Need opinion on this MB please

[golfmore]

Have a friend who doesn't build PC's. He wants my machine (MB & CPU) It's an Intel Perl board with a Northwood 3.4 in it.

I have been looking at this combo. http://www.clubit.com/product_system_detail.cfm?itemno=CUPG30002&nav=5


It seems to have everything I need. Will this out perfom my 3.4 Northwood?

Can I use the RAM that I have? It says that it is PC2700 Kingston, running at 160. (It's been a long time since I've built a box.)

Thanks for any help.

Have to have a winter project.

[mylanta]

Yes a definite step up!!!

[Dudeking]

It's not 100% that the ram will work, but it more than likely will.

[mylanta]

OOPs I never noticed the ram question...no that board undoubtedly takes Ddr2 ram.

[golfmore]

It does take DDR2. Which one would you suggest? I do NOT OC. (I may do this combo.)Thanks.

[Dudeking]

I agree the board takes DDR2, but RAM is so picky.
My advice, keep the ram you have, see if it works, if not then you can get some more.
But there's no point getting new ram if there's a chance that what you have got will work.

[golfmore]

Thanks, I appreciate that.

[Dan18960]

The PERL motherboard runs DDR memory. That memory will not fit into your new 945 set which uses DDR2 RAM.

Also, you DID NOTICE that you are going to an onboard video vs the AGP you had previously?

[golfmore]

I did. Does that mean that I am going to suffer on the video? I don't game, but.......

[Dan18960]

You just have to realize that when you are using onboard video, you are sharing the RAM with the video. You may or may not notice the difference. I just don't ever use onboard video mb

[mylanta]

I agree the board takes DDR2, but RAM is so picky.
My advice, keep the ram you have, see if it works, if not then you can get some more.
But there's no point getting new ram if there's a chance that what you have got will work.

Ddr ram will not work in Ddr2 board, it is a different size for one thing.

[casey]

Also, you DID NOTICE that you are going to an onboard video vs the AGP you had previously?
__________________

You just have to realize that when you are using onboard video, you are sharing the RAM with the video. You may or may not notice the difference. I just don't ever use onboard video mb


Dan, I'm not quite sure what you mean by onboard video. I would take onboard video to mean you don't use a video card and the video is on the motherboard. This board comes with PCexpress 16 and will take a video card. Are you calling the PCIexpress video cards on board video. I know some cards use the system ram as added video ram but you still have a video card separate from the MB. Maybe you could explain... I ask this as I have been using PCi express video cards in almost all my computers lately...

[mylanta]

Larry,
Dan just needs to make sure everyone knows onboard video is inferior and he wou,d not be caught dead or alive using it. I share that view.Many builders don't want to pay for onboard video they don't use and are very conscious of that.
Onboard video can be Agp or pci-express but yes there is pci express slot on the board.

[jflan]

Have a friend who doesn't build PC's. He wants my machine (MB & CPU) It's an Intel Perl board with a Northwood 3.4 in it.

I have been looking at this combo. http://www.clubit.com/product_system_detail.cfm?itemno=CUPG30002&nav=5


It seems to have everything I need. Will this out perfom my 3.4 Northwood?

Can I use the RAM that I have? It says that it is PC2700 Kingston, running at 160. (It's been a long time since I've built a box.)

Thanks for any help.

Have to have a winter project.

Here are some customer reviews from Newegg on that board.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?DEPA=0&Type=&Item=N82E16813128016&SortField=0&SummaryType=ALL&Pagesize=&Page=1
These customer reviews can be taken with a grain of salt, but sometimes you can see a pattern.
It looks like this board is a basic, no frills, micro-ATX board.
Stable if you get a good one.
No need for high-end memory...it doesn't OC well.
I wouldn't put any more than an entry level Conroe on it.
Simply a low-cost Conroe motherboard.

I haven't tried a Conroe yet, but from what I hear, even a rig like this would beat your Northwood by 30% (or better).

[golfmore]

I missed out on this one. I can't find the MB now. http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/...ead.php?t=3375

Also how do I delete a thread? I tried edit advanced. (I seem to have double posted. aplogies.)

[golfmore]

I do realize that the board has onboard video. I assume that I can't use my AGP card, but the MB does have a PCI-E slot. I just don't have the $$ for this and a viseo card right now. If I could find that Asus board ( and it's number) I would look at that hard, as it allows me to use the RAM and AGP card. Don't really know how to search for it. All help appreciated.

[golfmore]

It would be interesting if I would just read the posts. It is an Asus board
P5P800 SE.. Sorry for all the redundancies. I'm going to find one of these.

[kern]

Dan, I'm not quite sure what you mean by onboard video. I would take onboard video to mean you don't use a video card and the video is on the motherboard. This board comes with PCexpress 16 and will take a video card. Are you calling the PCIexpress video cards on board video. I know some cards use the system ram as added video ram but you still have a video card separate from the MB. Maybe you could explain... I ask this as I have been using PCi express video cards in almost all my computers lately...

onboard video refers to a gpu(graphics processor) which is built into a motherboard chipset, such as the Intel 945G chipset. Some motherboards with "integrated" graphics also include a PCI-E slot (AGP for older mboards)which allows you to add a stand-alone graphics card.

[casey]

Thanks guys, as I had already known what onboard video was but I guess it was the way I interpreted it.
I have had boards with onboard video but never used it and always thought if I bought a board with onboard video I would just turn it off and use a video card. What I was reading from the post was you had to use the onboard video and this used system memory. I just wasn't comprehending what was written... Ha HA HA

[mylanta]

Actually Larry, whether you use the onboard video or disable it in bios, it still takes away memory, believe it or not, just because it is there.

