Another 'which mobo' question im afraid!

[ballin]

Hey guys,

Ive had a good trawl through these forums in search for a motherboard recommendation and just need a little advice.

First off heres what Im planning to do:
I currently have a P3-500 which is going to be used as a 2nd computer so I am building a completely new system from scratch.

Im starting with the motherboard and CPU, currently thinking the AMD Athlon "Barton" XP2500+ CPU (good/bad idea) and for the motherboard.....taken from recommendations on here either the;

MSI K7N2 Delta-L - £55
ABIT NF7-S - £75

From what Ive read the ABIT seems to get a few more thumbs up however it is £20 dearer and Im not planning on overclocking, so is the ABIT recommended more due to OCing?
On the overclocking note, would I be stupid not to really? And if you really do recommend OCing should I get the OEM CPU which comes without heatsink/fan and get better cooling? Also whats a safe number to oC to?

Another thing which favours the MSI is the ABIT only seems to have 2 USB ports, or am I misreading this?
Finally....they both have onboard sound ~ whats this like? Would you use this instead of a SoundBlaster card or would it work in conjunction with a SB?
If its instead of...would you guys still buy a seperate card?


Thanks for ya time, and sorry for all the questions!
(been out the game too long:( )

[fishybawb]

Couple either of those boards with some Crucial PC3200 RAM (cheap and reliable) and overclocking the 2500+ to 3200+ speeds won't be a problem at all - it's a pretty standard overclock for 2500+ owners to do :)

The Abit has 2 USB ports attached to the mobo itself, but comes with an additional two (plus Firewire) on a backing plate that connects to motherboard headers. There's support for another 2 (typically for front-of-case mounted USB), making a total of 6.

SoundStorm certified sound is easily good enough to use in place of an add-on card - it's only bettered by the Audigy2 in my opinion.

[ballin]

thx fishybawb...

i just wack the speeds up in the bios correct? all standard parts are fine to do this?

[fishybawb]

Yep, all the settings you need are in the BIOS. The stock speed of ~1.82GHz of the 2500+ uses an 11x multiplier and 166MHz FSB, whereas the 3200+ uses 11x multiplier and 200MHz FSB - it'll just be a matter of increasing the FSB, and possibly the CPU's voltage (VCore) a little. Good quality PC2700 RAM shouldn't have any problems with 200MHz, but to be on the safe side, get some PC3200 - it's not that much more expensive anyway. The stock cooler will probably be able to handle the overclock without any problems at all, just make sure that your case's cooling is good. If you want to push any further, I'd recommend a beefier heatsink/fan - my 2500+ runs at 2.3GHz on an Abit NF7-S v2 with a Thermalright SK-7 heatsink and 80mm fan.

:t

[reelxeno]

hey good luck on yer new system! :cool:

[Bigjakkstaffa]

My personal prefference would be with the NF7-S v2.0, but really, either board is great

--Jakk:t

[ballin]

thanks for all your advice, it seems the NF7-S is the way to go, just wanna double check on the cooling side.

I can buy the CPU 'OEM' meaning it comes without fan and heatsink, would this be wise? then get the seperate fan and heatsink you mentioned fishybawb?

you say "make sure your cases cooling is good"...what do you mean by that? i thought the fan on the CPU is what keeps it cool, or do you mean airflow etc?

Im planning on just getting a bog standard case cheap and cheerful, not into all the windows and LEDs etc, so would i need a better case than cheapest for cooling?

cheers!

ps. thanks reelxeno, lookin forward to gettin it!

[fishybawb]

Yeah, if you're planning on overclocking, I'd go for the OEM and choose the cooling seperately. The stock fan would do for "lower level" overclocking, but this stuff's addictive... :D

The CPU fan is responsible for cooling the processor, but it's effectiveness can be seriously hindered by warm air surrounding the heatsink. If you don't mind loud fans, it probably won't be a problem - you can just whack a monster on it. Personally, I prefer slightly less noise and go for a lower RPM CPU fan coupled with a standard 2 case fan setup - one low at the front for intake, and one high at the back for exhaust.

[deadkenny]

If you're not planning to OC, then I would suggest that you save the money and go with the MSI.

[ballin]

kenny: decided id be stupid not to overclock that chip, so im gonna OC it to ~2.2 Ghz as fishybawb recommended
ill get the Thermalright SK-7 heatsink just a bit unsure of which fan to put on top (tbh not even sure if you do put a fan on top:confused: !)

[fishybawb]

You can use any 70/80mm case fan on the SK-7, it comes with loads of different clips to accomodate different sized fans. It really depends on what sort of noise levels/cooling performance you want - I find a 2500-3000rpm 80mm one to be the best compromise. You might want to take a look at the slightly more expensive SLK range of heatsinks for better performance :t

[ballin]

do you think id need a higher performance heatsink if im only taking the 2500 to 3200 speeds?
in answer to your queries, i just want to make sure the CPU is never gonna come to any harm through temp. but i would also like to keep it as quiet as possible, a little noise is fine but no viscous whirring!

thanks fishy

[fishybawb]

If you're only overclocking to 3200+ speeds, heat shouldn't be too much of an issue with reasonable case airflow. You could ask 3 different people what heatsink to buy and the chances are you'd get three different answers ;) I'll say go for the SK-7 with an 80mm fan if you fancy the flexibility of being able to "mix and match" fans, or if you want an all-in-one job, get the Vantec Aeroflow - slightly noisier, but very good nonetheless :cool:

[CaptHandsome]

Im going to say it because no one has yet. For just a little more green you can get a 2.6C P4, and a Asus P4P800 Deluxe or P4C800 and OC it to 3.2, w/the stock HSF. Think of it this way. You can buy the P4 w/no extra cooling besides stock, or you can get the AthlonXP for considerably less but if you want to OC alot you are going to have to pay more for new HS and Fan, and if you figure the costs, it wont be much more than the P4. Just giving ya an alternative choice that I made and Im quite happy.