Motherboard and CPU

P

Phil

New member
I build/am building a dedicated computer for my Direct Pro card (which still hasn't come don't get me started !@#@#$%#).

I can't seem to find much information on the web about which motherboards are the best for our applications. Some cards like the Event/Echo's want "Genuine Intel Chipset" blah blah blah. I don't even know what that means. I go to Pricewatch.com and Intel/Asus/Abit/Amptron all have a million different boards. Can someone please tell me what they have that works beautifully or lead me in the right direction?

Also what does "OEM version" mean as compared to "retail box?" Should I stay away from OEM versions? Most places seem to offer a motherboard and CPU combo for somewhat cheaper, does this mean that they are integrated? Should I stay away from this as well?

Thanks,
Phil
 
ABit BE6 mobo with overclocked Celeron 300a is still a very economical and efficient way to get up and running. Whatever, get a mobo on which you can upgrade the cpu on later if you want. Avoid all-in-one mobos.

Jess
 
Thanks for the great input. Don't worry, I was not planning on attempting to assemble the machine myself, I have a local store here that will do it for me. I would have had them just build it originally but it seems like they really gouged me last time I had this computer made by charging me more for parts and labor. I was able to save a bundle by ordering the parts I wanted elsewhere and just paying them for labor.
Thanks again.
Phil
 
The last year I´ve been using a AMD K6 II 400 MHz processor with standard 100 MHz motherboard. Relatively cheap setup but it works like a dream...I´ve been using and misusing SoundForge, Logic and Cool Edit with several soundcards and have experienced no problems whatsoever
 
Genuine Intel chipset means that the motherboard has Intel chips, not referring to the CPU, but to the other microchips that the board requires. The Intel 820 chipset is the latest that you will see in most Intel boards for sale right now. They also have an 840 out that's brand new, but I haven't come across a motherboard that uses it yet. If you want more info on Intel chipsets check out developer.intel.com/design/chipsets. Other boards will use various other chipsets, and are usually less expensive than the Intel boards. Unless you have hardware that needs a Genuine Intel chipset, the others will be fine. I personally am going to buy an Intel820 board because I know it supports everything I want it to support: 133 MHz Bus, 4x AGP, RDRAM, UDMA-66. I'm too lazy to look around at other manufacturer's chipsets to see if they support everything when it's not that much more money for the Intel board.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and means that the product was made for a reseller to use and might be a little different from the "retail box". The retail box is what it sounds like: Exactly what you would go buy off the shelf of a computer store, with full capabilities, full warranty, extra software, etc. Most of the time OEM is probably ok, and they are just leaving out some extra bundled software or something similar. Check to be sure, ask them what the difference is if it's not clear. In buying a processor I would get the retail box version if prices are anywhere close, as it will carry the full manufacturer warranty, which with Intel is usually 3 years, where the OEM might or it might not. That's mostly my opinion, but regardless, just make sure whatever it is has the manufacturer warranty. Some of those places will stick you with a warranty as low as 15 days.

Those places that are offering a motherboard/CPU combo are probably just installing the CPU on the motherboard for you. Like if it says: "Intel Board with 600MHz CPU" then the processor has just been installed for you. I agree about staying away from boards that have too much built in that can't be removed and replaced, but most of the time with CPUs they have just installed it ahead of time for you, and it can still be replaced. This can be easier if you aren't familiar with installing a CPU on a motherboard.

One last thing, and I say this to try and save you some possible headaches that could come from building a PC: Putting together a PC can be frustrating. Not knowing what those terms mean, and attepting this for the first time (if that's the case) could make for a rough experience. I don't want to discourage you, just find someone local that can help you out if you run into trouble that BBS questions and answers can't fix. Good luck.
 
To add to Jon X's reply: I read recently that the Intel 820 chipset is intended to be used with RAMBUS ram, which, when I last checked was about $600 for 64MB and about $1100 for 128MB. There are a couple of ways to still use DIMMs with the 820 chipset, but I have heard that the results for both ways are no faster than using the BX chipset with DIMMs. (The two ways are: 1 - some mobo manufacturers make boards for 820 with DIMMs or 2 - you can buy what's called a riser card for the Rambus socket to put your DIMMs in.)

So, unless you want to shell out a lot of $$ for memory (which is high enough as it is for DIMMs), then you might consider the BX chipset as is found on the ABIT BE6 mobo (assuming that you want to build for an Intel CPU and not Athlon). I think that unless the price of this RAMBUSt-your-wallet comes way down soon, we're not going to see too many people upgrading to this 820 chipset real fast. As for the 840, I don't know. Have to wait and see, but I have a feelin' that the wait is over.

I am planning also to build a PC soon and I am seriously looking at that ABIT BE6 REV II mobo. From what I've heard, it should perform well. You might search on here for references to that board - I think I saw that some folks that are currently using it wrote on this BBS about it recently. I also read a few reviews for it saying that it is a very stable board.


[This message has been edited by keybuffer (edited 01-08-2000).]
 
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