Looking for High Performance AMD motherboard

[Salahuddin]

What high performance AMD motherboards out there support AGP and 2GB of DDR400 RAM (512x4)? I suppose I could also go for PCI if someone gives me a quick answer soon because I just ordered an ATI X850XT PE AGP off of Newegg.com.

Initially, I was going to pair the X850XT PE with an Intel P4 3.4 EE in my current motherboard which runs 2GB without any problems. But now I'm thinking with 64-bit processing around the corner, maybe I should sell my 3.4 EE on EBay (its still sealed) and buy an AMD 64 processor.

If this is a good move, what's a good AMD 64 processor to get? Are the FX processors worth it? Or should I save the 300-400 bucks and go with an AMD 64 3600 or something. Remember though that I want to use my current RAM and video card in the new machine, so I'm not even sure if the FX CPUs would work.

I'm an AMD newbie so please help me out.

Thanks.

Edit: Ok, I've been doing some looking on the net and I've cancelled my X850XT PE order. So, I guess I need a good AMD motherboard with a PCI bus that supports DDR400 RAM. Is the nforce4 the best bet?

[-=CrAnSwIcK=-]

DFI lanparty nf4....decide whether you want SLI or not...

[Juan]

if you want to use an AGP graphics card I recommend the MSI K8N Neo2 and the FX skt939's will work on any skt939 board fyi. If you want to use PCI-E graphics card then go for the DFI nforce4 Ultra or SLI boards, both are great.

[stlouis1]

i have the msi k8n neo2 platinum. its not bad i guess, overclocking was easier then my athlon xp-m. i had some power supply problems though which led to some headaches, but its not bad. if i didn't have a thing against via chipsets, i would consider the abit av8

[Zefram]

how bout Abit Fatal1ty AAN8? :D
It looked nice and based on Nforce 4 chipset............. os if you dont have jonathan wendel, go ahead and buy this motherboard!

[AzN]

Dfi!!! Dfi!!!

[gokusimpson]

go with the dfi ultra d board without SLi. Future cards will kill SLI so what's the point?

I wish I knew that when I bought my board. :(

[Zefram]

I wish I knew that when I bought my board. :(
My door is always open to receive your motherboard.............. just send it my way :D

[therealwesty]

Initially, I was going to pair the X850XT PE with an Intel P4 3.4 EE in my current motherboard which runs 2GB without any problems. But now I'm thinking with 64-bit processing around the corner, maybe I should sell my 3.4 EE on EBay (its still sealed) and buy an AMD 64 processor.

Currently ATi doesn't have a multi-GPU solution on the market, and SLI is an nVidia thing. A single X850 series card will be able to handle any games out there a nice image quality and good frame rate. The next generation of cards id going to be fast enough that a single card will be able to out perform two of today's cards in SLI. Further, the ATi multi-GPU idea will work with different cards. From what I've read you will be able to use your current X850 with the R520 stuff in multi-GPU mode. Seems like an X850 would be an excellent investment to me.

Regarding the CPU, you can probably sell the P4 EE and get an Athlon 64 3500+ or something and actually turn a profit without losing any performance. I am not sure about the demand for the older EE chips, but they are a wicked expensive part right? We are starting to see a move to 64-bit stuff with the release of the X64 Edition of WindowsXP and some other 64-bit ready applications starting to find there way out. At the same time though, dual core CPUs are starting to emerge on the store shelves. I think I would stick with the P4 until you can get a 64-bit dual core CPU. Any of the current Athlon 64s aren't going to offer any knock-your-socks-off advantage over your current chip, but dual core does have a lot more to offer.

[Salahuddin]

Well, I got my Pentium 3.4 EE (socket 478) off of Ebay for $650 US. In retrospect, probably shoudn't have done it, but I don't think I'm going to lose much in the long run. Its still unopened with a receipt.

In doing some more thinking, I think I should by my computer in July 2005. I graduate next month and so I can write a new computer off in July on my income tax!

At that point, my plan is to buy the biggest baddest AMD gaming system. After seeing the X850XT reviews, I'll probably get an ATI and not bother too much with SLI (unless some of you more knowledgeable people tell me otherwise).

So, having said that... now tell me what I should buy. Or wait to buy... :)

I'm going to read about this DFI LanParty.

Thanks guys!

[PCgeek]

ABIT AX8. I know most of the guys here are nVidia fans, but I have always found VIA mobos are more stable. And since benchmarks show this time around gaming is about the same for both, with the VIA running cooler and still overclocking like a mofo, I think I'm gonna declare VIA the winner of this round.

[bluegreenshxt]

The ABIT would be my choice if the DFI Lanparty didn't exist :p :D

[Zefram]

LOL, nvidia chipset are loaded with many enhancement, like hardware firewall and hardware NIC's.............. so, i would take nVidia-chipset based motherboard over VIA or those obnoxious ALi........... and since ATI paired up with ALi, well, they both sux :D

[Salahuddin]

What is the difference between "Ultra" and "SLI" other than being able to hook up two SLI NVidia cards in the latter?

Oh and if I have the cash, should I just buy the fastest AMD FX chip for this board? Or is it not worth it?\

Lastly, anyone have any problem running DDR400 HyperX RAM in this board? I'm thinking of transferring my 2GB into this new machine. Its the HyperX with the 2-3-2-5 settings. I know I'll have less overclocking potential with 2GB but I'm not big on overclocking so its cool... I just want the 2GB in there.

Thanks.