im looking to buy a new motherboard under the $120 range. I need something that supports DDR SDRAM (PC2100) has a ATA133 Controller. supports Athlon XP 2000+ and is loaded with extra goodies.
I had a MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU in mind..and btw is it really worth getting a board with nFORCE on it? i know what it does and all but is it really worth it?

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nforce2 came out, so you might want to read about it before you decide to get an nforce chipset based mainboard, though i wouldnt really recommend it. nforce chipset has an integrated geforce 2mx equivalent graphics adapter on the northbridge... and it sucks now, with geforce3 and 4s on the market.

for athlon based system, i would recommend a motherboard with via kt333 chipset. its the most advanced chipset of athlon processors, supporting 166 mhz ddr (333 mhz : pc 2700), udma 133 (though you wont really need ata133, as most manufacturers wont manufacture atat133 hds, since serial ata will soon be introduced), agp 8x, and usb 2 (when paired with via VT8233A southbridge).

with that said, if i were you, i would get the Gigabyte GA-7VRXP (105$ in newegg.com) which has an ethernet adapter and pci sound (not your regular ac97 but creative CT5880), and raid controller. 6 usb ports are also included. whats more, it has one of the best benchmark results for kt333 based chipset.

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when about do you think will agp 8x hit the market? i mean as of now, no video cards support agp 8x. but i hear some awesome things about ATi Radeon 9700. damn i want my dirty hands on one of those.

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all i can say is despite all the hype with AMD's, my pentium 4 is still really fast. werd.

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i'd go with amd over intel. hype or hope? up to others opinions.

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quote:

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hype or hope? up to others opinions.

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hype? what hype?

its intel that directly advertise to consumers about how great their p4 is. i dont think amd ever advertised their products but let the oems do the advertising for them.

in anycase, p4s are always the way to go for top of the line proformance hungry users. the latest p4 paired with ddr400 or rambus pc1066 ram would kill any athlon based system when it comes to benchmarks, though its up to the individuals to decide if that has any meaning. but then, who would want to pay quite a lot more for a intel based system thats only around 10-20 percent faster than rival amd?

anyhow, the latest amd processors (athlon xps) run very hot and their fans are really loud, like a mini vacuum cleaner. with intel and their broader heatsink bearings, the fans are larger and thus run at a slower speed and in turn is a lot quiter. thats the only reason that i would rather have gotten a p4 than the athlon system that i currently have. ..and i wouldnt want to dish out another 100 or so for a water cooling system just to disquiet my computer (and because im not that enthusiastic about overclocking my hardware, though i readily have overclocked my friends' computers).

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do you know where i can get good deals on a watercooling kit for a socket 462 cpu? i mean the whole thing. and btw. i just painted my case and im going to add a window to my case and i bought a cold cathode but i was thinking....instead of cutting into my case, why not just replace the whole side with a panel of lexan or plexi. it would cost alot cheaper.

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i always bought my computer hardware at newegg.com. its a very large (but very cheap) online retailer. also very reliable, i might add, unlike some sites taht are listed on pricewatch.com.

so you went with a p4 northwood afterall?

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yea my room is pretty quiet so i choose the p4. on the other hand a amd athlon xp 2100+ would make a cool family computer project. i was looking into this chemical that you submerge your computer into but doesnt damage it because it disspates heat so quickly. its called hydrofluoroether from 3M, specifically HFE-7100. HFE-7100 is a dielectric fluid used in thermal management applications. Translation: It does not conduct any electricity, won't harm electronic components, and is an excellent conductor of heat. The downside to HFE-7100 is that it's expensive (about $220 per gallon) and it will evaporate very quickly if not sealed, which means we need to construct the appropriate containment system. sounds cool huh? anyway i was looking into water cooling for my family computer since i already have an athlon xp 2100+ help me out?

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btw. i buy all my parts at newegg.com awesome seller feedback. the thing is the only part that they dont carry is a water cooling kit. i found one at crazypc.com but i dont have alot $$$ to spare so i dunno wat i should do. maybe buying an air-conditioning unit will do.

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http://www.exoticpc.com/

pretty cool stuff to look at..if i had the money..id get some of these parts

__________________
my.space

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in my opinion, i thing that alien ware are the best computers. http://www.alienware.com

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Originally posted by AjY 2k
in my opinion, i thing that alien ware are the best computers. http://www.alienware.com

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Last edited by volcom strider on 07-25-2002 at 06:47 AM

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i agree with jusun. oh yeah, sometimes i wonder if you still continue want to start beef with someone (e.g. - me) on the internet. just let it go.

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Via' KT400 chipset is coming out very soon, integrated USB 2.0 and a new southbridge chipset that is supposed to alleviate Soundblaster Live and Audigy problems with pci bus parking. And not to mention, AGP 8x for a future video card upgrade that you may have in mind.

So, could you stick it out just a while longer? :)

And maybe wait for the Thoroughbred 2000's and 2100's? :) Heck by that time, you'd be better off getting a tbred 2200

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btw, for those of you looking for a dynamic aircooling solution: The volcano 7+ allows you to set the fan speed to low (3500RPM) when you're listening to mp3's or watching a movie, and then you can turn it up to medium and high speeds (4800RPM and 6000RPM). I personally leave mine set to low, and it is extremely quiet. Temps only load up to 61ºC idle on my comp (Asus uses internal thermal diode on the cpu, and 60ºC roughly translates to about 45ºC on a "normal" motherboard. Btw, I don't really overclock, because i have a problem with my 350W for now

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lol i have the thermaltake volcano 7+ with the temp. sensor that adjusts the speed and i dont like it. the volcano9+ seems to get nothing but good reviews.

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i would say go with the ASUS A7V333 for an Athlon XP processor. i was looking into getting that for a while...

and that KT400 is sounding very sweet

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