motherboards for gamers

[milkymilk]

What's a high end motherboard for gamers that you recomend that just recently came out. I am willing to spend up to $150.

[Yoshi]

For what CPU?

AMDXP ABIT NF7-S 2.0
AMD64 MSI K8N Neo
Intel P4 ASUS P4P800

[milkymilk]

I probably need a 64 capable for upgrade flexibility. Are they K8N's even on sale? All i can find is the k8t's online

[milkymilk]

whoops forgot to ask, do 64 boards fit xp cpu's?

[Yoshi]

The K8N will be out in 1-4 days, also an AMD64 board will not fit an AMD XP

[milkymilk]

sorry for being such a noob...im clueless about the tech industry these days...

What is the difference between 64, Fx, and xp for amd?

i currently have a AMD XP 1800 on my computer

Which one do you suggest for games, AMD, or pentium?

thanks

[Rosado]

Im no expert but I was always told/read that the AMD was better for gaming and I have always used AMD.

The AMD 64 is the new 64 bit systems and when the OS & games take advantage of the new hardware we should see great speed increases. I will wait for the dust to settle and the prices to come down a bit, and any bugs worked out before I will buy one.

Honestly I dont think you will have any real issues for gaming using a P4 or a AMD. There are so many other factors that add up to good gaming, Memory, Video Card, girlfriend or wife leaving you alone long enough

[rsfnatik]

For gaming, the P4 and Athlon 64/FX will outrun an XP - of course, you'll pay for the speed and the XP isn't exactly sluggish even with a typically lower FSB, half the L2 cache, off-chip memory controller... etc. The FX is priced at an insane level IMO, even for the hardcore gamer ($745US for the base FX-51). The same goes for the "Extreme Edition" P4's ($912US to start).

I suggest you take a look at some of the benchmarks and sort out the performance you need and what you're willing to spend. The Athlon 64 and higher-end P4's (3.2/3.4Ghz) will both perform respectably/comparably and cost about the same, not to say that they're exactly cheap, but you'll get the 64-bit support with AMD. At present, the P4 still appears to take the lead in encoding duties... we'll see if that changes.

In regards to the chipsets available, there were some initial issues with the nForce3 including low AGP performance and SATA. It appears to have been addressed with the nForce3 250... i'm happy to see that VIA's K8T800 isn't lagging too far behind tho.

[milkymilk]

how about the p4 2.8ghz its only about 180 bucks how does it compare to an AMD equivalent of it?

[Yoshi]

Originally posted by milkymilk
how about the p4 2.8ghz its only about 180 bucks how does it compare to an AMD equivalent of it?

Get AMD64 for games, Pay the $100 more for a nice 3200+

[Rabbitrunner51]

Of course the AMD fans are going to push the 64's on you a bit ...and the XP3200 ia a good processor..but for the money and all around performance and value..the P4 2.8 800FSB is just a very good processor and will smoke in all the games you play( figureative speaking)

I have that processor and it plays EVERYTHING extremely well....esp if you add a good hard drive and the best memory possible like Crutial or Corsair to the mix.It is a very fast processor and a big jump to what you have now..it also does not get too hot like some of the AMD's do and stays nice and cool while running games....(get the boxed one if possible with the HSFan included as it works just fine and is not too loud..contrary to others opinions...quiet on my system)

This processor is just as good overall as the 3.2 model ..which might cost bit more...but isn't really needed...( If you have the bucks..go for it)

I, personally am not too worried about the 64 systems right now, as it is going to be awhile for most all the games comining out to have to run on this or fully utilize the technology...an average user...will not really notice much difference...
While AMD's speed is better overall( again not that noticeable) , the overall benchmrks are better with the P4 2.8... which has 2800+ MHZ vs about 2200-2400 for the 64 models...

Good deal! I paid $268.00 for mine ...eight months ago....

[missiveusa]

If you're looking to buy a high-end system for gaming NOW, I would go with an nForce2 board from Abit or Asus with a 400 MHz XP 3200. If Intel is your choice, the 2.8 GHz chip on an 875 chipset board from Asus is a good choice.

Intel is about to change platforms and introduce chipsets with PCI-Express, which will replace the AGP standard. The new boards will not have an AGP slot in order to force end-users to the new PCI-E standard. So if you invest in an Intel system now, an upgrade will involve not only cpu, mainboard, memory, but also the graphics card.

The AMD Socket A platform still has life in it. A top-rated XP 3200 will perform quite well for many months to come. By the time you wanted to upgrade, the 64-bit chips will be reasonably priced and might even have software around to run.

For a gaming system, spend your money on a current generation graphics card: ATI X800 (RV 420) or nVidia FX 6800 (NV 40).


Check out anandech.com for info on current and future hardware.

[rsfnatik]

Some goods points are made here... there are some transitions coming that will causes pricing and options to change. The motherboard you choose will depend on the CPU you wish to go with and how much you're willing to spend. I would go P4C/E over an XP but would choose an Athlon 64 over a comparable Intel in most cases. Price and performance is about the same (Intel leads a bit in encoding duties and would be more suited to that environment) but you get 64-bit support with the Athlon (we'll see how much that matters in the future).

[Yoshi]

I made the switch between an AIntel 2.8C to an AMD64 3200+ and I can tell you for gaming it is a much better proc. I am not saying the P4 is bad, it is very fast. But the AMD64 is noticably faster.noticeably