Need to build wifey a new box, she does do graphics and patterns and
such...is this ATI Radeon 9100 IGP any good? Any and all info would be
greatly appreiated...oh, and difference between -VM and -V Deluxe
Thxs
Memphoman
To be honest with you, I don't see any desirable qualities to
the boards with the ATI chipset on it. It is possible, if Asus
makes a newer ATI based board, that it will be a bit more
refined - only time will tell whether ATI learned from their
mistakes. The best part of the ATI effort, is their graphics
core (good, when compared to Unichrome). The rest of the chipset
design needs more work.
The -VM board is a microATX, has three PCI slots, and has the
9.6" x 9.6" form factor. It is suitable for smaller computer
cases. Typical usage for microATX motherboards, is to make
a hundred identical cheap office computers, for a business
application. The -VM has no memory timing adjustments to speak
of, so if there are any compatibility issues with memory, you
won't be able to fix them.
The -V board is a full sized board. The BIOS does seem to
have timing adjustments for the memory, at least.
Based on the feedback in this newgroup, I would look elsewhere
for a solution for your wife.
For compatibility and adjustability purposes, a P4P800/P4C800
family board based on 865PE or 875P chipset should work fine.
(Don't bother with the 848 based stuff.) The best Intel
microATX motherboard I know of, is the P4P800-VM, with
built-in graphics. That one has adjustable memory timings.
For all of the motherboards mentioned in the previous paragraph,
be aware there is currently an issue with ICH5/ICH5R Southbridge
static electricity sensitivity on the USB ports. I recommend
buying a cheap USB 2.0 PCI card for the new computer, then
place electrical tape over the motherboard USB connector stacks,
so no one will use them. The failure mechanism that users
experience, is they plug in a USB device while the computer is
powered, and the computer freezes. Inside the computer case,
the Southbridge gets burning hot, as it has gone into "latchup".
The heat from latchup generally destroys the Southbridge, and
requires replacement under RMA. (I have a P4C800-E Deluxe, but
fortunately don't have a lot of USB toys to play with.)
The P4S800D-E Deluxe receives honorable mention, as some
people liked it. It uses an SIS chipset, so no danger of
latchup on the Southbridge. In any case, do some Google
searches, to see if there are still outstanding issues with
any of the above mentioned boards.
I don't know if I would recommend any of the older single
channel motherboards, unless your wife won't notice a
slower computer. The advantage of the dual channel boards,
is less chance of issues with memory stability, and increased
performance with two matching sticks of RAM.
There are still some Northwood processors listed at Newegg,
and they might run a bit cooler than a Prescott.
Paul
