[RESOLVED] Building A P4 System. What will I need?
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Thread: [RESOLVED] Building A P4 System. What will I need?

  1. #1
    Buzzman62
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    Question Building A P4 System. What will I need?

    I'm getting ready to build a P4 1.5GHZ system. My questions are, What sort of cabinet and power supply are recommended, What sort of RAM,what brand of Main Board,is the fan & heatsink that comes with the retail box sufficient if I'm not over-clocking but if I do decide to overclock what fan do the tech pros recommend. I know its a lot to answer but I know you LOVE IT!


    P.S. Feel free to suggest anything you think would help to make this task as simple as possible!


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  2. #2
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    I'd recommend going to www.Tomshardware.com
    Tom Pabst has tested P4's thoroughly. You may be discoraged by some of what he say's. Basically you'll be restricted for future upgrades and you'll pay a premium for P4 and RDRAM. The limiting component for gaming is the GFX card. So why pay so much more for Intel?

    Personally I don't have a problem with Intel stuff. But I work in the gaming industry and have found that the Intel systems are lightning fast. They are my preference.
    And Control Enter STILL wont let me post a reply.

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    http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q1/010322/index.html

    The conclusion to this article pretty much slays my opinion of Intel. Fair enough I can take it. I'd have to go along with Toms opinion about the platform though. It's harder to build a really solid AMD platform since you have to rely on third party mobos.

    Scutter.
    And Control Enter STILL wont let me post a reply.

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    Thumbs down

    Get the latest edition of MaximumPC. All you need to know is in the April 2001 edition.

    Requirements for P4:

    1. $$$$$
    2. $$$$$
    3. $$$$$
    and don't forget the $$$$$
    Hey man! Hand me that thing. Not that thing! The other thing!!! You know, the thing!!!

  5. #5
    Registered User tha 4NiK8R's Avatar
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    I agree with the previous posts here. Stay away from p4's for now. The 1.33ghz Thunderbird more than outperforms the p4-1.5ghz see - http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardw...eviews/3144/1/

    Plus the memory is much cheaper and most Thunderbird based boards(I prefer the ABIT kt7-RAID) will support future processors unlike the p4 boards. People like Intel because of the name, but reliability and performance both point to the AMD side of the house in recent months.

    My systems(for the record)
    "Server"
    1.2ghz AMD Thunderbird on ABIT KT7-RAID
    1gig of pc133 mem
    20gig IBM hd
    (2x) 80gig Maxtor HD's(mirrored)

    "Other comp"
    Dual p3 1ghz
    ABIT VP6
    1gig pc133 mem
    40gig IBM hd
    Voodoo 5

    I have thoroughly tested these PCs and found te Thunderbird performs much better(but since most games are multi-threaded I use the dual to game). As soons as a ABIT makes a dual Thunderbird board I will be all over it
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
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    GO GET THE LATEST MAXIMUM PC MAGAZINE. THEY JUST HAD AN ARTICLE THAT WAS GREAT ABOUT BUILDING P4 SYSTEMS. I HAVE BUILT A FEW P4 SYSTEMS SO FAR AND THE MAIN THINGS YOUR GOING TO NEED ARE 1) A GOOD CASE WITH A SPECIAL POWER SUPPLY THAT HAS THE THREE POWER CONNECTORS FOR THE MAINBOARD(ATX+12V)OR STRAIGHT 12 I CAN'T REMEBER WHAT IT WAS CALLED. I SUGGEST THE ENLIGHT 7237A4Z P4 CHASSIS 300W. 2( THE CASE IF NOT USING ONE DESIGNED FOR THE P4 HAS TO HAVE THE SCREW HOLES FOR THE HEATSINK OR USE THE ASUS OR MSI MOTHERBOARD DESCRIBED IN MAXIMUM PC THAT HAS WORK AROUND SCREW HOLES. 3) A PRO 4X VIDEO CARD. AT LEAST THE INTEL 850GB BOARD I USED HAD TO HAVE ONE. HOPE THAT HELPS.
    ONE OTHER QUICK NOTE THE ONLY MEMORY YOU CAN USE IS RDRAM SO FAR WITH THE 850GB. IT MAY BE EXPENSIVE BUT THE THREE SYSTEMS IVE BUILT WERE STABLE AS HECK AND WERE STILL UNDER $2,500. BE CAREFUL BECAUSE INTEL IS GOING TO CHANGE THE PIN STRUCTURE FROM 423 TO 478 SO UPGRADEING WON'T BE POSSIBLE DOWN THE ROAD. IT MIGHT BE BEST TO WAIT A WHILE OR CHOOSE AN ALTERNATIVE.
    THERE ARE THINGS KNOWN AND THINGS UNKNOWN AND IN BETWEEN ARE THE DOORS!

