Looking for the quality Pentium 4 solution that best fit your needs?
Jun 02 '02 (Updated Oct 21 '02)
The Bottom Line A Pentium 4 processor is highly versatile that it can be used by anybody, at whatever needs.
Issued: October 2002
Updates: Intel i845GE, i845GV and i845PE chipsets.
With the recent trends and improvements that Intel has made with their Pentium 4 processors along with the chipsets designed for Pentium 4 motherboards. The Pentium 4 can truly become a much more universal processor for the consumer. It all started with the i850 chipset by Intel, which allowed the user to use RDRAM along with the Pentium 4 processor. But many find that the solution is rather costly, so Intel set its blueprints to develop the i845 chipset to allow Pentium 4 sales to expand. But with the base i845 chipset, since it supported the traditional SDRAM, it maybe a much more affordable solution, but you must sacrifice speed along with the price. This is because due to the disparities between memory bandwidth (133MHz) and processor bus bandwidth (400MHz), which really affects the full potential of the Pentium 4 processor. But with the success that the i845 chipset provided, Intel set foot to enhance the possibilities for the processor along with the compatible chipsets. Well there may be Sis based chipsets for the Pentium 4 processor, they are good; however I find those aren't as stable as the Intel based chipsets. But in this article, I will state my recommended chipsets that are optimized for the Intel Pentium 4 processors.
Recommended Chipset Choices
i845 Chipset
This chipset started it all for offering Pentium 4 power at a lower price than the i850 chipset. But the only problem with this chipset is that it only supports SDRAM, which wasn't meant to work along with the Pentium 4 processor well. What happens is that because of the bandwidth disparities of the SDRAM and the processor, the memory isn't able to keep up with the information sent by the processor, even though you try to add memory to the system.
i845D Chipset
Proceeding with the i845 chipset, this was the next step for an affordable Pentium 4 solution, which is also fast. This chipset supports DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate), which allows the memory to accept information from the processor much more readily than the SDRAM, which really clogs up the potential of the Pentium 4 processor. In addition, since DDR SDRAM is less likely to have large price fluctuations compared to RDRAM, it's more likely that DDR SDRAM is a more affordable alternative to the RDRAM. Plus, with the i850 chipset, since it supports RDRAM, which is a faster memory; it has a restriction with memory placement, as it requires at least a pair of memory boards in order for the dual channel system to work properly. For example, the restriction, is that suppose you would like to have 512MB of RDRAM on an system with an i850 based motherboard, you have to fit the motherboard with 2 separate pieces of 256MB RDRAM modules next to each other. But with the i845 chipset, it lifts that restriction and gives more freedom to upgrade your system memory. Plus, most boards that are i845D based can support USB 2.0, a much faster interface compared to the USB 1.1 and outpaces the Firewire (iLink or IEEE 1394) ports for your peripherals that work best with high speed interfaces like digital video camera or USB 2.0 compatible CD Rewriter.
i845E and PE Chipset
Essentially an enhanced version of the i845D chipset, it allows the support of the latest Pentium 4 processors with 533MHz Front Side Bus along with the existing 400MHz Front Side Bused Pentium 4 processors. It has the advantages of the i845D chipset, but it just adds more flexibility. Plus, with motherboards based on the i845E chipset; it usually has USB 2.0 ports for your peripherals that work best with high speed data transfer. However, because of the newer Pentium 4 processor Front side bus frequency at 533MHz compared to the memory bandwidth of just 266MHz, there could be more inequalities between the processor and memory, such that the memory may not be able to handle such data load on the processor at once.
In addition, the recently introduced Intel i845PE chipset also supports 333MHz DDR SDRAM (PC-2700) for greater flexibility.
Recommendation for i845 (except for G/GL): Mainstream applications, some gaming, multimedia and light duty professional applications.
i845G, i845GE, i845GL and i845GV Chipset
For these chipsets, they're similar to the i845D chipset, but it does implement Intel Integrated Graphics. What it really means is that motherboards with this chipset, have an integrated video port, without the need for a video card. This solution allows buyers to have a little more flexibility on whether to have integrated graphics or dedicated graphics (845G and GE). In addition, this chipset also opens new doors to those that couldn't really find an affordable and/or basic solution to have a Pentium 4 computer.
