liteon LTD-163 (1)
6. Radeon 8500 All-In-Wonder 2D/3D Video Card
7. Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum
Audio Card
7. USB 2 card, SCSI card, and FireWire card by Adaptec
8. 3com Network Card
- 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI TX NIC (3C905B-TX)
9. NEC MultiSnyc LCD 1850 18" display
10. Klipsch Promedia 5.1

Recently purchased:
1. Gigabyte GA-8IRXP motherboard
2. Lite-On LCD-163
3. Lian Li PC-70 USB ATX Full-Tower (Silver Color)
4. Enermax 530W Power [Model: EG651P-VE (FMA)]
5. Roundded Cables:
- Two 36" Round ATA-100 (Silver)
- Two 24" rounded ATA-100 (Silver)
- One 10" Single Device round Floppy Cable (BLUE)


Looking for the best Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz with 845 Chipset, Socket 478

 

[palmtree]

arsend,


As you know, I already bought Gigabyte GA-8IRXP. While re-reading you post, I noticed you advised to buy Gigabyte GA-8IRXP P4 Titan. Are Gigabyte GA-8IRXP and Gigabyte GA-8IRXP P4 Titan the SAME?

Thank you for confirmation.

palmtree

Currently building a P-4 2.2 GHz PC