abit is7 or ic7, which way to go?

[zooner]

I'm upgrading my current system and have about 350 to spend.

This is what I have left after I sold off some of my hardware:

1 512meg corsair pc3000xms
gf4 ti4200 128meg agp 8x vivo
cheetah x15 and adaptec 29160 scsi
2 wd hd's (120gig and 80gig)
burner and dvd

Now, the way I see it I have two choices:

a.)
p4 2.4c
abit ic7
just leaving the single stick

b.)
p4 2.4c
abit is7
perhaps picking up another corsair pc3200 stick to give me a gig of ram.

think i'll be happy with the abit is7? From what I've read, it doesnt seem there is that much of a difference. At least in real world speeds.

[zooner]

one more question...

in my experience, the hsf hasnt needed upgrading with my previous p4's. Should I in this case. i will be overclocking, but not excessively.

[Humboldt]

Are you not choosing the BH-7 because it only has the 533/400?

I don't know much about this stuff but am getting a P4 1.8 and need a board for it...am about 2 days away from getting the BH-7.

Just curious, maybe I should look at something that is more upgradable.

[zooner]

what I'm most interested in is the HT'ing.

My current mobo, that I just sold, was a abit be7. I was VERY happy with that. However, with the p4 2.4c's costing only 179 at newegg it would be silly not to upgrade.

I'm concerned I'll have trouble running that pc3000xms stick and will there be a problem mixing it with a pc3200 stick? I dont forsee a problem, nor do I see an issue running the pc3000 on a 800fsb board.

[Humboldt]

BH-7 has Hyper-threading.

[Humboldt]

Damn, now you have me thinking about changing boards:D

I do like the looks of the IS7-E:nod: and that'd leave me more room to upgrade to a faster chip later I guess.

Not to crap your thread but...when it says "DDR Single/Dual Channel DDR 400 up to 4GB"

Can you help me understand the speed ratings for DDR RAM? The chip I'm getting is coming with some PC2100, what does that equal and could I use it in the IS7-E?

Or would I need the BH-7's "DDR DIMM 200/266/333 Max 2GB"

Thanks

[zooner]

I dont fully understand all of that yet, although i'm working on it.

multiplier on the 800fsb cpu's is lower, to accomidate the faster FSB. I'm not exactly sure how the fsb relates to the memory speed.

I'm going to go read some reviews etc and learn. i'll be back with the info.

[Shagster]

Springdale is total crap. And all this about it making canterwood speeds is a chalk load of lost stability. Get the ic7.

[zooner]

Originally posted by Shaggy
Springdale is total crap. And all this about it making canterwood speeds is a chalk load of lost stability. Get the ic7.

Thanks!

Upon further research, I have come to agree. I dont understand why it's even a contest?? The price difference is so minimal!!

There was a time when the cost was an issue, kt133 vs kt133a, for example. Here, we are talking about $18 and the loss of onboard lan. Big deal.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Originally posted by Shaggy
Springdale is total crap. And all this about it making canterwood speeds is a chalk load of lost stability. Get the ic7.

:rolleyes: Riiiiight. Only difference being PAT, and support for ECC. Hyperpath is the same as PAT, and no lost stability whatsoever...at least on Asus boards.

So the only difference is really 875 supports ECC...which most of us don't run, especially those of us who overclock, because ECC is stubborn to overclock.

[Shagster]

Originally posted by YeOldeStonecat
:rolleyes: Riiiiight. Only difference being PAT, and support for ECC. Hyperpath is the same as PAT, and no lost stability whatsoever...at least on Asus boards.

So the only difference is really 875 supports ECC...which most of us don't run, especially those of us who overclock, because ECC is stubborn to overclock.

Im just basing my comments off the reviews I read and the research I did when I was considering a springdale. All the canterwood owners were like "This board is the shiznit" while the springdale owners half said the same but the other half were like "The board sucks arse, i have a canterwood now and holy shiznit"

You can't base your opinion off of specs only.