Which mobo/processor?

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McPBrain

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I'm thinking about relegating my old audio PC to internet/graphics use and purchasing a new PC, again for audio only. I'm currently using an Audiophile 2496 card and will probably install it in the new PC.

I'm out of the loop as far as processor performance and compatibility, so I need some guidance.

I'm going to get a pre-built system with an Antec Sonata II case, (2) Seagate HD's, Sapphire Radeon 9250 video card, and 1Gb Ram(2x512Mb DDR400) and I need suggestions for a mobo/processor....

My three options are:

1. ASUS A7N8X-X with Athlon XP3000+ processor 512k cache 333Mhz FSB

2. MSI K8N Neo4-F with Athlon 64 2800+ processor w/512K cache (costs $52 more than #1)

3. P4P800S-X with P4 3.0Ghz processor 1Mb cache 8ooMhz FSB(costs $97 more than #1)


Top priority is compatibility/stability with the Audiophile. Second priority is noise issues. Third is performance....

Which is my best bet?

Thanks for any input!!
 
For Processor, I would go with the Athlon 64 no questions. Now, whether or not that motherboard is compatible with the 2496, that's a different story. Send an email to m-audio and see what they say about it.
 
numero uno,and yes check the compatibility first.
 
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ASUS A7N8X-X is a socket A. Socket A is on its way out of the market. Socket A is a few tiers from the top. I wouldn't go the Socket A route at this time. Socket 939 such as that MSI board is only one tier down from the top. What's in between those two for AMD boards is Socket 754. If you want an overall less expensive group of parts, a socket 754 with an nVidia chipset is where it's at for a recording computer. Socket 754 boards have a lot of headroom for upgrades even if they aren't 939's or SLI or dual core. But, none of your 3 options are a 754. 939 is aok to be shopping for though.

A Radeon 9250 won't be able to do much outside of run regular applications. It should be fine for DAW duty, but they only come in PCI or AGP interfaces (that I know of). Don't get a regular PCI video card for a daw. If Radeon 9250 is your only choice, you have to get an AGP version. For AGP, you have to get a motherboard with an AGP slot. I don't think any Neo4 MSI K8N boards have AGP; they are PCI x16. PCI x16 would be just as good as AGP if you can get a PCI x16 card instead. In MSI K8N's, I'm viewing a list that has AGP slots on only Neo2 and Neo-V motherboards.
 
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I run an aSus P4P800-e Deluxe with a P IV 3.0Ghz and three M-Audio cards on the PCI buss with no issues what so ever. It's a solid system. Haven't had a crash in over a year
 
Thanks you guys!

Appreciate the insight....

jdavidb, a fourth option, should I choose to go with Socket 754 is this:

AMD 64 2800+ w/ 512k cache on an Asus K8S-MX with integrated video. This setup would be $28 less than #1...

Any known issues with the SiS offerings? This board incorporates a SiS 760GX chipset and SiS 965 on the southbridge. My current setup has an Asus A7s333 board and has not been a problem.
 
2800+ AMD's will do fine even if it's a (socket 754) Sempron, so an Athlon 64 is great for a daw even with it being the Socket 754 version.

I recommend either pci x16 or agp for video though, even if it's a low-end card for $50 because they have their own memory and their own processors while onboard video works off the system resources. Onboard video won't make much of a difference as far as what you can see & hear, but it's just better design to spread the workload of the components out. You could stick an agp card in it later. The Asus K8S-MX has an 8x/4x AGP slot.

There's only 2 pci slots in the Asus K8S-MX. That's fine if the Audiophile is your only pci device, since everything else like lan, usb, and stereo audio is already onboard. I bet an AGP card will get in the way of the top pci slot, so that's why I think it really only has 1 useable pci slot. It also has one pci x1 slot though.

There are better 754 boards out there. The one I use is a DFI nF4x Infinity. It is socket 754 with a Sempron 2800+, nVidia nForce4-4x chipset, no agp; it's pci x16, 3 pci slots and 2 pci x1 slots. 1 gig of ddr400 pc3200. Video is a (low-end) Albatron PCX5750 pci x16 card. 430 watt power supply.
 
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Go socket 939 so that you can upgrade to an AMD X2 at some point.
 
defo get an AGP card for video and free up the PCI buss. You can pick up a used Matrox G450 or G550 for dual display very cheaply on eBay
 
Check out the Pentium D. Very nice processer and not too expensive (~$270) running SMP makes a HUGE difference

I would stay away from the XP3000, I just built a machine based on that chip and was sorely disappointed with the overall performance. I find Via chipsets often have problems with audio hardware so study up on what plays nice with what
 
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