With this chipset you can finally have affordability, speed and versatility in a computer solution. In addition to the integrated audio for selected i845 chipset systems, the integrated video is an ideal solution for those that aren't really into heavy video, such as gaming video editing studios, but it's still great for those that would like to view DVD contents. Keep in mind though as integrated video hogs a portion of your system memory, so therefore no matter how much memory your system has, it can definitely slow you down on any applications, due to the memory allocation to the graphics. Just because it this chipset has integrated video, it doesn't mean that video card upgrades are impossible, as it features an AGP slot for the motherboard too (i845G, i845GE). Therefore, video card upgrades are just a matter of modifying your BIOS and installing the drivers for the video card. Then there's the i845G and i845GE chipsets, which are basically similar to the i845GL and i845GV chipsets, but it does support a wider range of processors with up to a (i845GL only accepts 400MHz FSB processors) 533MHz Front Side Bus, which the latest Pentium 4 processors have. But for these chipsets, DDR SDRAM support is critical, since some motherboards with these chipsets support the traditional SDRAM, which really slows everything down.
In addition for the i845GE and i845GV chipsets, they also allow the use of 333MHz DDR SDRAM (PC-2700) for enhanced speed.
Recommended for: Those who are looking for an affordable solution, yet light on video demands (no audio/video creation or gaming, unless dedicated video card is installed [845G and 845GE])
i850 and i850E Chipset
Currently the pinnacle series for the Intel chipset for the consumer, the i850 was the only chipset that was first developed or designed for the Pentium 4 processors. With this chipset, it is a lot different compared to the i845 series, which is specifically targeted to those that would like similar power from the processor for less. But specifically, the i850 chipset is what the Intel Pentium 4 processor was intended to be teamed up with. Since there's very little disparities between the bandwidth of the processor and the memory, you can truly unlock the processor's full potential. However, with this chipset it just means one thing, you have to use RDRAM and the memory boards that you place into the slots must be in pairs. For example, if you would like to have 512MB of memory in your system, you must have either 4 pieces of 128MB of memory boards into the 4 slots or 2 pieces of 256MB boards into 2 slots. This alone and future memory upgrades can be really frustrating. The i850E chipset is basically an enhanced version of the i850 chipset, as it allows the support of Pentium 4 processors featuring a 533MHz Bandwidth as well as PC1066 RDRAM, plus, it adds integrated USB 2.0 support, for your peripherals that work best with high speed interfaces.
Recommended for: Moderate Duty Professional applications such as audio/video creation, top notch entertainment and setting up your own home server.
Choosing a motherboard and case
As I've already stated with the chipsets, you should have little to no trouble with choosing the motherboard. For any choices that you make for a Pentium 4 motherboard, since most support more than 2 USB ports choose a case that has at least 2 Front USB ports. You can find a wide selection of these cases at your local computer hardware store. For system longevity purposes, I highly recommend investing in a mid sized motherboard over a uATX motherboard, because it provides more expandability on the long run due to the nature that it includes more than 3 PCI slots (5 or 6 PCI slots should be found on a good mid sized motherboard). I don't really mean going into those Circuit City, Best Buy or those large retail chains since they're not as dedicated to computer hardware and more dedicated to peripherals or computer add-ons. Since most of these cases feature at least 2 Front USB ports, they may contain a microphone and headphone jack for those voice command applications or for private entertainment. Plus, buyers should at least look for a removable I/O faceplate at the back of the computer housing, in case the I/O port configuration happens to be different than the faceplate that is provided for the housing.
Now, for the power supply. Take your time at your local computer hardware store and ask the employee there for a suitable power supply for your processor. Because the wrong kind of power supply can affect damage the processor in anyway.
Finally, the most important of all, is that buyers should at least invest in a mid sized case with a decent amount of expansion room, preferably with 7 slots for the rear of the case with at least 5 accessible drive bays (Three 5.25" and Two 3.5") and with at least 2 hard drive bays. That way, in case you would like to upgrade your motherboard, you don't have to worry about that motherboard will not fit the case, as most motherboards will fit a mid sized case. In addition, if you would like to add drives to the system, you don't even have to worry about that there's too little room for another hard drive, optical drive and so on.
Processor Speeds and Memory
For beginners or for those that are on a stricter budget; starting out on a Pentium 4 system, it's great. However, I would recommend beginners look at speeds of up to 2.0GHz as it's becoming more affordable due to the current latest processor being offered up to 2.53GHz, with a 3.0GHz by the end of 2002. But for mainstream users, I would currently at least look at 2.0GHz up to a 2.4GHz range as they may require more power for their gaming or video demanding applications. But for the professionals, start looking at the Pentium 4 chips with the new 533MHz bandwidth.
With memory, it all depends on the user's habits in using their system. But for all, they should at least start at 256MB of memory, as the latest operating system, including Windows XP Home or Professional, require 128MB of memory to work properly. With the extra memory, it allows room for more applications. But I do recommend going for more memory initially if your budget permits such upgrades.
