Need help choosing motherboard and RAM...

[wolfram]

Hi,
I need to do some major upgrades for my PC. I need a good mobo and RAM. Let me start with the RAM.
I saw this on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145026

It is a good brand. And cheap too.
Is this a good choice? It has some great reviews, so I like it very much.

Regarding the mobo, I am between these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127174

I like this board, and it should allow me to overclock my Celeron D CPU I like this a lot!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130467

This one looks good too. Good brand.

What mobo would you choose? What is the best one? (specially for overclocking)

Also, I have a question about the 865PE. Intel says that when you are using a 533FSB, you have to use ddr333 RAM.
Is there a way to enable DDR400 in a 865PE chipset?
I don´t like to a buy a 400MHZ memory and have it running at 333MHZ.

Thanks! :slurp:

 

[hewybo]

mobos

Both mobos look good. Abit has a good rep- made by ASUS, I think. Don't quote me. The Intel 865PE chipset supports 400 ( i have that chipset on my ASUS p5p800). I have not owned an Abit, but I have had an MSI. It was a great, stable board. Your CPU will determine the FSB, so if it's speed is 533, chipset won't matter, in that regard, I don't think.

If I was choosing, I would go for the MSI, if for no other reason than the third DIMM slot. Room for more RAM! Speaking of which, Corsair is an excellent brand.

As to OC'ing, I can't help, cuz I don't game, or OC. :grinthumb

 

[wolfram]

MSI are very good boards. I own one, 661FM2, but I want to change it because it is giving me problems with the RAM.
If I choose the MSI, of course, running RAM in dual channel takes up two slots.
I plan to run 1gig on dual channel. So, if I want to add another 512MB, what happens with the dual channel. Does the board need 4 dimm slots to run it?
About RAM, i will buy the Corsair one. Very good brand.
Any suggestion?
Thanks a lot! :wave:

 

[hewybo]

Don't think so-?

I think if you add a 512 DDR to the third slot, they will all run in dual-channel; however, I'm not a RAM expert, perhaps someone more knowledgable will chime in. It will be important though, to match brands and speeds if at all possible. On my MSI, I ended up with a 1GB Kingston stick, and a 512 Samsung stick. I didn't encounter any issues, but I might have just been lucky. Matching is the preferred way to go.

You might try going to MSI's website, and see if you can take a look at that model's online manual, to be certain that that config. will all work at dual channel. :suspiciou

 

[wolfram]

Thanks for the reply.
I think i´m going to get the MSI board. If it is not possible, I´ll get the Abit one.
Respecting the RAM, is very unlikely that I add more than one gigabyte of RAM. And of course, both sticks of 512MB will be Corsair.
I just want to run it on dual channel, and if possible, at 400MHZ with the 533MHZ FSB.
Thanks!

 

[hewybo]

Cpu

Thanks for the reply.
I think i´m going to get the MSI board. If it is not possible, I´ll get the Abit one.
Respecting the RAM, is very unlikely that I add more than one gigabyte of RAM. And of course, both sticks of 512MB will be Corsair.
I just want to run it on dual channel, and if possible, at 400MHZ with the 533MHZ FSB.
Thanks!

As I said, your CPU will determine the FSB. What Celeron D do you have? If it has a FSB of 800MHz, that chipset will run the RAM at 400MHz. If the Celeron only hass 533, they'll be downclocked to 333. Won't hurt, just be a bit slower. I don't OC, so I don't know what can be squeezed out of a Celly. Go Get Em! :knock:

 

[Tedster]

MSI makes great motherboards. Do NOT purchase kingston RAM. I have had nothing but problems with their memory. I have since switched to all crucial with no issues at all.

MSI and crucial work great.

 

[hewybo]

differ

I have NEVER had a problem with Kingston RAM. Not even their "value RAM." Lifetime warranty. Probably not the VERY BEST on the market, but reliable.

 

[wolfram]

Thanks for the replies.
I have a Celeron D 335 533MHZFSB, but I want to take it to at least 3.2GHZ.
About the RAM, i think i´ll be getting the corsair RAM, and set it up on dual channel mode. Currently, I have only 256MB single channel RAM, so getting 1024MB in dual channel is going to be a HUGE upgrade.
Also, does anyone know if the abit or MSI board have AGP and PCI locking feature?
I saw a review on the Web about ABIT IS7, an does have that feature. But the abit I saw is a IS7E2, so I don´t know about it.
I just want a good mobo that allows me to really overclock this celeron.
Thanks!

 

[hewybo]

websites

Both mobos have AGP 4x/8x slot. Neither has PCIe. Go to those same links you provided at Newegg, and scroll down. Most of the specs are listed there. If you can't find the info you want, those pages also have a link to the mfrs site, and they should have all you need. The Corsair RAM is a good choice.

 

[YellowC4S]

Either board will do. I prefer the Mushkin or OCZ ram in my machines. I currently run the Mushkin Red Line in one and the OCZ Gold in another one.

 

[wolfram]

I just hope that any of this boards allows me to run (or overclock) the ram at 400MHZ, which is the real speed of the corsair RAM.
Thanks for the help!

 

[hewybo]

one more time

I just hope that any of this boards allows me to run (or overclock) the ram at 400MHZ, which is the real speed of the corsair RAM.
Thanks for the help!

Either board WILL support 400 RAM, but the speed it is clocked at will be determined by the processor's FSB.