Is this Intel DP965LT mb a good choice?

[AJackson]

I have an empty ATX box with older HD & optical drives & diskette.
I just want to bring up the system running first at lower cost, and
upgrade it as years to come.
http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DP965LT/index.htm

I plan to buy the Intel DP965LT motherboard (NewEgg $95). The reason I
select DP965LT is because I can upgrade to Core 2 Duo as price comes down
in the future.

I plan to get the Pentium D 915 w/o fan (Fries $50). Then get the
coolermaster.com socket LGA775 XDreamP775 fan (Fries $18). Or should I get
this Pentium D 915 with fan at $85 (Fries & NewEgg) - Is
this fan integrated, comes from Intel? or NewEgg add the fan on later?

I will add one Crucial 1GB DDR2 533 (NewEgg $39).
I plan to use my old PCI VGA card. DVD writer will be external.

My question is:
1. does the Intel P965 chip set needs fan cooling?
2. This mb has only one Parallel ATA. Can I connect it to one HD and one
optical drive?
3. is my current 300 watts ATX power with 20 pins connector, sufficient
for this minimal system configuration? Or, may need 20 to 24 pins
converter.

Fries Electronics has memory on sales, Crucial DDR2 1GB, PC5300, single
module, 667MHz for 19.99 ($39.99 with $20 rebate).
In Crucial web site, all their 1GB DDR2 modules are 1.8V.
I asked the Fries guy and I got a "I don't know" answer.

I assume this Fries memory is 1.8V, right?

I want to avoid all these 1.9V problems with this md.

 

[kony]

I have an empty ATX box with older HD & optical drives & diskette.
I just want to bring up the system running first at lower cost, and
upgrade it as years to come.
http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DP965LT/index.htm

I plan to buy the Intel DP965LT motherboard (NewEgg $95). The reason I
select DP965LT is because I can upgrade to Core 2 Duo as price comes down
in the future.

I plan to get the Pentium D 915 w/o fan (Fries $50). Then get the
coolermaster.com socket LGA775 XDreamP775 fan (Fries $18). Or should I get
this Pentium D 915 with fan at $85 (Fries & NewEgg) - Is
this fan integrated, comes from Intel? or NewEgg add the fan on later?

All of these Intel retail processors come with a
heatsink/fan. On some odd bundled deal with a board and
heatsink you might get a different 'sink but it is generally
not a good one... which would add too much to the bundle
price.

I recommend you not buy the temporary CPU, instead just wait
for Intel's July 22-23 price cuts to be reflected in vendor
prices and get a lower end Core2Duo at that point.

I will add one Crucial 1GB DDR2 533 (NewEgg $39).

I'd get higher speed DDR2, it'll be more (re)usable later.

I plan to use my old PCI VGA card. DVD writer will be external.

Is the budget that tight? I would think you are better off
getting a board with integrated video, or some low-end PCI
Express card... Newegg has several that're under $30 after a
rebate.

My question is:
1. does the Intel P965 chip set needs fan cooling?

No, but a manufacturer might opt for one. It produces more
heat than (many) older chipsets so airflow is more important
than on some.

2. This mb has only one Parallel ATA. Can I connect it to one HD and one
optical drive?

yes

If you need more than 2 PATA devices, get a PCI or PCI
Express PATA controller card.

3. is my current 300 watts ATX power with 20 pins connector, sufficient
for this minimal system configuration? Or, may need 20 to 24 pins
converter.

You won't need 24 pin, but you didn't tell us exactly what
your "300 watts" PSU is, it may or may not have enough
current capability per rail. If it's fairly old, (a few
years) odds are it does not and would need replaced for this
factor irregardless of # of pins (20 vs 24).

Fries Electronics has memory on sales, Crucial DDR2 1GB, PC5300, single
module, 667MHz for 19.99 ($39.99 with $20 rebate).
In Crucial web site, all their 1GB DDR2 modules are 1.8V.
I asked the Fries guy and I got a "I don't know" answer.

I assume this Fries memory is 1.8V, right?

I want to avoid all these 1.9V problems with this md.

All those 1.9V problems means what?
Get the memory and if it ultimately doesn't work you'll have
to return it. Set the bios for 1.9V if it isn't stable at
1.8V.

 

[Paul]

I have an empty ATX box with older HD & optical drives & diskette.
I just want to bring up the system running first at lower cost, and
upgrade it as years to come.
http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DP965LT/index.htm

I plan to buy the Intel DP965LT motherboard (NewEgg $95). The reason I
select DP965LT is because I can upgrade to Core 2 Duo as price comes down
in the future.

I plan to get the Pentium D 915 w/o fan (Fries $50). Then get the
coolermaster.com socket LGA775 XDreamP775 fan (Fries $18). Or should I get
this Pentium D 915 with fan at $85 (Fries & NewEgg) - Is
this fan integrated, comes from Intel? or NewEgg add the fan on later?

I will add one Crucial 1GB DDR2 533 (NewEgg $39).
I plan to use my old PCI VGA card. DVD writer will be external.

My question is:
1. does the Intel P965 chip set needs fan cooling?
2. This mb has only one Parallel ATA. Can I connect it to one HD and one
optical drive?
3. is my current 300 watts ATX power with 20 pins connector, sufficient
for this minimal system configuration? Or, may need 20 to 24 pins
converter.