Storage
The size of the hard drive, is also crucial to think about for the buyer. At least try to invest in a 40GB hard drive, since it's easily available at any local computer hardware stores these days and they're very affordable. With a hard drive that size, you can easily store the operating system, some 3rd party software, including productivity and numerous digital multimedia files including audio downloaded off the Internet. But for many buyers, if they're willing to upgrade their hard drive up to a 60GB or 80GB to store even more, they can do so cheaply too since the hard drive capacities are swelling around the 200GB mark.
What about optical storage? Well I can easily answer that for many people. As the CD Rewriters are becoming much more affordable than ever before, I would really recommend this solution for anyone, especially for those that don't really need a CD Rewriter at present. Even a quality 24x CD-RW drive right now costs about $60, since that's not much more than a conventional CD ROM, I might as well recommend it to anyone out there.
But for those that wanted to view videos out of their computer with their DVD collection, a DVD ROM is essential. With those being very versatile and affordable, many would not really miss their opportunity for making their own entertainment system without the cost.
Then there are those that like to create videos, therefore a DVD-R/RW drive is a must for them. With this drive, you can still create your own CDs (at a sacrificed speed of course), create your own video DVDs from your previously recorded videos from your camcorders, VCRs and many more; plus, you can even view your own DVD movies with it too. But because of the price of the media and the hardware itself, it tends to be out of reach for many but a selected few.
Multimedia
For Multimedia, it includes the monitors, video cards, audio cards and speakers. To experience the rich multimedia content that is offered for the Pentium 4 processor, I recommend at least a 17" monitor for the users of the computer. For starters, I would recommend no more than a 0.27mm diagonal dot pitch or 0.26mm grille pitch for decent quality for their multimedia experience, of course the lower the dot pitch does provide a better quality picture by packing pixels more densely. But for those that are more into games or intensive graphics, investing at least on a 19" monitor is essential, preferably a flat screened monitor like the FD Trinitron that Sony offers. With Flat screened monitors, the surface aids the richness of the display, by reflecting light rays in a uniform direction, rather than a scattered direction like those conventional monitors. But if you happen to have a tight space for your monitor, an LCD or Flat Panel Display is a worthwhile consideration, but you tend to lose viewing area compared to similarly priced conventional monitors, including conventional flat screened.
With video card choices out there, there are many possibilities for the computer user nowadays. But the motherboards designed for the Pentium 4 processor only allow us to use 1.5V video cards. If the video card voltage exceeds 1.5V, the computer won¡¦t even start at all.
For those that are looking for an affordable solution, the i845G(L) chipset motherboards are just the right kinds for you, as it provides integrated video port on the motherboard, along with an AGP slot for future upgrading. With the integrated video card, it's ideal for basic applications and for those who minimal video requirements, such as MS Office applications, Internet, some photography and very little video. But other than the i845G(L) chipset, you have an AGP slot.
For dedicated video cards, I would recommend 64MB of video memory, as it provides more support for those professional displays, as it helps provide the rich multimedia content that Pentium 4 users are looking for and it's also an affordable solution for those that are into gaming and intensive video viewing. But for those that have a camcorder and record video very often, a 128MB video card is a worthy consideration as well. With those, it allows you to professionally edit video or become the next Spielberg. Plus, with some video cards on the market, they may add DV support, meaning that it can support those digital Flat Panel Displays. Even some of these video cards feature an integrated TV tuner for those that would like to watch television from their computer too. Plus, selected video cards may even include an integrated iLink (Firewire or IEEE 1394) port for your digital camcorder, professional scanner or even your high speed computer peripherals.
My final recommendation, is that for starters, at least look at GeForce 2. Then as the video requirements increase, start looking at the GeForce 3. For professionals that require the most out of their video or graphics, a GeForce 4 is a worthy consideration. But above all of that, an ATi Radeon is also recommended.
For audio, integrated audio is definitely more than acceptable, because audio cards today are definitely on the PCI interface and it's easily upgradeable. With some of the integrated audio cards out there that also support 5.1 speaker systems, there's a lesser need for the best experience in audio from a dedicated audio card. But for those that are looking to more of a higher quality audio or would like to heighten their audio experiences, a dedicated audio card is recommended. Look at the choices offered by Sound Blaster and Turtle Beach (by Voyetra), as they provide high quality audio without really paying the price. For starters, look for 4-channel support, as it provides them the privilege to experience surround sound. But as the 5.1 audio cards are becoming much more affordable right now, you can buy these audio cards for the theatre experience when you team it up with the 5.1 speaker system.
