mobo decisions

BrahmaBull · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:58 am Post subject: mobo decisions

dual channel or not? and are these good mobo choices?

im debating over two ASUS mobos...

P4P800s or the P4P800VM

the P4P800S is: 2 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 2GB
PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 non-ECC DDR SDRAM memory

and

the P4P800VM is: Dual channel memory architecture
4 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 4GB PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 non-ECC DDR SDRAM memory

does dual channel mean i have to be running two of the same size chips at the same time?

both boards are similar other than on board vid on the VM, and one has more PCI's,both support SATA

any input would be greatly appreciated...can be non memory related comments about these boards too..thanks guys!

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[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

Dual Channel is the way to go.

Is allows close to twice the memory bandwidth and boost system performance a lot.

Dual Channel means running two equivelent PC3200 memory sticks at the same time.
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BrahmaBull · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 1:22 pm Post subject:

thanks for the input..sorry about the double post

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

No problem. All is well.

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BrahmaBull · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 6:18 pm Post subject:

well i think im gonna go with the P4P800S...im on a budget and I think Ill be happy without the dual channel...i did read other posts with you saying the 800S is dual channel...and the guy you were talkin to said it wasnt...i must say Ive gotten the same feedback...the P4P800S isnt dual channel...i could be wrong...either way...which board is better?

BrahmaBull · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:52 pm Post subject:

im currently shopping thru pcusa.com, barebones with a 2.4 P4 with HT....ok after further review...alot of folks are saying (nathan included) to not be limited to a companies stock...Id just buy the case, mobo, and chip seperately...but ive never assembled..so im a little frightened..hehehe...I am on a budget, but i want to rock!...the biggest things im wanting are...
AGP 8x, SATA, atleast a 2.4 P4 with HT, 800FSB....and i like the Athenatech A747BB Black ATX Case w / 300W PS... that setup with a ASUS P4P800S, express shipping and full assembly is Grand Total $379.54 ...

good, bad, ugly?

thanks guys

geekzta127 · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 1:19 am Post subject:

get dual channel...... you won't regret it, hella betta than mobo w/o dual channel. there are

many cheap boards that have dual channel. nowadays it's a standard so if YOU WANT TO

ROCK DUAL CHANNEL IS A MUST ON YOUR LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BrahmaBull · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 12:13 pm Post subject:

ok, you sold me on it..lol...anyways...with the new boards..if theyre dual channel...do I HAVE to run two equal chips? I guess im asking if i can start with just a 512 chip...and go to 2X512 chips later...thanks for the help...im really having a tuff time deciding on a mobo...and i think im gonna have it put in a box by pcusa.com.... is it hard to put a mobo in a box? should i buy seperately or have them do it for me? the price im getting this at is shown above...but i dont think i want that mobo any more becasue i want the dual channel///

i appreciate all the help///

mogur · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 1:31 pm Post subject:

It is not hard to assemble your own system. It seems intimidating because the terminology is new, and there are quite a few components to install. If you goggle the internet for a guide on how to do it, you can judge for yourself whether you have the patience to do it yourself, or if you would be better off just having the supplier assemble it for you. Installing all the hardware is fairly easy, it's a little more challenging to format the hard drive and install all the software. But you'll end up with the satisfaction and knowledge that will help whenever you need to deal with upgrades or failures.

Yes, dual channel means that you want to run equal numbers of memory modules of the same specs and size. You suffer quite a performance hit with just one module, so if you can afford it, I suggest you start with two 256M sticks. You can add two more later, but these boards only take a total of four sticks, so plan ahead. Good luck in your project, whatever you decide to do.

geekzta127 · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 6:50 pm Post subject:

Mogur you didn't answer his question but yes if you do start with dual channel and have a

budget then yes id say yes get 2 sticks of 256mb

YES a dual channel motherboard is non dual-channel compatable. what i'm saying is yes it

would work but when you upgrade you should get 2 identicle mem modules for dual

channel or get the same identicle mem u already have in your rig

mogur · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 9:07 pm Post subject:

I think you might want to read my post again, geekzta. I said that he could run with one module, just that a performance penalty must be paid. I also said that two 256M sticks would be better than one 512M, on a budget. They cost about the same.

geekzta127 · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 3:25 am Post subject:

My bad, sorry for my incompetence I just jumped to 2nd paragraph was just lazy today.

BrahmaBull · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 9:23 am Post subject:

thanks for arguing for my sake

lol

geekzta127 · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 1:30 pm Post subject:

haha, very funny

BrahmaBull · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 2:16 pm Post subject:

so if i put in 2X256...can i add 2X512 to the other to slots later? or do all 4 need to be one size?

geekzta127 · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 10:03 pm Post subject:

you know how to place mem modules right???? so if you get 2x256 then 1 should go to dimm 1 and the other at dimm3. and yes i think you can get 2x512 since the channels are separate from 1, 3.

mogur · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 10:44 pm Post subject:

Hi, geekzta, funny to run into you again. I second your post, and just want to underline what you said. Intel has a white paper where they illustrate the best memory configurations for performance. It's a great read, check pages 8 & 9. http://www.kingston.com/newtech/MKF_520DDRwhitepaper.pdf Just for those too busy or lazy to go look for themselves, here's a quote about the mixed memory situation.

geekzta127 · Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 12:57 pm Post subject:

yes it is

............i agree, what mogur said is true, to get full potential you must have similar mem modules on all four dimms, and I'm sure you would not need 2 gigs of memory. a gig would be fine. so start with 2x256 dual channel and then upgrade and get another 2x256
to get a gig of top performance and make sure you get similar mem's of all 4.

BrahmaBull · Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 1:40 am Post subject: Success!

ok guys, thanks for all your help...my first pc building adventure is officially successful....not done adding...but no problems yet...

>ASUS P4P800 Deluxe
>P4 2.4 Ghz with HT
>1X256 DDR400 - - will be up to 4X256 asap
>16X DVD ROM...adding DVD+/-R/RW soon
>64 Nvidea vid card - - I think im gonna go Radeon 9600....sound good?
>onboard sound on this is nice but im gonna get a 6.1 card soon
>Maxtor 80gig HDD IDE..didnt go SATA yet..

chip and heatsink went on fine...thanks for all the tips guys...keep em comin..especially about the 9600...

geekzta127 · Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 3:44 am Post subject:

yes i recommend 9600np, 9600pro, and ESPECIALLY 9600XT. radeon = awsome

But first, what kind of games do you play? So i can recommend a specific VGA card.

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

Avoid the P4P800 right now.

They are having temperature monitoring problems which are forcing people to RMA them.

Get an Abit IS7(Springdale) or an IC7 (Canterwood).

Both priced well and have no problems.

The IC7 is what I use to test hardware on Tweaknews becuase it is so stable and such a good, well behaved overclocker.
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BrahmaBull · Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 11:57 am Post subject:

well that sucks.....it seems to be working fine....