Expert opinions

[Talk2Me]

I'm wanting to upgrade my computer to a P4. I have been overwhelmed with all the different kinds of motherboards and the different varieties within each vendor.

I found a Gigabyte GA-8IE533 with P4 2.0Ghz for $225.
The mobo is 533 FSB
chipset is i845e
3 DDR slots (up to 2Gb)
2 UDMA 100 channels

What do you think?

Thanks.

[saphalline]

Motherboards are only as important as their chipset. In this case, the i845e chipset is a bit dated. I mean, UDMA 100? Today's standard P4 mobos are 133 at least, if not Serial ATA! For a decent, cheap chipset, go for something like the i845pe, with DDR333 and ATA/133. Try the Gigabyte GA-8PE667 ULTRA, or the MSI 845PE Max, or the Asus P4PE.

Also, although the mobo you listed supports the 533MHz fsb P4's (the P4B's) the 2.0GHz P4 uses the old 400MHz fsb. So unless you plan to overclock, you'll need a new P4 to fully use that high-speed fsb! Go for one of the low-end ones, like the 2.26GHz version.

Last but not least, what vendor are you looking at? Check all vendors on Reseller Ratings (www.resellerratings.com/) to see how good they are.