As for the speakers, there are many choices depending on your needs. For starters that would just like to use their system for audio and a little bit of video and/or gaming with great audio, I would recommend 2.1 speaker systems (2 speakers and one subwoofer), as they¡¦re affordable and offer high quality audio compared to their subwooferless counterparts. But for those that are looking into surround sound, a 4.1 speaker system is recommended, such that the extra 2 satellites provide the surround sound, enhancing your audio experience with music, gaming and video viewing. But for those that are willing to spend a little more extra, a 5.1 speaker system is worthwhile. With these speaker systems, it adds a center satellite to jack up your video and audio experiences. With some of the premium quality 5.1 speaker systems, they can expect digital audio and theatre quality audio as well. Most importantly, if you're looking at those generic speakers with high power ratings, you¡¦ve been fooled, as those ratings are not RMS and that they don't comply with the power rating requirements by using the Peak Power Music Output. With those high ratings, it only happens for a brief second and it then disappears. Therefore, it's best to invest on quality brand name speakers such as Creative, Altec Lansing or Logitech.
Input Devices and Operating Systems
For the input devices, I would start off with a basic optical mouse. I would recommend optical mice, because it doesn¡¦t have the lint catching ball, which is frustrating to clean and it requires a mouse pad. With the optical mice, it eliminates the requirement to clean the mouse periodically. But you do want to clean the optical sensor once in a while, say once a year. But for higher requirements, I would look at mice that feature extra secondary buttons for short cuts, like the Microsoft Intellimouse Optical. Then there are those that would like to have some freedom, with cordless optical mice. With those, you're free from the cord, as well as the ball. With these, they come with a receiver to connect to your computer and they can easily be placed into a drawer when you don't need them. For the interface, at least look for PS/2 and USB support.
With keyboards, there are many choices. Let's ignore those plain Jane keyboards for a second and look at the specialty keyboards. Many specialty keyboards feature shortcut keys for Internet applications and some of these even have shortcut keys for controlling multimedia applications. They can be purchased very easily at about $25 dollars for an MS Internet Keyboard for example. Some keyboards are also cordless, to free yourself from the cord and you can even put the keyboard away when you don't need it, ideal for those that have desks that don't have keyboard drawers. But then, some manufacturers also bundle keyboards along with mice and usually they're both cordless. Keep in mind that both the cordless keyboard and mice come with a receiver and require batteries to operate. Do look for PS/2 support for the keyboards.
For the operating system, I recommend the Windows XP Home Edition to anyone, but for those that have more than 5 computers hooked into the network. In that case, the Windows XP Professional is the solution. However, for Windows XP, the operating system is much more stable than Windows ME and just as stable as the Windows 2000, which can be frustrating for those that are less experienced to Windows.
Example configurations
Starters:
Intel Pentium 4 1.7GHz (256K cache)
Intel D845BG Motherboard
256MB DDR SDRAM (PC 2100)
Maxtor 40GB Hard Drive (ATA-100 / 7200 rpm)
LG 24x CD-Rewriter Drive
Floppy Drive
MS Internet Keyboard
Logitech Wheel Mouse Optical
3com 10/100 Network Card
Intel Integrated Video
Integrated Audio
Creative Inspire 2400 2.1 speakers
Windows XP Home Edition
Samsung 753DF 17" Flat Screened Monitor.
P4 Mid Tower Case with 300W power supply and Front USB ports
Estimated Price: $850
Intermediate
Intel Pentium 4 2.0GHz (512k cache)
Asus P4B533 Motherboard
256MB DDR SDRAM (PC 2100)
Maxtor 60GB Hard Drive (ATA-100 / 7200 rpm)
Plextor 24x CD-Rewriter Drive
Pioneer 16x DVD ROM
Floppy Drive
MS Internet Keyboard
MS Wheel Mouse Optical
3com 10/100 Network Card
ATi Radeon 7500 64MB AGP video card
Sound Blaster Live 5.1
Creative Inspire 4400 4.1 speakers
Windows XP Home Edition
Sony CPD-E240 17" Flat Screened Monitor.
P4 Mid Tower Case with 300W power supply and Front USB ports
Estimated Price: $1400 or less
Upgrade to Sony CPD-G410 19" monitor: Add $110
Upgrade to 512MB DDR SDRAM: Add $70
Advanced and Professional
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (512k cache and 533MHz FSB)
Asus P4T533 Motherboard
512MB RDRAM
Maxtor 80GB Hard Drive (ATA-100 / 7200 rpm)
Pioneer DVD-R/RW Drive
Floppy Drive
Logitech Cordless Freedom
3com 10/100 Network Card
MSI GeForce4 64MB AGP video card
Sound Blaster Audigy 5.1
Creative Inspire 5300 5.1 speakers
Windows XP Home Edition
Sony G410 19" Flat Screened Monitor.
P4 Mid Tower Case with 300W power supply and Front USB ports
Estimated Price: $1900 or less
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would really like buyers to take some time to know their needs before even setting foot on their local computer store for a new Pentium 4 system. Happy shopping everybody.
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