What comes first, the BX chicken or the i815 egg?

[Riddek]

Hi, I'm buying a new mobo this weekend and I'm wondering whether to go with the "old faithful" BX or the "shiny new" i815 chipset.

The i815 reviews and recommendations I've been getting are all over the (ahem) board, some hate it, some love it and some are indifferent. I'm thinking there are a lot of kinks to be worked out with this new chipset, some real and some political.(not wanting to show up big brother i820 and all)

I've basically come to the conclusion to go with the the MSI BXMaster for now and see what happens when the dust settles after the war of i815. I just wanted to get a 2nd opinion from my brothers and sisters here at the forum.
Cheers!

[xortam]

Not that I know anything about the i815 based boards ... but I bet we need to know if you're planning on OCing the system and how much RAM you're planning on installing? Also what CPU, adapters?

[Liquid Snake]

Well, it might not be a good idea to get the BX now, because it will soon (already is?) be outdated. However, its a proven, reliable chipset, while the 815 is relatively new.

[Riddek]

I'll (soon) have a PIII 800EB CPU with 256MB PC133 CL2 RAM. I have a G400 Marvel, a SB AWE Gold & a cheapie ethernet card(both ISA, but I'll upgrade if I switch to i815)

I don't think I'll be overclocking for a while... I've never done it and will have to do a lot more research before I attempt it.

[ayoub_ibrahim]

is that board a slot 1 one? with an eye to the future, best get a board which can take a flip chip or get a flipchip/slocket combo as future boards(for upgrade) won't support slot 1, rendering your slot 1 processor redundant

[The PIT]

I'm just wondering over this max agp aperature size of 64mb. Is this true. Trying to find the spec on Intels web site is near impossible.

[Riddek]

ayoub_ibrahim,
you brought up a good point. The BXMaster is a slot 1 board which is already dating itself even more, so I spent the last couple of hours heavily researching the i815 (yet again).

My conclusion? (other than the fact that I REALLY need sleep?) The i815E chipset is the way to go(for me). The "E" means the chipset utilizes Intel’s ICH2, which supports DMA/100 and dual USB controllers for a total of four supported USB ports.

The mobo that received the most positive reviews is the Asus CUSL2, so That's what I'm aiming for now.

Unfortunately, I have to find either Corsair or Mushkin PC133 CL2 SDRAM to get the best possible performance. Something tells me that's going to be tough to hunt down. (especially here in Canada)

Anyway, thanks for the input folks. You helped me make a more informed decision.
Cheers!

[paulcs]

The 64MB AGP aperture maximum is indeed true. LAMF has messed with both the Asus and the Abit i815e, and they both had this limitation. I think it's a limitation of the chipset.

Given Riddek's choice of CPU, I think he's made the right decision.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[dZeus]

go for the i815... the Asus CUSL2 seems fine, but I personnaly dislike onboard stuff like the UDMA/100 controller and the AUB controller... what would you ever use them for, except getting a lot of trouble when installing Win2k and stuff?

the 64 aperture size limitation is true, but if you install Win2k, you won't suffer from it (since Win2k can't use more than 16MB aperture size )

[ALBPM]

You may want to consider the ABIT BX133-RAID. It is a socket mobo and is known to have far fewer problems than any of the current i815 boards out right now.
I got one cause I'm still waiting for the dust to settle with the newer chipsets.

Paul

------------------
P3-800 @ 1032MHz, ABIT BX133, 256MB PC150 HSDRAM, G450-32MB DDR on BNC,IBM Deskstars 18GB ATA/66 and 13.5GB ATA/66,21"Trinitron,SCSI CDR/RW,SCSI ZIP,SB Live!Value,USR Voice Faxmodem Pro(USB Ext),Epson 1520 printer,Umax1200S scanner,WN98 all in a Addtronics 7896A case and a (Not so Messy Desk) ;-P

[LAMFDTK]

I think the 815e is a fine setup. The Abit and the Asus are with in a couple of FPS of each other in every bench that I have done and othes that I have seen. Get the one that you want. I use the Asus on my main system and have not had an issue other than CPU temp reading is fussed. Have fun. I have run many Video cards and the 64meg AGP setting has not been an issue for me. Get a SBlive and ditch the ISA sound card. I am running an 800EB with Muskin Ram with an IBM UDMA5 HD

[This message has been edited by LAMFDTK (edited 21 September 2000).]

[Grail]

Riddek, I don't want to sound like a pimp, but take a look at www.ncix.com for that Corsair loving. Even if they don't have the Ram you want listed, they can order it.

[Edit]Doh! forgot to mention that that they are partners with Corsair, so it shouldn't take long for them to order the Ram in. Yeah, yeah, I am a natural born pimp. [/Edit]


[This message has been edited by Grail (edited 21 September 2000).]

[Riddek]

Hey guys,
Can someone tell me what the "real life" limitations of the 64mb agp aperature size is? Will that interfere with or slowdown my video capture abilities? Does the AGP Pro slot on the Asus CUSL2 compensate for this somehow? (Or does it just supply more voltage for monster video cards?)
Thanks!

[dZeus]

oh, if you want to get a BX motherboard, I can strongly recommend the Abit BE6-II, without the onboard Highpoint controller...

hell, even my Abit BX6 r.2 does everything I will need it for the next year... it can handle Coppermines to what-ever-speed. I've already successfully tested my G400 at 100MHz AGP, so it should to 89MHz (at 133MHz FSB) without a problem. If you buy PC-133 RAM, you can get a Coppermine 650 or 700 and overclock the hell out of it! (that's what I am going to do).

Also, why not get a Slot-1 mobo? On such a mobo you can use both Slot-1 as FC-PGA CPUs. And I would recommend you get a Slot-1 CPU, since there have been reports those CPUs are easier to overclock, since you can put a much larger heatsink on them, and there also have been reports on FC-PGA CPUs cracking when overclocked too high....

Because Intel will undoubtedly release many other socket sizes for future CPUs, it won't make much sence to buy a Socket 370 motherboard.

[Riddek]

Hey LAMFDTK,
Which version of SB Live would you recommend?
Sound Blaster Live! Platinum
Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer
Sound Blaster Live! MP3+
Sound Blaster Live! Player 1024
Are there any differences in hardware, or are these all just different software bundles?

I believe it was Doc. Mordrid(although I could be wrong) that advised me a while back not to get too "intensive" a PCI audio card because it would interfere with video capture(dropped frames, etc.). Have you heard of this?

BTW, where did you buy your RAM?
Cheers.