Good Socket T Motherboard

[Babbage]

Hey Everyone,

I am looking into purchasing a new system, and was trying to find a good motherboard. I have already decided that I wanted to purchase the Pentium 4 650, and was trying to find something that could accomadate its features (including the Intel SpeedStep). I came across this motherboard:

Intel D955XBKLKR Intel Socket 775

But it doesn't support SLi (as far as I can tell). Apparently Intel won't have support for SLi in their Northbridge Chipset until 975 comes out (please correct me if I'm wrong). So, I was just wondering if anyone had any opinions / suggestions for a good motherboard.

Uses of my new system:
Video Processing
Audio Processing
Programming
Gaming

Thanks!

 

[Sprooty]

why dont u just go with an AMD X2?....

 

[PP Mguire]

Thats my question, youd have an NF4 chipset and SLI and it will give you more in gaming as well as Multitasking. Seems like the better bet to me.

 

[Babbage]

Main Reason: I'm not made of money
Sub Reason: I haven't had any experience with AMD since AMD Athlons. Since then I have always had an Intel processor, which I have always known to be the best for video processing. The main reason for my new computer is going to be video processing, not gaming (even though there will be occasional gaming). I have always seen each of processors as follows:

Intel = Mainstream Application / Video Processor
AMD = Mainstream Gaming Processor

Now, if any of you has had experience with using AMD's X2 processors for encoding purposes (mainly DV -> MPEG-2 via AVISynth), then please let me know. I want to make sure my hardware is as good as I can get it.

Also, Intel provides Hyper-Threading which is definately an advantage when it comes multi-threaded applications (ie: video encoding). Four vs. two threads being simultaneously processed by the processor sounds much better to me (or course, I am talking about a Pentium D with hyper-threading enabled).

 

[Sprooty]

Yes but amds X2 are made for multi tasking and u will get alot more out of an X2 then a Intel P4 with HT....

 

[Babbage]

u will get alot more out of an X2 then a Intel P4 with HT....

I don't suppose you have any benchmarks for that, do you?

Also, how about an X2 vs. a Pentium D?

 

[Babbage]

Well, after some research, it does appear that the X2 may be the way to go. So, now I have a few more questions:

A motherboard that kept coming up in a lot of reviews was the ASUS A8N-SLI (either Deluxe or Premium). If anybody has this motherboard, does this perform well?

Throughout my search at Newegg, I came across some X2's that use different cores. One of the processors had a Toledo core, and the other had a Manchester core. I don't exactly the have the experience (or knowledge) of these cores, so can anyone give me a brief overview of the differences? Would it be better to get the Manchester or the Toledo core (from what I found online, the Toldeo core is the older version).

Thanks again for your input!

 

[Sprooty]

if u dont have a very big budget just go with the AMD X2 3800+

If ur not going to be gaming much there is really no need at all for an SLI motherboard, i would suggest the

DFI Lanparty Ultra D its a very stable motherboard and holds many records for its overclocking abilities.

If u game a bit a single 6800GT will do u.

 

[Babbage]

Well, I'm not EXTERMELY limited on money, I just wasn't expecting to pay $500 for a processor

Anyway, the only reason I wanted to go with a SLi board is for expandablility in the future.

Thanks for your suggestions, I will be sure to check them out.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

I would look at the DFI lanparty SLI-DR

Asus A8N is like dell, popular but total rubbish.