Help! I'm baffled by motherboards!!!

[marcuspocus]

Try the Asus P4B533 (using DDR, cheaper) , and it\'s using the Intel i845e chipset... I think this board is cheaper...

[mitchb2]

I want to build a new PC for Giga and Reason.
I want a P4 (probably 2.4GHz or so), and a gig of RAM.

There are so many mobos...I\'m totally overwhelmed! Which one do I want, and why?

The Asus P4T533C populated with 512MB RAM is over $800...way too much.

[Daedalus]

Hi Mitch,

The Asus P4B533 is an excellent choice as is the P4PE. A great way to tell which are good motherboards for your application is to build a system on a website like Red Submarine (\"http://www.sub.co.uk/index.php?sec=sysconf&mcat=1&mscat=3&mid=50&systype=system&basesystem=P4PROAUDIO&sid=70b830ffc2e9c8551926b8418adfeae1\") and check which motherboard they use. They have fully tested these motherboards with GSt and if they work for them, they\'ll work for you.

Hope this helps,
Ben Ripley

[mitchb2]

Originally posted by Daedalus:
Hi Mitch,

The Asus P4B533 is an excellent choice as is the P4PE.<font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">Thanks, Ben. In my research yesterday, I read many great things about Chaintech mobo\'s, but I want to go with something that\'s tried-and-true for audio, specifically Giga. So if that means the Asus, then that\'s the way I\'ll go.

[SOD213]

I\'m currently using a P4B533 with 1GB of DDR and an Echo Layla sound card.

It\'s the FIRST system I\'ve been able to get Giga working under XP on. Everything else (Echo Mia, Terratec DMX, Via chipset systems) has only worked with 98.

Also, if price is a factor, try to get an Intel P4 1.6A processor. Those usually overclock easily, and the Asus board allows you to lock the frequency for the PCI and AGP bus, allowing you to overclock the CPU and RAM and leaving everything else alone. With DDR333 (PC2700) I\'m able to run my system stably at 2.4GHZ (150 MHZ FSB instead of 100 MHZ). In fact, my system has been up and running for the last week straight, no shutting down, and it\'s still acting fine. images/icons/smile.gif