Question about intel mobo's

[Guam_Guy]

Got a couple of questions about intel boards.

1. If a boardis labeled as 800/533 FSB,does that mean you could run a P4 533 CPU in it.

2. What is the best board for a 2.8 533 Pebtuim 4 stepping D1.

3. What chipset do you all reccomend I get.

Sorry for all the newb questions, I just bought a 2.8 Northwood from one of the members, and after examination of my own crappy intel board,I found that my HSF retention tabs are broken so I am gonna get another mobo. I am thinking of getting the Abit IC-7 that my buddy has. What do you guys think about this board.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[tiraides]

The IC7 is a good choice -- I've used that board for a couple of years, and it's in my younger brother's rig now (... if you can, though, get either the IC7-G MAXII or MAXIII version of the board). But let me (try to) answer your questions first:

When a board is labeled 800/533, that means that you can use any processor that runs on either an 800MHz or 533MHz FSB. However, if you are using RAM that's faster than the processor -- DDR RAM is double pumped, so DDR400 = 200MHz x 2; but P4 FSB speeds are quad pumped, so FSB 533 = (roughly) 133MHz x 4 -- then the mobo will slow the RAM speeds down to match the FSB speed.

Because the Socket 478 motherboards (which will fit your processor) are discontinued, your options (in terms of buying "new" boards) are limited. I'm personally under the mindset that there's no "perfect" board, but there is a board that is good for what you want to do. You can use NewEgg's Advanced Search feature to see if you could find a board that you like. Or you could just take the easy route and get the IC7. (Here are some specs for the board to help you make your decision.) The best Socket 478 chipsets are the 875P, 865P(E), or the 848P (there are other models in these series, but these three give you the most options for the board).

Here are all of the options that I was able to find using NewEgg's search feature. My choices would be the GIGABYTE GA-8I848P-G (848P), the ASUS P4P800-E DELUXE (865PE), and the ABIT IC7-G MAXII (875P -- currently out of stock). Keep in mind that I'm only using NewEgg as a reference, not a be-all/ends-all. I think that the IC7 that you're planning on getting is a fine board, but if you want something better, here are my "starting points."