440BX motherboard

B

Brian Ferrell

New member
I've read on this site that the 440BX motherboard is best for audio recording. My friend says that I should only get an Abet BF6, BE6 or BE6-2 because they'll work with anything. Are these the only best 440BX motherboards? Also, what is 440BX and why is it so special?

Brian F.
 
ive got an ASUS P2B-F and its got that chipset and its been ROCK SOLID!!! for a while now. yeah.

xoxoxo

ps.. I think the modern day version is P3B-F
 
Brian,

440BX refers to the chipset -- the collection of miscellaneous microprocessors that control the data flow on the motherboard to and from the CPU and the other devices on the board -- on which the motherboard is built. It's an Intel chipset. What's so special about it is that Intel hit a home run with this one, and it's been proven with long experience (long as in technology time, not geologic time -- that is, two years or so) to be very solid and dependable. And its successors have not yet shown very significant improvements and are not very reliable yet. You know, they often call leading edge stuff "bleeding edge." Often you're better off with the tried-and-true, even if it doesn't have the absolute fastest this and that, and let the geeks and nerd hammer on the newest stuff for a while until the kinks surface and get worked out.(Check out www.tomshardware.com or www.anandtech,com for more info).

Probably any 440BX-based motherboard from a reputable manufacturer will do you well. I have an Abit BE6-II, but beware -- the UDMA66 controller on it (one of the reasons I chose it!) is problematic (maybe only with Maxtor drives?). I've read equivalent if not slightly better praise about the similarly-equipped Asus models. And the Intel SE-440BXII (the so-called Seattle board) is reportedly very solid and dependable, though gamers don't like it because it can't be readily overclocked (which is a topic I can't discuss because I chose not to overclock). There's some other brands too that are probably just fine.

Hope that answers your questions...

-AlChuck
 
AlChuck, are you saying that you suspect UDMA66 controllers in general or just the one that comes with the Abit BE6-II?

Thanks for your help, guys.

Brian F.
 
Brian,

The one in the Abit board -- it's the HighPoint 366. I read lots of complaints about it on an abit newsgroup and elsewhere. I had a strange problem with my DAW crashing and I had pretty much ruled out everything else but the drive controller. I switched to a Promise Ultra66 card, even though that takes up a slot. So far, the machine has been behaving like it should.

But from what I understand, the performance of the drive as it relates to using for digital audio recording is not significantly better under UDMA66 than from UDMA33. There's a bunch of articles about this lurking around; here's one:
http://www.storagereview.com/welcome.pl/http://www.storagereview.com/articles/9908/990823ata66vs33a.html

So performance-wise in the real world, UDMA66 is no better than UDMA33, at least with current drives.

I did not significantly test the HighPoint controller with the drive set to run at Mode 2 or UDMA33 in the controller BIOS.

-AlChuck
 
I have the Soyo - SY-6BA +IV (440BX chipset) and it works extremely well. They use the Highpoint DMA 66 controller (same as Abit) and I have had no problems with this board. I am running overclocked a Celeron FPCGA(?) 566 up to 850Mhz.

I am getting 3 plug-ins per channel up to 12 channels (That's as far as I've gone) and it is very smooth. Actually have gotten more tracks and less plug-ins.

Regarding the 33 vs 66 issue. The article states that you will see speed differences when you go to the 7200 RPM drives vs current 5400 RPM technlogy. This is what most audiophiles are reccomending for a DAW today.

Good article by the way.
 
How about a Gigabyte GA-6vx7-4x MOBO? It has a via 694x chipset and socket 370 ATX. It is the only MOBO available for Pentium IIIs from ABS. I've been thinking about buying an ABS computer because Computer Shopper rates them as a best buy. Tom's Hardware did a comparison test with the same Gigabyte MOBO and it came out on top. I don't know what kind of applications they were comparing, though.

Brian F.
 
If I get an Abit BF6 MOBO with a Coppermine 650 processor, will I have to over-clock the Abit to match the 133Mhz FSB? I've heard that the first Coppermine with the designation 'E' after the processor speed (e.g. 650E) had a 100 Mhz FSB, but the newer 'EB' designation has a 133Mhz FSB. Since the sites I'm researching my future PC on aren't clear on the subject, could someone tell me if all new Coppermines are using the 133 Mhz FSB?

