Case chassis modification required?

[bosco777]

Hey all,
I think I am finally going to leave 440BX heaven. My Abit BH6 seems to lock up when I do anything intense. I am looking at getting a new Intel 845 based motherboard, and I am considering the new Intel board with DDR support using the 478 packaging (D845BG). My question is - will I have to modify my case chassis (ATX from the year 1998) to support this motherboard/chip/HSF? I know the other board makers have made ways to mount the HSF to the board rather than the chassis, but does Intel still make you bolt the HSF all the way through to the chassis? If so, how hard is it to make this mod? Also, can I continue to use my old 250 watt power supply that doesn't have the 12v connector and just buy the adapter, or does that not work?

Bosco

Supermicro (I think) case with 250 W PS
Abit 440BX based BH6 (on the blink)
Intel 800 MHz 100 MHz FSB PIII
3COM 3C905 10/100 NIC
ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon
Sound Blaster Liver (original)
Maxtor ATA 100 controller
256 MB Crucial 133
LianLi RH-40 HD racks
Various Hard Drives
Iomega 100 ZipDisk
Budget DVD drive and budget CD-RW

[Insanepyro69]

My Abit BH6 seems to lock up when I do anything intense.

I Also experience the same problems with the abit bh6.
I found when i had a couple fans blowing on the cpu and board i didnt have any problem.

[Toaster]

Howdy,
Just as a suggestion, I suggest you stick with RDRAM if you devide to go with the P4. RDRAM being somewhat more expensive has great benifit.
The P4 was designed with RDRAM in mind. Support of SD/DDR RAM was only added because folks asked for it but didn't know "why" they asked for it.
Configured correctly, RDRAM performance over SD/DDR memories is almost 30%.
DDR memory prices shot up recently and now the cost difference is minimal and I even saw where RDRAM was cheaper.
I also suggest that when you buy (if rather) RDRAM, buy the number of modules your board will support which configures RDRAM for "multi-bank" interleaving.
Bottom line, If 4 sockets and your aim is 256MB, get 4 64MB modules. If 512MB, get 4 128MB modules and so on. Be sure of the memory type and amount your system board will support in groups of 2 or 4 or 6.
The aim is to populate ALL sockets in one swoop.
The i850/i850P chipsets are the best performers.
Just FYI.

[HAL9000]

I admit, I was one that thought DDR RAM might be a somewhat usefull, cheaper, alternative. Having recently received an updated price list shows that it is a very minimal additional expense to go to RDRAM over DDR, so why not go all out?

[Cricket]

Hi bosco777,

From what I understand, the newer P4 motherboards have a reinforcing ring around the socket or a supplied kit with parts that make it unnecessary to bolt the heatsink all the way to the motherboard tray. Check the manufacturer's website of the motherboard you're interested in getting, it might have more information regarding this.

As far as the power supply, check out this thread: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21988&highlight=P4+power+supply Scroll down to the response from HAL9000.

:) Cricket

[bosco777]

Thanks for the info, all. I actually found the info I needed after continuing to browse the obscure parts of the Intel website. For all Intel 423 packaged MBs, the special MB chassis with the bolt holes is required. For the 478 packaged, the special MB chassis is not required. Also, as to my question about the adapter on a regular non +12v 2.03 power supply, Intel says that there is not enough amperage comning off of a regular molex connector to power the +12v lead. They say the average molex connector has 5 amps while the +12v connector on a ATX 2.03 power supply has at least 8 amps. I also appreciate the info on DDR vs RDRAM. My whole basis for this machine is purely budgetary. I recently moved to a non-tech town, Asheville NC, and am having quite a hard time finding a good job. Therefore, I might even have to go with an SDR solution if I can't afford to replace the RAM.

thanks again

Bosco

[Colonel Sanders]

If your worried about price, why not get AMD? Or you could even upgrade your CPU and add a few fans.

Logan

[HAL9000]

OK, this will be twice this year, which for me will be a record. If you're going to go with SDRAM, then you probably should build an AMD system as the SDRAM just plain cripples the P4 too much.

[Toaster]

Howdy,
If a budfet super hero system is your bit, maybe the P4 isn't your ball game.
The more you cut costs at the system board, the poorer the performance AND reliability. The P4 was designed around RDRAM, plain and simple. Anything else is a compramise and you may not like the results.
I recently built a P4 and tried several boards that supported RD/SD/DDR memories.
Optimally configured, the RDRAM system board was a clean and obvious winner.
On top of that, the system cranked easier then even I surmised it would.
Now, its screeming along at 2.8GHZ without a hitch.
Its scary to think what may have happened if I cut corners on the system board.
Still, the person I built it for said simply: "build it like you would build your own". After duely warning him of the costs, he agreed. For a few moments prior to the P4 posting, he considered an AMD XP. Now he thanks me for educating him on his wiser choice, the P4.
When we hit the bottom line, the P4 cost about 400.00 more then an AMD-XP 1900.
When all was said and done, with my mouth agape, I offered to buy the system and he go get the AMD. His reply: "no dice!"
I had made an arraingement with him that should he not be impressed, I would buy the system. He wanted it and *then* we cranked it up.
I hope I didn't wound Santa too bad last year...I need a favor Santa.