Fries Electronics has memory on sales, Crucial DDR2 1GB, PC5300, single
module, 667MHz for 19.99 ($39.99 with $20 rebate).
In Crucial web site, all their 1GB DDR2 modules are 1.8V.
I asked the Fries guy and I got a "I don't know" answer.

I assume this Fries memory is 1.8V, right?

I want to avoid all these 1.9V problems with this md.

Can you provide the power rating, printed on the side of the PSU ? It
would look something like this. Some old supplies put the emphasis
on the 5V rail, and such a supply might not be optimal for this
application.

+3.3V @ 18A, +5V @ 25A, +12 @ 19A, -12V @ 0.8A, +5VSB @ 2A

Also, knowing the brand and model number of the supply, might make
it easier for someone to guess at the quality of the supply. The Pentium D 915
draws a maximum of 95W. At 90% Vcore conversion efficiency, that would be
about 12V @ 8.8A current draw. Allowing another 2.6A for hard drive, CD, and
fans, brings that up to 11.4 amps. When you get a Core2 Duo some
day, that will be 65W instead of 95W, and use less power.

The 20 pin connector on the PSU is fine. If you ever decide to plug in
a PCI Express video card, they can draw up to 4.35A or so, from the 12V
rail. THe motherboard fan headers add another 0.5A to that. That current
flows through the single pin on the 20 pin connector, and it is rated at
6 amps. Basically, unless you're using an SLI board, at this point in time,
a 20 pin connector is fine, even using a PCI Express video card. Of course,
if you put too powerful a PCI Express card in the system, it may be too much
load for your total 12V rail rating. (Whether this simplification remains
true, really depends on what developers do with the PCI Express x1 slots and
card types. The power for those slots will come through the single wire
as well.)

If the product description says "no fan or cooler", it is up to the customer
to buy one. Sometimes this is indicated by "retail" versus "OEM", where the
"retail" product comes with a cooler, while the "OEM" doesn't. It pays to
read the advertising copy, to be sure what you're getting.

My personal preference for coolers, is to find something that is easy to
mount, and doesn't stress the motherboard. Every one has different tastes.
Some people don't like the "push pin" design of the current generation of
Intel provided coolers.

The P965 Northbridge, has a TDP of 19W. It would be nice if the airflow from the
CPU cooler, happened to push a gentle breeze over the Intel provided heatsink.
I doubt in your application, the P965 will be drawing the TDP value, but it
may some day. For example, not plugging in a PCI Express video card, should
provide a power saving. And only using one DIMM, means one memory channel can
be shut down

For the memory, it's plug and pray. If the Intel board has a recent BIOS
installed, it probably won't be a problem. I'd expect more trouble from
an enthusiast memory.

If you were looking for low power, the Conroe-L is only 35W. This is a
single core processor. Only issue would be, whether the motherboard
you are buying, has a recent enough BIOS in it, to work out of the box.
If you had access to an older LGA775 processor, you could flash upgrade,
then plug in this Celeron Conroe-L. Even a wimpy power supply could run
one of these.

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9XN
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116039

Paul

 

[sdeyoreo]

I have an empty ATX box with older HD & optical drives & diskette.
I just want to bring up the system running first at lower cost, and
upgrade it as years to come.
http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DP965LT/index.htm

I plan to buy the Intel DP965LT motherboard (NewEgg $95). The reason I
select DP965LT is because I can upgrade to Core 2 Duo as price comes down
in the future.

I have a Intel D965PERL mobo. I think it's a very good chip set. I
also have the 965 chipset in a motherboard from Shuttle. I was
pleasantly surprised at the power of the on-board video.

 

[AJackson]

OK, just order from MWave today.

1. Intel BoxDP965LTCK at $108 with added $9 bundle test & assembly.
2. Intel Celeron D 347 at 3.06GHz with Fan. $44.

Hope Mwave really does the bundle & test this CPU & mb combo.
Will let you know how this run when arrive.

Did not order from NewEgg even its few bucks cheaper. NewEgg does not have
this bundle assemble & test option.

Get this low end CUP and plan to future Duo Core CPU upgrade.

 

[kony]

OK, just order from MWave today.

1. Intel BoxDP965LTCK at $108 with added $9 bundle test & assembly.
2. Intel Celeron D 347 at 3.06GHz with Fan. $44.

Hope Mwave really does the bundle & test this CPU & mb combo.
Will let you know how this run when arrive.

Did not order from NewEgg even its few bucks cheaper. NewEgg does not have
this bundle assemble & test option.

Keep in mind that something coming from Newegg (or MWave)
that has not been tested, has also not been exposed to a
low-level worker and unknown environment where the worker
has no personal loss if something is damaged.

When you don't know if parts are compatible, testing can
resolve that before you're on the hook for the parts, but
with known compatible parts it's my opinion that having it
tested actually increases the chances you will get something
that is unworkable.

 

[Chris Hill]

When you don't know if parts are compatible, testing can
resolve that before you're on the hook for the parts, but
with known compatible parts it's my opinion that having it
tested actually increases the chances you will get something

Depends on what your time is worth. I hate buying something and
finding out it is doa and then having to ship it back. I'd rather
have them try it first. Probably the best build I've ever had came
from an Intel board that was assembled and tested for a mere $10 at
mwave. It is nice opening the box and knowing that the item has had
at least one quality check.