Brian F.
 
Some of the PIII coppermines are using the 133MHz FSB - like the PIII XXXMHz EB. The B indicates 133MHz.

Since you will be using the BX chipset with the ABIT board, I would suggest staying with any of the 100MHz flavours (650E-FC or higher), use an Abit Slocket!!! convertor card, and your off to the races.
 
What's an Abit Slocket!!! converter card? If I buy a customized PC from a manufacturer with the Abit board and a PIIIMhzE, they'll probably supply the Abit Slocket!!! card right, Emeric? Thanks.

Brian F.
 
A convertor card adapts the FCPGA design of the Flip Chip processors (socket design as opposed to slot) to a slot 1 motherboard. Very common practice as availability of socketed flip chip boards is next to nil.

If you specify that you want them to use the ABIT Slocket!!! convertor card with the Abit BF6, than all will be fine. They also make a slot 1 650MHz chip with 256K cache.

Just be clear in what you specify:

- Abit BF6 Mainboard
- Intel PIII Coppermine 750MHz Flip Chip Design, 100MHz
- Abit Slocket!!! convertor card.

If the company your dealing with seems confused by this, shop elsewhere.


[This message has been edited by Emeric (edited 07-01-2000).]
 
One more bit of advice. Shop small. Don't do this through a big superstore retailer. Find a reputable, smaller computer store in your area to custom build it for you. It may cost a extra $50 +/-, but the service and quality as well as the convenience of servicing if necessary, will be worth it in the end.
 
Brian, re:the gigabyte mobo, I use an epox motherboard with a VIA chipset, and havent had any problems. I'll let ya know what happens when I get my Delta 66. *BUT*, there are known problems with VIA chipsets, as well as other non-intel chipsets.
I'd recommend using one of the intel chipsets like these guys are suggesting. Might as well not take a chance, unless you are really strapped for $$ like me, or are a computer geek(like me :)) and know how to get around these problems.
 
OK, thanks guys. I'm really tempted to go with the Gigabyte board because ABS puts together a very attractive package. Also, as I've said before, that MOBO was rated tops of the Via chip boards by Tomshardware.com, but I noticed they didn't do any recording apps or many compatibility checks in their testing. What I don't need is to get that package and find out my pro sound card (probably Gadgetlabs) or Pro Audio 9.0 software doesn't work with it. Then I'd really have to bug you guys for solutions. Maybe I'll go with the Seattle board because I'd like to get a UDMA66 controller.
Emeric, I contacted a local dealer who builds non-proprietary systems. He's going to give me an estimate on my basic requirements, but he says it will be an OEM system- no manuals- only online. I really would like manuals.

Brian F.
 
Brian,

OEM systems reduce the cost considerably. Retail box products, video cards, sound cards etc. don't come with much of a manual anyway, so I wouldn't be too concerned.

The manuals that do come with these devices are not very extensive anyway, and you will get some manuals with an OEM based system - motherboard manual at the very least and all the driver disks for the other components.

[This message has been edited by Emeric (edited 07-04-2000).]
 
I also have a Soyo SY-6BA +IV 440BX chipset motherboard and it does indeed work extremely well. The Highpoint DMA 66 controller works fine and is slightly faster than when i was booting from the DMA 33 channel.
I would have to say after having used a number of BX chipset motherboards that this is the ONE. I have a pentium 3 at 450 Mhz and as this board is the king of overclocking I am able to run it at 533 Mhz without any problems.
I have used other chipset motherboards for audio and there is no doubt about it that BX chipset notherboards are the best.
Although I have no personal experience with this I have heard that the newer VIA chipset boards are not very good for audio????
 
Well, I ordered my PC (hooray!) and with it, I ordered the ASUS P3-BF MOBO. It seems to be an all around favorite. I'll let you know how it works out for me.
Emeric, I didn't buy local as per your advice. I started dealing with a local guy and found that he was quite a bit more expensive than mail order and that although his ads stated that he works weekends, I couldn't reach him by phone except at his emergency number and that only til 9PM. I almost always buy my electronics thru the mail and for the most part it's been a pretty good experience, plus no state sales tax. The company I bought the PC from offers 24/7 tech support so I'm gambling that it's not bull. Thanks, guys for all your advice. Hopefully, I can help you someday.

Brian F.
 
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