New Motherboard/Processor/Memory?

[Cubsfan]

Hi guys,

So, my motherboard died on me.:( On it, I had a 850 Celeron and 640 Megs of PC133 RAM. So I went through the dilema of either replacing the motherboard (therefore buying old, obsolete equipment), or buying a new motherboard/processor/memory (more money than I really wanted to spend). So anyway, what would you guys recommend for a combo? (and where to buy?) I really like Intel products better, but with the prices of the P4's so high, I'm not sure I want to spend that much. I was looking at some of the combos at mwave.com, and it looks like my choices are an XP 2000+ or so, or something like a Celeron 2Ghz. What do you guys suggest?

Thanks!

[Heihachi]

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut... if you don't want to go w/ that... go w/ an xp2000+ w/ a kt333 motherboard and the bare 256mb ddr you'll be just fine.

[Cubsfan]

Yeah, I'm with you on the memory. I find that when I'm compiling whatever I'm working on every 15 min. faster processors and more memory is something I really enjoy!

Thanks for looking up those prices for me, by the way.

My original plan was to use this until it was pathetically out of date, and then upgrade to the latest stuff. I don't really feel like spending $700 now though :) I really wish I would have gotten in on that deal for retail employees at Intel!

Any opinions on the 2.0Ghz Celerons? Those seem to be about the same price as the 2000+. They're probably a bit worse, but I really do like Intel.

Thanks again for the help!

[Cubsfan]

Ideally $0 :)

Realistically, I'd love to stay under $300, perferrably a lot less, but that's not going to happen :)

So just looking at mwave.com (easy to put together combo's, I'd worry more about exact price later), I get this:

Celeron 2.0 $91
Abit IT7 $126
256 PC2100 $68


From the looks of it, I think this motherboard would allow me to eventually go up to at least a 2.6 P4. I just kind of threw this one together, I've been out of the loop for awhile on this kind of thing. Funny how when you get a bit older, pure speed isn't quite as important, and gadgets get to be more fun :)

Thanks again for all the help!

[mcs328]

My motherboard hasn't died yet but I get locks up fairly frequently. I've been thinking of a reinstall but maybe it's time to change motherboards and a cpu. I wonder is Shuttle makes lil computers for old Slot A Athlons.

[sbp]

In terms of general things like typing up papers and cruising the web, the Celeron 2 will be fine. In terms of games, the AthlonXP makes the Celeron 2 its b1tch.

Why not get an AthlonXP and not worry about a smeleron.

[i6s1]

I would think that 9/10 people here would take the Athlon 2000 over a Celeron 2.0.

[Cubsfan]

Ok, so I was reading the other forum "Intel Mainboard Questions", and I realized that those boards don't seem to be too much more expensive. What I would really like in a motherboard is upgradability (i.e. I want to be able to upgrade the processor). Looks like that Asus P4PE(I think that was it) would run the Celeron 2.0/1.8/1.7, but yet can support at least the P4 3.06, which would give me a lot of room to expand. Would that be a better idea?

Oh, and as far as games, I think that the only one I've really played in the last year is High Heat, so I'm not really concerned with game performance.

Ideally, if I did this as a planned upgrade, I'd be getting a P4 or so. But, since it's more of a "forced" upgrade, I'd like to spend the money to get running again, but not throw away my money with a really old replacement motherboard.

[Cubsfan]

I was looking at the specs on the ASUS site, and it listed:
Socket 478 for Intel® Pentium® 4/ Celeron up to 3GHz+

The only reason I was thinking this was becasue the place that I was looking at the combos allowed you to select the motherboards/processors and it listed those two as being able to work together.

Now, my main concern is that I just read a review on the Celeron 2.0 over at Sharky Extreme, and it looks like they didn't really like the Celeron 2.0 at all. Would it be worth it then to maybe buy the 1.8 (which is about $40 cheaper) and upgrade to a P4 as soon as I can?

Thanks for the help DarkFury!

[Cubsfan]

Go to that ASUS page and click "Specifications" on the left hand side. That's where I grabbed that line from, sorry, should have been more specific.

The only reason I'm looking at the Celeron is because it'd get me by until I felt like spending more money (maybe I just shouldn't be such a cheapskate! :)) The 1.8 seems like it would work, and it's only like $55, so in a few months (or just after I sold my extra 120GB hard drive) I could get like a 2.4 or so. Or maybe I'll feel like making the jump to 3.06.... :)

[kain9i6]

What kind of 120GB drive is it, and how much you askin :confused:

[Cubsfan]

Just thought I'd finish this one off :)

I just ordered the ASUS P4PE with Lan, Sound, firewire, and serial ATA, plus a Celeron 2.0 (Don't worry, I'll upgrade fairly soon)

I wanted to get in on that memory deal at Office Depot, but I can't find any close to here, so I'm going to go buy it from Best Buy and pricematch it with my Amex Gold. I'm only going to get 256 for now, and I'm hoping there will be a good deal on another 256 pretty soon. If I don't see a good deal within a couple of months, I'll just pay full price :)

Thanks again for all the help!

[Heihachi]

Quick question about you really liking Intel. Is it because you have something against AMD? I've built many AMD systems and I'm happy w/ them. In terms of performance it's just about the same except at the high levels of unreachable pocket dollar heights.

[Cubsfan]

I knew DarkFury would reply with a better answer than I would, so I thought I'd wait until he replied before I did :)

All of the things that DF said were great reasons, but there are (at least for me) a couple of other things, and they aren't really technical reasons.

I've always had Intel. They've never done me wrong. Everything pretty much works well (although I'm going to stay away from Abit motherboards from now on).

Intel has always struck me as a much stronger company. I look at the health of both companies, and if by chance only one is around in 5 years, it'll be Intel.

Finally, have you had any exposure to a farming community? If you have, you know that everyone has their brand of truck. Some guys are Ford guys, some guys are Chevy guys, and some guys are Dodge guys. These guys will NEVER buy a different type of truck. A Ford guy will always buy a Ford, because he's always had a Ford, his dad always had a Ford, etc... I guess I'm kind of like that with Intel. I suppose you'd call it "brand loyalty". Dumb reason, I know :) That's what I get for growing up in a farming community!


By the way, just to update everyone, my stuff should be here tommorrow. I noticed that I'm also going to need a power supply, so I think I'm going to pick up an Antec TRUE430. Looks like a pretty good Power supply to me.

[Cubsfan]

A big part of my motivation is that I can buy the Antec at BestBuy :)

It's $99 at Bestbuy, but thanks to the Amex Gold card in my pocket I can pricematch it to something like $66.

One feature that I like about it is that it will slow the fans down if the system doesn't need so much cooling. Kind of a nice feature to help with a quiet system.

[Heihachi]

I suppose I understand the whole "brand loyalty". Considering I always root for the underdogs.

I've built 3 Intel systems and 14 AMD systems. I realized I have more beef w/ RAM companies and motherboard companies when it comes to those "compatability" issues.

Not to mention the 75gxp problem, the mushkin recall for pc1066, the epox/crucial compatability problem, and the epox and geforce 3 agp card not fitting.

So I guess I've "paid my dues" when it comes to problems.