Asus P4R800 -v

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert Comtois
  • Start date Start date
R

Robert Comtois

Hi,
I'm thinking of building a system around the Asus P4R800-V board; the
one with the ATI chipset. It would would be handy for me to start with a
board that would supply sound and video on the mb and could be upgraded
later.
I would appreciate any comments or appreciations on that board.
I would be running w98 and Mandrake Linux to start with. I read some
evaluations that says the video might be a little slow. Later on I will
probably go for a separate agp video card. Most important is the budget
I'm on so I will probably expend that machine for the next 5 years.
Right now I run on a P2B with great satisfaction.

Thanks everyone.
Robert
 
Robert Comtois said:
Hi,
I'm thinking of building a system around the Asus P4R800-V board; the
one with the ATI chipset. It would would be handy for me to start with a
board that would supply sound and video on the mb and could be upgraded
later.
I would appreciate any comments or appreciations on that board.
I would be running w98 and Mandrake Linux to start with. I read some
evaluations that says the video might be a little slow. Later on I will
probably go for a separate agp video card. Most important is the budget
I'm on so I will probably expend that machine for the next 5 years.
Right now I run on a P2B with great satisfaction.

Thanks everyone.
Robert
Click to expand...

I would buy a P4P800-VM. Eventually ATI will make some fine
chipsets, but wait until a board comes out that is issue
free.

If you want the very latest, there is P5GDC-V and P5GD1-VM.
I have no idea whether these are good bets or not. (Check
them in Google, or search on 915G, the chipset name.) Both
can use ordinary DDR memory. The former has some DDR2 slots
as well. Since these boards use the latest technologies, like
PCI Express, more emphasis on SATA disks etc., make sure
to download the user manual from the download link, and
read the details. I like to review the BIOS settings
section as well, as some Asus microATX boards have next to
no BIOS adjustments. (This is one of the reasons I'm recommending
the P4P800-VM, because as microATX form factor boards go,
it has a pretty good BIOS.) As these have LGA775 processor
sockets, these boards are more likely to be upgradable
in the future, if you have money for a processor upgrade from
whatever you buy today.

With respect to Linux, it is hard to say whether the P5xxx
series will be well supported. You might search in Google,
based on the chipset numbers (915/925 for P5xxx series, or
865/875 for the previous P4P/P4C boards).

For Win98, I might lean more towards the older P4P800-VM
board. (Note - go to the download page and examine the
supported OS list for each driver. Again, so there will
be no rotten surprises.)

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=P4P800-VM&Type=All&SLanguage=en-us

The P4 boards have a 2x2 12V power connector, so you might
need a new power supply to run your system. For a basic
system, a PSU in the 350-450W range will usually provide the
12V @ 15Amps that the board will need (most of that is for
the processor). (It is better to shop by the output rating
that is printed on the label on the side of the supply, as
there are some cheap 500+ watt supplies that have inadequate
+12V output.) Some of the P5xxx boards also have a different
ATX power connector (24 pin), which adds more complications
to the shopping process. That is another reason to look
over the downloadable user manual very carefully.

Note - the above recommendations are based on your wanting
integrated video in the chipset. Maybe you are specifying this
to avoid buying a video card, which is fine. There are certainly
more motherboard choices available to you, if you use a separate
video card. If you find a deal on a FX5200, that could
supply your video needs, without breaking the bank. The FX5200
performance level is comparable to integrated video. (As I
just picked one of those up for a non-gaming machine yesterday,
I'll soon get to find out just how good an idea this is :-)

HTH,
Paul
 
Robert Comtois said:
Hi,
I'm thinking of building a system around the Asus P4R800-V board; the
one with the ATI chipset. It would would be handy for me to start with a
board that would supply sound and video on the mb and could be upgraded
later.
I would appreciate any comments or appreciations on that board.
I would be running w98 and Mandrake Linux to start with. I read some
evaluations that says the video might be a little slow. Later on I will
probably go for a separate agp video card. Most important is the budget
I'm on so I will probably expend that machine for the next 5 years.
Right now I run on a P2B with great satisfaction.

Thanks everyone.
Robert
Click to expand...

And if you need more evidence about the ATI chipset, see the post
a couple above yours:

http://groups.google.com/[email protected]

Paul
 
Paul a écrit :
I would buy a P4P800-VM. Eventually ATI will make some fine
chipsets, but wait until a board comes out that is issue
free.

If you want the very latest, there is P5GDC-V and P5GD1-VM.
I have no idea whether these are good bets or not. (Check
them in Google, or search on 915G, the chipset name.) Both
can use ordinary DDR memory. The former has some DDR2 slots
as well. Since these boards use the latest technologies, like
PCI Express, more emphasis on SATA disks etc., make sure
to download the user manual from the download link, and
read the details. I like to review the BIOS settings
section as well, as some Asus microATX boards have next to
no BIOS adjustments. (This is one of the reasons I'm recommending
the P4P800-VM, because as microATX form factor boards go,
it has a pretty good BIOS.) As these have LGA775 processor
sockets, these boards are more likely to be upgradable
in the future, if you have money for a processor upgrade from
whatever you buy today.

With respect to Linux, it is hard to say whether the P5xxx
series will be well supported. You might search in Google,
based on the chipset numbers (915/925 for P5xxx series, or
865/875 for the previous P4P/P4C boards).

For Win98, I might lean more towards the older P4P800-VM
board. (Note - go to the download page and examine the
supported OS list for each driver. Again, so there will
be no rotten surprises.)

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=P4P800-VM&Type=All&SLanguage=en-us

The P4 boards have a 2x2 12V power connector, so you might
need a new power supply to run your system. For a basic
system, a PSU in the 350-450W range will usually provide the
12V @ 15Amps that the board will need (most of that is for
the processor). (It is better to shop by the output rating
that is printed on the label on the side of the supply, as
there are some cheap 500+ watt supplies that have inadequate
+12V output.) Some of the P5xxx boards also have a different
ATX power connector (24 pin), which adds more complications
to the shopping process. That is another reason to look
over the downloadable user manual very carefully.

Note - the above recommendations are based on your wanting
integrated video in the chipset. Maybe you are specifying this
to avoid buying a video card, which is fine. There are certainly
more motherboard choices available to you, if you use a separate
video card. If you find a deal on a FX5200, that could
supply your video needs, without breaking the bank. The FX5200
performance level is comparable to integrated video. (As I
just picked one of those up for a non-gaming machine yesterday,
I'll soon get to find out just how good an idea this is :-)

HTH,
Paul
Click to expand...
Hi,
Thanks Paul for all the time you put into answering me. I will look at
the P4P800-VM (It looks very popular) and everything else you mention.
Regards,
Robert
 
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