Which of these ass-kicking Mobo/CPUs would you buy?

R

RWhite

Well-known member
Its been almost a year since I last added a new computer to my little collection at home. I’m thinking its time to build a new one, and I’d like to get some opinions. The system would be replacing my “main” computer which is a jack-of-all trades kind of machine. I don’t do tracking on it but I do record TV broadcasts (via a ATI All-In-Wonder), copy cassettes to CDR, and do some “mastering” of previously recorded material (using Sound Forge 5 mostly). I also play games and burn DVDs & stuff. Hardware going into the box would include the All-In-Wonder card and an Audiophile 2496.

I’ve been curious about the new Athlon 64 chips for some time. They have finally come down in price enough for me to think about getting one. But at the same time, while I have built at least a half-dozen Athlon systems, I’ve never built a P4 system. Since I maintain about 500 Intel based machines where I work (the new ones Dell P4s) it’s probably not a bad idea for me to build a P4 just for the experience.

Micro Center ( www.microcenter.com ) is increasingly becoming my choice for purchasing computer parts. Their prices are reasonable, return policy good, and there is no waiting for mail order. I like instant gratification! They have a sale going on now with two good deals on P4 and Athlon 64 motherboard / CPU combos:

First, Soyo CK8 dragon motherboard with Athlon 64 3000+ CPU. You pay $300 but after $150 in rebates its $150. Here’s the motherboard:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0176394

Then the other choice. A Soyo P4I865PE Plus motherboard with a 3.0Gig P4 processor. There’s no link at Microcenter, although its in their flyer. Final cost is just $20 more, $170. Here’s the mobo:

http://www.soyousa.com/products/proddesc.php?id=238

Does anyone have any experience with either of these boards? Are there any know problems with using recording software, or the Audiophile 2496, with the Athlon 64?
 
The Athlon 64, 3000 will be the chip that i put in my new computer in the fall for DAW work, i like them over the pentiums. As for the motherboards, i have never heard of them. Then again, my knowledge of motherboards is limited. I'm gonna get the K8V by ASUS i think
 
Don't know much about the Soyo boards, but Asus make very good clockable boards.

Do a Google for some reviews of your Soyo P4I865PE, and then compare with reviews of the Asus P4P800 or P4C800 boards
 
I like ASUS motherboards as well, back when I was purchasing P3 systems for my company I bought a pile of them. Have 2 at home.

Soyo is actually a pretty well known brand among the serious geeks, they have the rep of being "the overclockers favorite motherboard". I don't intend to overclock however.
 
For Athlon 64 (754 pin) check out an Nforce 3 250 mobo. P4 will still whomp in the rendering department, though. I don't have any experience with the new 939 pin 64 bit chips.
 
I went the dual CPU route, because I do a lot of restoration with my old vinyl collection. I have a Tyan Tiger mobo, with dual Athlon 1 Gig MP Thunderbirds. I only went this route because my restoration software depends more on CPU power than RAM. I've been going strong for almost two years now, with no complaints. (knocking on wood)

I prefer AMD over Intel, but it should be noted that AMDs run hotter. If you go AMD, make provisions for good fans.

Tyan makes good dual CPU mobos, and as for single CPU mobos, I've always liked Asus.
As for Soyo, I've never come across a good stable mobo from them. Their mobos are geared more towards tweakers who can tweak/fix the problems. If you're like me, and just want to do your audio work with minimal hassle from the computer itself, I'd lean more towards Asus. In matters of single CPU mobos that support AMD, I also like MSI.

Hope that helps...
 
Joeybear said:
I prefer AMD over Intel, but it should be noted that AMDs run hotter. If you go AMD, make provisions for good fans.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about current generation CPUs, Intel is the one with heat problems. Actually the whole AMD hotter than Intel was a distortion, as Intel CPUs were throttling at high temperatures (so performance would suffer as heat buildup happened) but wouldn't explode like the Athlons would. And in those Athlons were selling with cheaper and worse fans than Intel - and running hotter as a result. Now that's mostly history.

Dual CPUs allow smoother multitasking, but the generation of 2 Gig+ CPUs with higher FSB speeds and fast memory makes this sort of redundant.

And Dual CPUs are thin on the ground and heavy on the wallet nowadays, gone are the days when the difference between single and dual CPUs were small. You only have the Xeons and the Athlon 64 Multi-way boards, both horribly expensive options as compared to uniprocessor systems.

I would bet my money on the new 939 socket boards. Ensure you don't get caught with the 775 or worse, the 754 pin boards as processor upgrades will be next to impossible. 939 is the new 'Socket A' platform and will go through at least till 2005 fall before a platform change. Unless you get a killer deal (very possible) on an olde CPU/Board combo.

There are 4 chipsets for the Athlon 64-bit CPUs. Sis, Ali, Via and nForce.

Would suggest either nForce or Via. Choose a big brand. Anyway most of them go to the same manufacturers in Taiwan, so you won't have an issue with 90% of the big board guys - Asus, Abit, Gigabyte, MSI...
 
Joeybear said:
As for Soyo, I've never come across a good stable mobo from them. Their mobos are geared more towards tweakers who can tweak/fix the problems.
Click to expand...

I fully agree with this statement. I have a soyo mobo in my main PC that I currently use and it has given me nothing but headaches initially. I had to configure the hell out of it for almost a year to get my system to run stable (which it finally does, albeit under clocked 300MHZ). Soyo would NOT be my first choice for a DAW compatable pc. Go with ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte. You will most certainly have much better luck.
 
Sangram,

It's always cool to run into someone who knows more than I do.
Unfortunately, it happens more than I care to admit. LOL

As for my "AMDs running hotter than Intels" comment, it's based on using the same fan for all of my CPUs; mine and those systems I assemble for others.
For some reason or reasons, the AMDs have almost always run hotter.

As for dual CPUs, I agree with everything you said, however...

I still think that dual CPU mobos are better built, and would still recommend a dual CPU system for music; despite the OBSCENE costs. Along with that, Windoze seems to work better on dual CPU systems. And most of all, my restoration software performs infinitely better on a dual system.

By the way, my system is two years old, so don't laugh too hard at my FSB speed. LOL
 
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