I have read a number of articles that say the 865 chipset is a better chipset if one takes price into consideration.
Why is your BIL's chip lower price??? No HT?
My problem is that I have no one else to feed, so if I decide to get some computer parts, I don't factor the price in as strongly as most people would, thus the $220 Gigabyte mobo [of course that was a year ago when the 875p first came out].
The biggest problem that I find with many articles on the inet is that they usually don't put the date on them. The 875p is no longer a new chipset, Intel has 2 newer. Still the 865p is a totally adequate chipset. I don't recall reading of any problems with them.
I don't know if this is of any interest, but Intel chipsets only support up to ATA 100. They don't support ATA 133 because they figure that SATA will be used for faster drives [we know that none of the drives ever ran at 133].
Other than that, I always try to get a RAID controller that will also run both ATA and ATAPI. [this is my main input re a mobo]
I also have found out that a case with a top exhaust and side intake [as well as the front and rear] provide great cooling. Not very many to choose from.
There is a cheapie at newegg,[Maxtop 28.50 plus 16 shipping] but most people would say they are really cheesy, but I don't plan to use my computers as a football. I've built four computers using them and they are great. NEVER buy one with a Power Supply get that separate and get a good one [or a grossly higher wattage cheapie] [There's a Thermaltake server case for $98 LOL]
Remember, this input is coming from someone that has never played a game on a computer in his life, and his experience with video copying et al is all via a friend that is superb at such things.
Hi Ray (and anyone else who wants to jump in)
I'm ready to make my move for a P4 upgrade. I've conferred with my techies, and they're able to sell me an upgrade kit, P4 3.0 w/HT, 800 Mhz bus for ~$295. The use retail cpus too, not oem. I got my 'bro in law a 3.0 chip for $199; not bad, huh?
Anyway, I've been looking over chipset- you've recommended a 875, correct? Well, I came across this article on an 865 chipset, and when if you have the time, can you give me your take?
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/roundupmobo/roundup-i865-jun2k3-p1.html
My techies like Foxconn motherboards, because they prefer stability over other features, like overclocking. I've looked at some Foxconn boards, and they don't look too bad; certainly not top of the line, but does the job. The made a system for my 'bro in law using a Foxconn. Foxconn's are cheaper of course, but they tend to like simple boards so they don't have to repair/replace their hardware for people that screw up. They trust me enough to not do something too hairbrained, so they'll pretty much order any board I ask.
They'll get me an Asus, my preferred board, w/Raid, Sata (ok, you've convinced me, even though I don't have any SATA HDDs, lol). I'd appreciated your opinion, which I value very much.
I also intend to get a full tower case, and 2 gigs of ram, so I'm looking at prob ~$500-600. I don't want to skimp, but I can't afford a real high end motherboard. I prefer stability also, but would like a bit of room to mess with OCing, but will stay with mostly default settings as I always have. As I've always said, I trust these guys- if a Foxconn meets my specs as far as RAID, SATA, I may just go for it to save some $$. I really don't know how important dual-channel is, as I believe both of us have agreed that the increased bandwidth is negligible. Anything else you can think of? I kind of foresee this happening in the next 2 weeks. If this doesn't happen by Thanksgiving, I may as well forget about it cuz the holiday season will be in full swing.
If your eyes aren't up to the task to the link I provided, I'll understand; I wouldn't want you straining your eyes. But any input is appreciated as always. I'd even consider a SiS chipset as they've seem to have gotten better, but I need an outside opinion independent of mine and my techies. Thanks much in advance.

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