Hi,I have decided to add a few high end components to my existing system and I need a little advice. I am adding:Intel P4 560 3.6GHZ1 Gig Kingston DDR SDRAM 400 MHZWhat's a good motherboard to sit all this on?I already have an audigy sb 2 soundcard and an FX5600 256MB Video Card. Thanks for any advice!!

Is Intel important to you? Otherwise most people buy A64:s these days. More performance for less money if it

Hi, if you're not into video stuff and alike (I mean sw which likes HT-CPUs) and the main goal of your purchase is FS, I'ld recommend getting an AMD64 too. They're noticeably faster. Now, depending on the resolution you want to operate, you could choose from a number of well adapted components. Your video card could handle FS @1024-1152x pretty well and 1GB RAM would then also be appropriate. However, if you plan running i.e. 1280x, I'ld start by recommending another display adapter too. Specify the display/resolution first and you can't do much wrong. Btw, the 3.6GHz P4 is a heat monster! If a P4 is mandatory, perhaps go for an EO-stepping 3.4GHz. With this stepping, also 3.4GHz CPUs are useable without having to fry almost 120Ws! Good luck and kind regards Jaap FlyTendo: AMD64-3200 Clawhammer; Abit KV8-pro v.1.0; 9800pro @1280x; 2x1GB-CL3 Apacer w/ Samsung chips; Hitachi P-ATA HDs; 350W PSU; 5 case fans; Audigy2; win2000sp4

THanks for the replies guys, now I am confused though, I was under ther impression that the intel 3.6GHZ was faster and had the added benefit of hyperthreading. THe main thing I am looking for is speed so I will look at the athalon if that is supposed to be faster.

this just goes to prove the power of advertising, Intel spend a great deal of money on advertising, yet AMD seem to do very little advertising spending more on developement(?). therefore most people have heard of Intel and when they get a PC believe that is all there is so ask for it, only those who activly seek information will find out there is another supplier of CPUs. we even have the rediculous situation where a shop will sell you a PC with a high end P4 yet no AGP slot and naff graphics and sound, simply because Intel so swamp the advertising media that people are led to believe that the "Intel inside" handles everything. the PC market is the ultimate case of caveat emptor.

Hi Slick, I'm sorry I forgot to mention something. What's a statement without a reasoning?! Anyway, the reason why FS performs better with AMD64 CPUs lies in the manner the sytem's memory is controlled; on Intels, the mainboard's chipset needs to do the job, where on AMD64s, it's intergrated into the CPU. Btw, this signifies, your RAM must be primarily compatible with your CPU. FS does not benefit from multiple CPUs, nor from HT (so to say a 'fake' multicore). But again, start by specifying your display/resolution first and the rest will come by itself. Best of all, you should be able to be happy with anything AMD64 3200 or better. If you positively never will do 1280x resolutions, even an AMD64-3000 would be great. Case you wish, perhaps get back to us with your mainboard choices and we'll maybe be able to comment? Good luck and kind regards Jaap

To get the best bang out or ur buck for fs2004 is to get the AMD64. I was also deciding whether to get the Intel or AMD a few weeks ago but my primary purpose for the new system was for games so I went for the AMD and have been very happy with the performance. If you really are going for the AMD64 i recommend the Gigabyte K8nsUltra 939. Although its not an outstanding board, its cheap. The MSI neo2 platinum is the one most people are talking about but also is like in the expensive range of mobo. Soon DFI will be releasing a new socket 939 mobo for AMD which is why I bought a cheap motherboard now, so i could buy the DFI one when its out. DFI boards are known for their top quality and overclockability.