  7. #7
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    I suggest you look into adding a Platypus Technology QikDRIVE to your box. We are seeing up to 40,000 transactions per second on read/writes on a platypus drive. This is compared to 108 transactions per second on a standard hard drive.

    Eliminating I/O bottlenecks allows you to truely get the most out of your CPU.
    www.platypus.net

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    Registered User Jallentino's Avatar
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    YES ! Make sure you have the right POWER SUPPLY ! Trust me on this one, the extra 12v is a must or your board will not work.

    Your better off getting a new case with the right PS in it already.
    "We have assumed control"

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    Don't forget the monster copper heatsink!
    Hey man! Hand me that thing. Not that thing! The other thing!!! You know, the thing!!!

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    Originally posted by Eightball:
    Get the latest edition of MaximumPC. All you need to know is in the April 2001 edition.

    Requirements for P4:

    1. $$$$$
    2. $$$$$
    3. $$$$$
    and don't forget the $$$$$

    ROFLMAO!!!! But don't I love these kinds of customers--the bigger the machine, the bigger the potential profits--and the more likely there will be a steady stream of future upgrades! Go for it Dude.
    "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges."

  11. #11
    Registered User tablesalt's Avatar
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    Cool

    Key ingrediants for building a Killer P4...

    Asus A7V133
    AMD T-bird 1.33GHz
    256MB PC133 Corsair Cas2 SDRAM

    OK, so the title should have read "P4 Killer", not "Killer P4"

    Until applications can catch up with the architechture of the P4 and the platform becomes a bit more mature and a lot less expensive I'd stay away from it. If you absolutely have to go with an Intel, then the P3 1GHz chips are coming down in price, when mated with an Asus CUSL2 or CUV4x series mainboard, they are pretty stable.
    My brain went into standby mode and I can't get it to wake up, is there a BIOS patch for this?

  12. #12
    NorthStar
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    I suggest going with a ASUS P4T Motherboard its the best you can buy right now.

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    Registered User Lycia's Avatar
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    Originally posted by scutterboy:
    [B It's harder to build a really solid AMD platform since you have to rely on third party mobos.

    Scutter.[/B]
    Uh, I'd have to disagree with this. Intel makes only a few motherboards, and I notice that most people who buy Intel chips tend to go with third party motherboard makers such as Asus, Abit, Tyan, DFI, FIC, Aopen, MSI, Gigabyte, Soyo, and others anyway. So there is no real disadvantage to buying AMD over Intel based on motherbaord choices alone. Almost every component made is third party, so based on this statement, in order to have a properly run system, you will need to buy only Intel components!! Rediculous.
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  14. #14
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    I have to agree with everybody else, as much as i like intel, i would have to say stay away from P4 right now. I built a dual 1Gig P!!! with 1GB of RAM and a GeForce 2 Ultra for far less that a 1.5GHz P4, if you still want to buy a P4 wait until they change the socket in a few months, that way you are not stuck with a low end P4. If you want a cheap thrill get a 1.33GHz TB, they can be real fun

  15. #15
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    Originally posted by lycia69:
    Uh, I'd have to disagree with this. Intel makes only a few motherboards, and I notice that most people who buy Intel chips tend to go with third party motherboard makers such as Asus, Abit, Tyan, DFI, FIC, Aopen, MSI, Gigabyte, Soyo, and others anyway. So there is no real disadvantage to buying AMD over Intel based on motherbaord choices alone. Almost every component made is third party, so based on this statement, in order to have a properly run system, you will need to buy only Intel components!! Rediculous.
    Hi Lycia
    I get your drift. But the point is that the "P4 platforms" are Intel even when third party they all use the i850 chipset not all are equal, true some manufacturers are better than others.

    The latest AMD platforms are either the AMD760 chipset, or the VIA chipset and ahem ALI Majik1 but not really. The 760 has been in short supply, so difficult to obtain leaving just the 3rd party VIA option.

    If you visit the link in my first post you'll see that Tom Pabst said the same thing. Or read this http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q..._achilles_heel

    Hope you see my point.
    And Control Enter STILL wont let me post a reply.

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