[L05TPR0P43T5]

Can someone please verify the socket type for this chip? I am led to believe it is 478 due to a quick search in google, but some pages say otherwise....

This is the link to the processor: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=58516

I am building my first computer, and want it to last me! I just need to know EXACTLY what parts will work together properly so I don't waste money in postage sending products back to the supplier etc.

This is the link to the motherboard I have in mind: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=52579

As you can see, I'm trying to keep things as cheap as possible whilst maintaining their purpose - to serve as a reasonably fast PC!

Cheers for any replies in advance, L05TPR0P43T5.

[jmmijo]

OK, here's the skinny on this one.

Most P4 CPU's (both Northwood and Prescott) are found in the current 478-pin PGA(Pin Grid Array) package. However, with the recent Intel announcment of their latest 915/925 chipsets, things are going to change. The new package will now be a 775-pin LGA(Land Grid Array)....

The idea of the new package for all future Prescott P4's is that the CPU will now have only gold-plated contacts instead of easily bent/broken pins. I'm thinking somewhat like the older PLCC type sockets from days of yore

Intel is going to transition the P4(Prescott Core) and the Celeron-4(Prescott labotimized) to the LGA-775 package. I'm sure Intel will continue to produce the 478-pin PGA package while this transition continues however...

[Brian Frank]

Offhand, I can't say. You might wanna e-mail or call ebuyer about it. For the motherboard, Gigabyte is a great company, but that motherboard uses the i848 chipset which runs a single channel memory configuration. This will cut out the full performance of the CPU, and I'm not sure if it's Prescott ready. I would get an i865PE or i875P motherboard and go with the older Northwood core CPU's. These chipsets feature dual-channel memory capabilities which provides the bandwith the P4 loves.

While it's true the Prescott does have a 1MB cache over the 512kB on the Northwood, it's compensating for longer pipelines. Additionally, it runs hotter than a Northwood at the same speed. Now, if you go LGA775, than Prescott is your only choice. Socket 478 you have the option of either. To be fair, LGA775 was designed with Prescott in mind and should be a better platform. However, the LGA775 boards are pretty slim in the pickings right now. If you want the cutting edge stuff, I'd go with an i915P or i925X setup and have PCI Express (PCIe) on tap. The downside is, that PCIe video cards don't have a many varieties available.

I could blab on and on, but there's a few things that we need to know to guide you in the right direction.
How much are you looking to spend, and what are you doing with this system? It's silly to spend a boat load of money on a CPU and have a GeForce 2 MX video card to play FarCry on. Now if you just want to surf the web, a 3GHz CPU is far more grunt than you need to do that.

[L05TPR0P43T5]

[Brian Frank]

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=63165
That's the Abit AI7 motherboard. It's more expensive, but it's more loaded and has dual-channel capabilities.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=54473

In order to make use of the dual-channel capabilities, you need two sticks of RAM. About 3 pounds extra for 512MB (2x256MB).

Since you're buying the retail CPU, it comes with a heatsink and fan, so you don't need to buy one.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...;subcat_uid=580
However, I would suggest going with this OEM 2.4 P4. It's based on the Prescott core and is slower in clock speed, however, this is a wise move if you want to enjoy your gaming.

Far Cry will eat that video card for breakfast. Unless you like playing with very low framerates (read, under 20FPS), at very low resolutions, I'd seriously budget for something a little better.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=64039
That's the GeForce FX 5700 Ultra. Not the best thing you can get, but for the money, it's about the best mid-range card you can get on ebuyer. You will enjoy a better gaming experience with that.

[L05TPR0P43T5]

Hmmm, well what I can't understand is that a card with 128mb memory can be better than a card with 256mb memory... x) How can it be better...? What does that one you told me about do that my one doesn't?

I have changed my motherboard already, I'm now going to have a Gigabyte GA-81PE1000g S478 I865PE (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=62518) because I've been told that the 848 boards were getting a little old, and I would benifit a hell of a lot more with an i865PE or an i875P board...

So with that said, is it still worth me getting the dual 256mb memory sticks, or shall I just stick with my one stick of 512mb...? I'm not changing my processor, I set my heart on having a 3ghz computer and therefore that is what I'm going to get...

I will be keeping the motherboard I mentioned above aswell because with the one you mentioned it just costs to much for me. As for the graphics card, unless you can come up with enough reasons to buy a GFX card with 128mb memory which costs about 20 quid more than the one I had in mind, I'm going to stick with the one I chose aswell. Not just because of the doubled memory, but also because it has got a TV-OUT port which I also specifically wanted!

Thankyou all very much for your comments and suggestions, all were much appreciated.

L05TPR0P43T5.

[Brian Frank]

The memory is important, but the GeForce FX 5200 has extremely poor performance, and having 256MB of RAM is nothing more than marketing.
Not saying it won't do any good, but when you're starting off with a poor performing graphics chip, all the ram in the world won't make up for it. The FX 5700 Ultra is a much better choice. If you weren't gaming, the FX5200 would be fine, but even then, I wouldn't suggest you pay extra for the 256MB of RAM---it's just marketing hype.



The 256MB of RAM on a 5200 is like putting spinners and lights on a Yugo. It looks nice, but that's about it. It's your money, but I strongly suggest not getting the 5200 if you'll be gaming more than just rarely.

Since you're going with an i865PE/i875P board, yes, if you want to make the most out of the chipset, it's definitely worth it to go for two sticks of RAM. Otherwise, you'll only be able to run a single channel configuration, and that would give you performance roughly the same to the 848 chipset, which is single channel.

[Brian Frank]

http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD03NDEmdXJsX3BhZ2U9NA==

While the FX 57000 Ultra is not there, it's comparable to the Radeon 9600XT. The 5200 comes in at the bottom of the barrel.

2nd, the FX 5700 Ultra I listed does have TV-out.

[L05TPR0P43T5]

Think I'm gonna get this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/...oduct_uid=56625

That any good? And yes, I will get the dual-memory sticks

L05TPR0P43T5.

[L05TPR0P43T5]

[Brian Frank]

[L05TPR0P43T5]