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Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/841
Weekly Memory & Motherboard Price Guide: October 2001 1st Edition
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 26, 2001 2:47 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
It's back! After a summer vacation and countless requests, the AnandTech Weekly Price Guides are back in full effect. The Guide has received a few changes but its goal remains: to give you the best deals on the hardware you want to buy. As usual the Guide is broken into two parts: CPU & Video Cards and Memory & Motherboards. Last week we saw the return of the CPU & Video Cards Price Guide and today we're bringing you the Memory & Motherboards Price Guide.
We select vendors to appear in our Price Guides based on two requirements: solid consumer feedback and having the lowest possible pricing. You'll notice that these vendors aren't paying us to be listed here; we do not accept requests to be listed here. We have tried to eliminate vendors with low feedback rating, but we do encourage you to do your own research before purchasing from any of these vendors.
With the new and improved Price Guides we have not only increased our standards when evaluating online vendors, but we have also partnered up with our friends at CNet to offer yet another service to you all. Using CNet's Shopper.com search engine we can provide you with an additional pool of vendors to search from that are checked up on by CNet. You can wade through those results by clicking on the CNet Pricing link in the second to last column on the right.
If there are any problems with the guide or a vendor's pricing changes dramatically then be sure to email the author listed at the top of the page and we'll take appropriate action. Remember that although some vendors may be cheaper, we only list those with generally positive feedback from a decent number of consumers. As usual, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions feel free to email us or post in the AnandTech Forums.
Also be sure to check out AnandTech's Hot Deals Forum for even more great memory, motherboard and other technology buys.
Disclaimer
AnandTech does not endorse any vendor listed in the following price guide. AnandTech does not sell positions on the Price Guide. AnandTech nor any of the vendors listed in this guide guarantee the prices presented in the following pages.
This Week
Since this is the second week back from the summer hiatus there are no price changes listed in the Guide. We will reintroduce Price Tracking in our next Memory & Motherboard Price Guide due out in 2 weeks.
Memory Prices
Weekly
Memory Prices
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Memory
Module
|
Price
|
Change
|
Vendor
|
Shipping
|
CNet
Pricing
|
Notes
|
DDR333 (PC2700) CAS 2.5 - 256MB |
$58
|
$6
|
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DDR266 (PC2100) CAS 2.5 - 256MB |
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$10.95
|
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DDR266 (PC2100) CAS 2.5 - 256MB ECC |
$37
|
$9
|
||||
DDR200 (PC1600) CAS 2 - 256MB |
$29
|
$8.70
|
||||
DDR266 (PC2100) CAS 2.5 - 128MB |
$13
|
$6.70
|
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DDR266 (PC2100) CAS 2.5 - 128MB ECC |
$20
|
$4
|
||||
DDR200 (PC1600) CAS 2 - 128MB |
$16
|
$8.70
|
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PC800 RDRAM - 256MB |
$97
|
$10.95
|
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PC800 RDRAM - 128MB |
$39
|
$10.75
|
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PC150 CAS 2 - 256MB |
$16
|
$10
|
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PC133 CAS 2 - 256MB |
$10
|
$10.75
|
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PC150 CAS 2 - 128MB |
$11
|
$8.89
|
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PC133 CAS 2 - 128MB |
$6
|
$10.75
|
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Memory prices are at rock bottom prices, however there may be some confusion as to what modules to purchase. Although we list it as DDR333, JEDEC has not officially approved a DDR333 standard. The modules that are currently selling as DDR333 are basically DDR266 modules that will work at 166MHz DDR. The price premium DDR333 currently carries (although it's only $24 in this case) isn't worth it because you're not buying "real" DDR333.
Our recommendation goes to the 256MB DDR266 module with a 2.5 clock CAS latency (currently CAS 2 DDR266 is very rare). The small increase in price is worth it as you get a module that is guaranteed to work at the most widely used DDR frequency.
With RDRAM you don't have many options to choose from; $97 for a 256MB stick is definitely much more reasonable than prices were a year ago. As for PC133 and unofficial PC150 modules, the prices speak for themselves. We never expected to see the day when shipping on PC133 SDRAM would cost more than the module itself.
