Need help with an Nforce2

[zillion]

Ok, my old computer is just too **** slow these days in EVERYTHING! I want to upgrade and did some research and it seems now is the time to buy based on prices. I'd like ideally not to have to put something together.. an online shop that can do a mobo/cpu combo and maybe even plug the memory in too.
I'd like to get a good system with little bottlenecking. For Mobos it seems like the new Nforce2 chipset is the way to go. So I'd like a board both reliable and fast with "plug ins a plenty" :)
Is Nforce2 just for AMD or Intel too? I'd like a board to be able to handle at least 2.8 for Intel to max available or an AMD 2ghz (3000 XP?) - max. I will buy the best processor I can afford based on that. It doesn't need onboard sound nor video as I have a Soundblaster Live 5.1 card and will get an ATI video card later. I will need to upgrade memory so a board that could best make use of some top Crucial or Corsair memory would be great.

So, based on that, is there the ultimate board for me? :)
I hear MSI Abit and Gigabyte are good too. What would be the best Intel based board and which would be the best AMD board for me? Ok, so now where is the best priced one?

Sys Specs of any importance:
I have a new unused 250-350 (I forget) Antec Power Supply but my current Dell Mobo can't take the plugs yet so I use my original Dell 200-250 (again I forget) until the mobo upgrade

Big *** Antec Case (well not the OFFICIAL term) :)
WD 120 Gig 8mb cache
Soundblaster Live 5.1

Future Components:
SONY DRU500A Internal DVD Burner
ATI All In Wonder 9700 Pro (or 9800 Pro for Component Video)
Switch to XP from WIN98SE

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Well for starters theyre AMD only. If your into mega hardcore overclocking and want a board loaded with features then the Epox 8rda3+ or Abit NF7-S v2 will do the trick. If overclocking isnt as big a consideration, btu you still want to push a bit, the Asus a7n8x is a good board with an amazing array of features. As for the CPU. Dont bother spending a load of moulagh on the high end Xp3200+ sort of stuff, pick up an Xp2500, and it'll overclock to XP3200+ very easily. As for video cards an Ati Radeon 9700Pro or 9800Pro depending on what you can afford would go very nicely with it

--Jakk:t

[missiveusa]

And don't wait to upgrade your OS from 98SE. Do a fresh install of XP on the new system. It really is a far better OS for reasons too numerous to relate here. Just plunk down the $93, it's worth it.

[Disk11]

If you want an Intel system, you should get a C version (800 fsb and hyperthreading) and a non-Intel 865PE or 875 motherboard (The Asus, Abit, and Epox offerings look good). Either video card is great. If you don't want to overclock, the Crucial memory should work great, otherwise you should get the Corsair. Make sure you get two of the same stick so you can use dual channel memory.

[Morn]

I'm using an ASUS A7N8X (version 2) deluxe mobo. It's got:
Northbridge nForce2 SPP, Southbridge nForce2 MCP-T
2x 1394 firewire ports
2x RJ45 NIC LAN ports
A total of 6 USB 2.0 (4 on the mobo, and 2 on the frount)
2x serial ATA ports
5x PCI ver 2.2 plus 1x AGP Pro/8x
3x 184 pin DDR DIMM sockets. Max 3GB unbuffered non-ECC. Dual channel DDR400 support. (PC3200/2700/2100)
FSB 266/333/400MHz
ATA133 IDE's

A Lian Li PC-60 aluminium case, plus a 550w PSU
Athon XP 2700+ 256kB L2 cache 333MHz FSB
2x 512MB PC2700 (333DDR) DIMMS from integral
Maxtor 120GB and 40GB UDMA6 7200rpm
PNY Verto GeForce4 Ti4800 8x AGP
SB Live 5.1 Platinum
Pinnacle DV500 DVD video capture

APIC enabled in BIOS. Win XP pro, and it's oh so Stable... Video authoring is a breeze. It renders AVI to MPEG2 at a 1:1 rate. Awesome... :) The only bottleneck my system seems to have is the HDD speeds. I'm Looking at SATA150 HDDs. Are they worth it?

You pays yer money and takes your choice

[BipolarBill]

Only the smallish Western Digital Raptors are worth the upgrade these days. The next generation SATA drives should be both bigger and faster.

[Morn]

Thanks. I'll wait. :cool: 36GB is a bit too small. I would use most of that editing one avi file. Reliability, speed, and mass storage are important to me.

I thought I would let zillion know what I've done to achieve this. Note the big PSU. The graphics card manufacture, PNY, recomends at least 400w for their GF4 Ti range. The top ATI GPU's have similar requirments.

Keep it cool :cool: do the research, most of all have fun...:t