[jflan]

It would be interesting if I would just read the posts. It is an Asus board
P5P800 SE.. Sorry for all the redundancies. I'm going to find one of these.
Maybe you're looking for an older board such as this that has on-board video, an AGP slot and will take older DDR type memory....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131029&ATT=13-131-029&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch

[golfmore]

Thanks for the help.

[jcampi]

My next step in building my first pc is to research a mobo. I have a Biostar mobo in mind, but some of the reviews state the overclocking and support is lacking. My target price is about $100. I'm looking for a mobo for an Intel Core 2. About 4GB of RAM is ok and I'm interested in DDR2 (dual channel). I already have a WD SATA hard drive and plan to use a PCIe video card. I don't really plan or have a need to overclock because the most I push the pc for would be video editing. However, it would be nice to have the option. Maybe I should research some ABIT or ASUS boards? The case I ordered uses the ATX form factor.

[golfmore]

What is the diff betweem 1.5 and 3.0 SATA? That board has 1.5 SATA.

[jflan]

What is the diff betweem 1.5 and 3.0 SATA? That board has 1.5 SATA.

More data throughput with 3.0
Mr. Wikipedia can tell it much better than I :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

[jflan]

My next step in building my first pc is to research a mobo. I have a Biostar mobo in mind, but some of the reviews state the overclocking and support is lacking. My target price is about $100. I'm looking for a mobo for an Intel Core 2. About 4GB of RAM is ok and I'm interested in DDR2 (dual channel). I already have a WD SATA hard drive and plan to use a PCIe video card. I don't really plan or have a need to overclock because the most I push the pc for would be video editing. However, it would be nice to have the option. Maybe I should research some ABIT or ASUS boards? The case I ordered uses the ATX form factor.

Well, you've chosen your camp (Intel) and budget ($100).
Another crucial part of choosing a mobo is to understand and choose the appropriate chipset.
A motherboard's chipset oftentimes decides whether a board will be a turkey or a legend.
With a $100 budget you are on the budget end of the Conroe boards.
The hotrod 975 chipset and most the midrange 965's will be off the table.
That leaves you with the 945 chipset.
But I found a 965 that fits the budget:
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2861&p=5
While at Anandtech you will find this Conroe board and several others that Anand tested and reported on.

I would continue to research those Conroe (code-name for Core2Duo) boards and chipsets until you're satisfied you've got a keeper.

Try searching on "Best Conroe budget motherboard"
Sometimes plugging in the term "shootout" or "roundup" helps narrow the search.

[jcampi]

jflan, thank you for the post. I am flexible on the cost (somewhat) My budget is about $100 (+-$25). I would like to have some options to overclock and the newer 965 chipset is also pretty desirable. I'll do some more research. I don't know anything about Foxconn's track record and will look for some opinions on this BBS.

[mylanta]

No way to Foxconn....I am out of it if you go there!

[mylanta]

My Favorite:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138035
and the one you found looks perfect:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138037

[dbarrow]

It would be interesting if I would just read the posts. It is an Asus board
P5P800 SE.. Sorry for all the redundancies. I'm going to find one of these.

http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2653&highlight=P5P800

IF you have to stick with your current AGP card, yes, the results are impressive. Son built around a top end X850XT $600 existing vid card.
He still spent around $1000 and you won't get the same performance unless you water cool and overclock.
One of the biggest items was the $350 for the high performance ram and in this case, 2g does make a difference.
Bear in mind that this is OLD tech. The chipset and mobo were clear winners of that time and the result was not unsatisfactory but...
Unless you have a very high end vid card you need to work around, you are better off going to the 965-975 chipsets and current mobos for broader CPU compatibility, better total throughput, better (current) features.
Your base budget will be very comparable. Just bite the bullet on adding a current vid card of reasonable quality.
The specs on current PCIe vid cards and current mobo chipsets will beat the pants off it!

In your case, unless you have a very specific reason, the above combination is not going to save you anything if you weigh out the differences.

[jflan]

jflan, thank you for the post. I am flexible on the cost (somewhat) My budget is about $100 (+-$25). I would like to have some options to overclock and the newer 965 chipset is also pretty desirable. I'll do some more research. I don't know anything about Foxconn's track record and will look for some opinions on this BBS.

Foxconn is a mid-shelf brand as are several others.
All board mfr's lay eggs from time to time, but when a board is recommended by Anandtech or Tom's Hardware it's generally a good bet.
If there is a large enough sampling, the New Egg customer review can indicate a trend (or illuminate a glitch) but be wary. Some of those reviewers don't know jack.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/11/13/shootout_at_the_core_2_corral/index.html
Maybe the old blind sow found an acorn :)
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=22754,143,8764&familyID=10&culture=en-US
Here you will see that the 945 was not designed with C2D in mind.
Stay away from it for C2D.

[jcampi]

I have plenty of time to investigate different motherboards so I'm researching them now. Biostar seems to offer a lot for the $. I also found this Gigabyte for a similar price range. The board gets good reviews and positive comments for support and overclocking. Any comments on the board are appreciated.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

[dbarrow]

ASUS P5B-E
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI2MCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
*new review

...conclusion:...
...the ASUS P5B-E showed to be a very solid product with a great feature-set, although somewhat limited in the larger scope. If you look around you can find this board for about $157 delivered to your door(Newegg / ZipZoomFly), which makes it a fairly attractive product considering it has a wide enough overclocking range to keep almost anyone, even E6300 owners, happy. Although we have to say that the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 still likely remains a better overall buy.