Recent Related Reviews
AMD Motherboards
Weekly
Athlon/Duron (Socket-A) Motherboard Prices
|
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Motherboard
(Chipset)
|
Price
|
Change
|
Vendor
|
Shipping
|
CNet
Pricing
|
Notes
|
ABIT KG7 (AMD 760) |
$139
|
$12.50
|
|
|||
ASUS A7V266 (VIA KT266) |
$129
|
$9
|
||||
FIC AD11 (AMD 760) |
$93
|
$12.90
|
|
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Shuttle AK31 Revision 3.1 (VIA KT266A) |
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$8.00
|
|
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Tyan Thunder K7 (AMD 760MP) |
$478
|
$9
|
||||
Tyan Tiger MP (AMD 760MP) |
$220
|
$9
|
||||
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We've started a new Socket-A motherboard list that we will add to as more boards hit the streets. We have kept a few older generation boards (KT266 and AMD 760 based) just for the transition period and to also show you exactly how affordable some of these new KT266A motherboards are. The Shuttle AK31 Revision 3.1 that we looked at in our recent roundup performed quite well, was very stable and to top it all off the board features 4 DIMM slots which work fine when fully populated with regular DDR266 SDRAM. As if that weren't enough, the board can be purchased for only $85. Add shipping and you've still got a board that's cheaper than the cheapest previous-generation Athlon board.
Tyan's solutions still monopolize the 2P Athlon market so those two boards are the only options you're going to have when going to a 2P Athlon MP system.
Recent Related Reviews
VIA KT266A Initial Roundup - October 2001
Tyan's Tiger MP: Affordable Multiprocessing
Intel Motherboards
Weekly
Intel Pentium 4 Motherboard Prices
|
||||||
Motherboard
(Chipset)
|
Price
|
Change
|
Vendor
|
Shipping
|
CNet
Pricing
|
Notes
|
ABIT TH7 RAID - Socket-423 (Intel 850) |
$148
|
$15
|
||||
ABIT TH7-II RAID - Socket-478 (Intel 850) |
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$13
|
||||
ASUS P4B - Socket-478 (Intel 845) |
$142
|
$13
|
|
|||
ASUS P4T - Socket-423 (Intel 850) |
$174
|
$12.50
|
||||
ASUS P4T-E - Socket-478 (Intel 850) |
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$9
|
|
|||
ECS P4ITA - Socket-423 (Intel 850) |
$106
|
$13.95
|
|
|||
MSI 850 Pro5 - Socket-478 (Intel 850) |
$131
|
$13
|
|
|||
Shuttle AV40 - Socket-478 (VIA P4X266) |
$101
|
$8
|
||||
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We've mentioned it for a while now and we'll continue to stress it: there is no reason to purchase anything other than Socket-478 boards if you're going to build a Pentium 4 system. Of those we've had good experience with the ABIT TH7-II RAID and the ASUS P4T. We've got a P4X266 roundup in the works and will add the boards that pass our tests with flying colors to this table in the coming weeks. Our recommendation here goes to both the ABIT and ASUS Socket-478 Pentium 4 offerings, take your pick.
Weekly
Intel Pentium III/Celeron (Socket-370) Motherboard Prices
|
||||||
Motherboard
(Chipset)
|
Price
|
Change
|
Vendor
|
Shipping
|
CNet
Pricing
|
Notes
|
ASUS TUSL2 (i815E B-Step) |
$102
|
$12.90
|
|
|||
EPoX 3PTA (i815EP B-Step) |
$83
|
$13
|
|
|||
MSI 815EMT Pro (i815E B-Step) |
$98
|
$10
|
|
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If you are in the market for an i815 based motherboard you'll want something based on the latest B-Stepping of the chipset which supports all 0.13-micron Pentium III processors including the new Tualatin processors. If you've read our review you'll know that the Tualatin performs quite well although it unfortunately carries a pretty high price tag considering it is being phased out.
We've had the most experience with the ASUS TUSL2 and little experience with the remaining two boards so we'll leave the decision here up to you. Be sure to check out our i815 B-Step roundup to find out exactly what to look for in these motherboards.
Recent Related Reviews
Intel 850 Motherboard Roundup: September 2001
Intel 845 Chipset Review & Motherboard Roundup: September 2001