Can someone please explain the deatils of P4 mobos to me.

I have some questions:

1. With i845 chip do you have to use SDRAM?

2. If so, does using SDRAM make the P4 perform poorly?

3. With a i850 chip do you have to use RDRAM?

4. Read somewhere that if you use the RDRAM that you have to fill all slots & put them in pairs also? Can someone explain this more?

5. Whats the difference with all these Asus mobos: P4-T, P4-B, P4-M (anymore?) ?

6. Any other recommended mobos that use the i850 chip that are cheaper than the Asus?

Thanks a lot.

bump

1-well @ this time yes till Q2 next year (@ max maybe before that time..) when the DDR Version of the i845 comes out.
2-Yes.But u cant Call it Poorly(by anyway).
3-Yes.The RDRAMs r cheap(Note that DDR is X-Tremely Cheap and SDRAM is an ULTRA cheap)
4-Well yes and no bcuz whe u use RDRAM on a i850 u have to use them in pairs (cuz it uses Dual Channel Memery Conroller to X2 the bandwidth which gives a 3.2GB\s of Bandwidth)and no bcuz u don`t NEED to fill all the slots.
5- P4T is a Socket423 I850 Full ATX Board
P4T-M is Just like the P4-T but its in micro ATX and has an optional 1394 Ports
P4-M is a Socket478 and uses the i845 SDRAM and its Full ATX
P4T-E a P4T with Socket 478.
6-well ASUS is the BEST u can get for i850 and I prefer that if u can wait for the P4T-E whcih has a 4 Layers Design so it should have less price ($15-$30) than the regular 6Layers P4T.
I hope I make u get a full pic of the thing.

Thanks for the reply.

Ok, if using the RDRAM, what is a good brand to get & what PC is good? PC800 the standard? Also, how much is recommeneded for a P4 1.5g ? Will 128MB be sufficient?

>P4T is a Socket423 I850 Full ATX Board
P4T-M is Just like the P4-T but its in micro ATX and has an optional 1394 Ports
P4-M is a Socket478 and uses the i845 SDRAM and its Full ATX
P4T-E a P4T with Socket 478.

I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to mobos, so I don't really understand much of that lol, is it possible to explain it a bit more? Also, do u know what the P4-B is?

Thanks.

Sorry man Very Sorry P4M(it was a prototype and had alot of erorrs and bugs) dosn`t exsit anymore it was replaced by the P4B sorry man and about your recomendation the BEST brand is Samsung, yeah PC800 its not recomnded to get PC700 or PC600 bcuz no big $$ diff. and way less Power, P4 1.5Ghz is about $123-$140, for todays Use of Pc eg. gaming, internet surfng, Word Processing..128MB will be enough...but still if u can get 256Mb its better.

Well I think the things that confused u about Mobos is the Socket and ATX things right?
ok

A regular Pentium 4 uses a 423Pin Socket which is avalible in 1.3 to 1.9Ghz and the New Pentium 4`s uses a 478Pin Socket which is avalibe in speed`s from 1.7Ghz to 2.0Ghz and going up.

the ATX is a measuring to the Size and type of the Mobo a Full ATX has 5 or 6 PCI slots
(just like your CUSL2-C its a Full ATX) and microATX uses less PCI slots for systems with small housings whcih has 3 or 4 PCI slots.

and if u r confused about the chipsets ok:

i850:Must use RDRAM has wwaaayy more power than the i845 or nay other chipset for the P4 it uses a Dual Channel Ram so it can Double te Bandwidth of the RDRAM thats why u should uses RDRAMs in pairs -(1 stick in every channel)-in the P4 systems.

i845:uses SDRAM or in futre DDR-SDRAM (Doubel Data Ram or X2 Sdram) can be used in anyway SDRAM or DDR put in single in pairs fill all the slots no prob.

I hope I cleared it for ya.....

Heya....thanks for all the help, you have been really helpful

Ok....so, what board should I get for my 1.5g?

I'm having a litte trouble deciding what to get....was looking at this website http://www.netplus.com.au/Specials/Specials.html which is the site of a local retialer near me at there mobos & CPU's.

I notice they only sell the P4T-M which is a micro ATX 423 pin & the P4B which is a 478 using SDRAM.

Now, I don't want to use SDRAM, so that means I should go for the P4T-M?

See, I would like to go with a 478 pin 1.5g & not use a micro either so that would require the P4T-E right? Unfortunately it looks like they don't carry it or use the P4T if I wanted to use 423 pin & not micro?

Does all these boards fit all ATX cases? or will I have to get a special case for a P4?

With the RDRAM & how u have to put them in pairs, does that mean if I want to have 128MB to start with I will have to get 2 64MB sticks so to put them in pairs?

Again, thanks for all your help, it is very much appreciated, hehe, geez these P4 mobos are confusing lol

Well, it does'nt appear that anybody around here stocks the P4T-E

I found a place with the P4T, pretty pricey tho

Anyways, are the micro ones alright & u should have enough space to add things...only 3 PCI slots u say?

I may find the money & go with the 473 pin P4T tho hehe

Thanks again.

Yeah many Products makes it compelicated...

U won`t see the P4T-E, bcuz it hasn`t been released yet to the market...
but don`t worry its now in the production line.

And Every Motherboard in the world will fit an ATX case full or micro ATX.
and for the P4 mobos except for intel mobos u won`t need an special case.

yes 423 pin & not Micro go to the P4T

if u want a Full ATX RDRAM socket 478 NOW u can only get the Abit TH7-II abit was always 2nd to ASUS...

Yes to get 128MB RDRAM u have to get 2 64MB sticks yes and don`t forget don`t put both of them in 1 channel every channel has 2 slots so to get yout pc working u should put your sticks like this:
Slot 1 and 4
or
Slot 2 and 4
or
slot 1 and 3
or
slot 2 and 3

(it bwon`t boot if it was like this:
slot 1 and 2
or
slot 3 and 4)
I hope I didn`t confuse u more but these r important.

Ok, one last question hehe

See this pic here: http://n8.clanpages.com/imup/p4.jpg

I can put the RDRAM in using the white or blue method right? But don't use the orange method?

Thanks.

here were everybody does the mistake..
no u cna ONLY use the orange method bcuz they r in diffrent channels (1 slot 2 and channel 2 slot 4)
the white is on 1 channel 2 and the blue is on 1 channel (channel 1) so u can ONLY us ethe orange....

Ok....so it does'nt matter what slot I put each piece in? As long as I put them in different channels?