KT400 chipset / AGP8x needed

[Ehhe Yebeb]

Also if you are willing to go intel, then Soltek has a serial ATA board out already. It uses the P4X400 chipset, has serial ATA (150mb/s) as well as AGP 8x, and a nice platinum colour CB. The model # is the 85MR2SL

[E^vol]

What about in future games like Doom3 ?? It uses 80Mb+ of textures...

[E^vol]

Thanks, but Intel is TOO expensive !!:thumbs do

[Morgan_Lander]

Actually, for being as loaded as they are, the nForce boards can be found under $100 USD. Unfortunately, the current crop isn't very good in the selection. Abit and Leadtek are the ones under the 100 mark, and Asus (big surprise) and MSI are over that--on-line!
The nForce 2 is supposedly gonna open a can of whup ass on the KT400 with a 20% lead, but I'm not sure I quite believe that. I don't believe the KT400 is gonna offer that much over the KT333. I also believe that while the nForce 2 will kick the KT400's digital ass, the 20% performance difference is a bit hard to believe. I can see where it does have a potential advantage though: dual memory controllers, which could also be it's undoing. Either way, the chipset side for AMD chips is gonna erode some of Via's market share, as they do have many unsatisfied customers. I'm not one of them, but I feel the nForce is a superior product and #2 will be more refined to give Via a good fight. And that's always better for the end user:D

[saidin]

Also if you are willing to go intel, then Soltek has a serial ATA board out already. It uses the P4X400 chipset, has serial ATA (150mb/s) as well as AGP 8x, and a nice platinum colour CB. The model # is the 85MR2SL

This is not true. The 85MR2SL is intel chipset Intel 845G + ICH4 chipset, so not DDR400 and no AGP 8X. It does have the serial ATA, but thats all. http://www1.soltek.com.tw/English/product/85mr2-sl.htm

Now, the SL-85ERV has the PX400 chipset...but it does not have serial ATA, no raid...blah blah blah... but does support DDR400 and 8xAGP. http://www1.soltek.com.tw/English/product/85erv-l.htm

[Ehhe Yebeb]

Whoops got them both mixed up. Anyway they are both great P4 boards if you are interested

[Lava Lamp Freak]

[Edit: somehow was posted to wrong forum.]

[E^vol]

Does anyone know what the new EPOX (KT400/AGP8x) mainboard is called ? ie: model number

EPOX boards are a bit more $$$ here, compared to MSI boards, but they are available.

How would you guys rate EPOX boards vs. MSI or GigaByte boards of the same chipset ? ie: compare KT333 chipset boards of the 3 companies.

Bottom line... Are EPOX boards better/more stable/more features than MSI boards of the same chipset ?

thx.

[Morgan_Lander]

Epox is a company that makes way for overclockers. MSI is generally solid overall in price, performance, and features.
Stability at stock speeds shouldn't be an issue. I got burned by Epox when I tried them, but that was just one board. I'm sure they're fine usually and that I got a bum deal.

AFAIK, Epox hasn't announced their KT400 solution yet. Unless you're an overclocker, I don't see the KT400 being much of an improvement over the KT333 which wasn't much of a boon over the KT266A---unless you're into overclocking.

If the MSI boards are cheaper, and you just want a system that goes rather than is geared at overclocking, that would be your best bet.

[E^vol]

thanks ! good point !

[E^vol]

i heard that the KT400 mainboards should be available in stores, in 2-3 weeks...i hope so, cuz i'm going crackerz

[E^vol]

....must buy new parts.......

[Ren]

Have a look at www.ocworkbench.com

The latest news story there recons KT400 is basically KT333 + 8x AGP, i.e. it offers the same performance and apparently on top of that they got issues with some DDR modules.

Even with 166 Mhz FSB Athlons I don't think DDR400 will offer much improvement over KT333 (just like KT333 didn't offer that much over KT266a).

But I still plan to get a KT333 rather than KT266a board because of the new features such as XP termal protection and USB 2.0

That be either Epox 8K5A2 or MSI KT3 Ultra 2.

BTW, when are the new Epox boards due in the shops in Oz?

[zeradul]

i'm trying to "plan ahead", we'll see if it works out that way.

If you are really trying to plan ahead, then you best wait a few months... ATA as we know it, is dead.

http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=74571#post74571

[E^vol]

Ya, I want my new mainboard to have AGP8x and Serial ATA ! The DDR400 is just "fluff", speaking of ram, how can I find out if a mainboard has problems with different DIMMs (before it's too late)? I'm looking at a 512Mb DIMM of DDR400 or DDR333 to start, with another 512Mb to be added later...