Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/688
Weekly Memory & Motherboard Price Guide: December 2000 2nd Edition
by Kiran Venkatesh on December 22, 2000 1:58 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
It's that time of the week for AnandTech's Weekly Price Guide and this
week the spotlight is on memory and motherboards.
The basic goal is to provide you with the best deals, and follow price trends
of the listed products. We have selected a leading team of on-line vendors,
and will be tracking their progress on weekly basis. Please note that all vendors
were selected according to their best price offered. Some vendors may ask that
you place a phone-order to make sure that you receive our listed price; others
simply ask that you mention where you found the price (in this case AnandTech).
We have tried to eliminate vendors with low feedback rating, but we do encourage
you to do some research before purchasing any product from this list.
If you encounter any problems with a vendor on our list, please email us, and we will take appropriate action. Remember that we will only list vendors with positive customer feedback. If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to let us know.
Also be sure to check out AnandTech's Hot Deals Forum for even more great memory, motherboard, CPU, video card and other technology buys.
Disclaimer
AnandTech does not endorse any vendor listed in the following price guide. AnandTech does not receive any advertising fees and/or sponsorship from the listed vendors. All views expressed by listed vendors do not reflect the opinions of AnandTech.
AnandTech, nor any of the vendors mentioned guarantee that the prices listed in this guide are accurate.
This Week
Two weeks after our last memory price guide we see that pricing among a wide variety of memory types has come down. Specifically PC133 SDRAM CAS2 and CAS3 modules have come down quite a bit, offering great performance at a sound price. Not only do we have price drops with SDRAM but also with the usually expensive RDRAM which are small overall yet are still decent price drops.
On the DDR SDRAM front prices for PC2100 (133 MHz DDR) and PC1600 (100 MHz DDR) RAM are up significantly. Crucial is the predominant supplier of DDR SDRAM modules thus they have the capacity to change prices as demand increases, which is reflected in this weeks prices. DDR motherboards based on the AMD 760 chipset are currently all but impossible to find and you'll pay a big price premium to get one right now. The situation is reminiscent of the release of RDRAM into the marketplace, and DDR SDRAM prices are actually just about equal to RDRAM at the moment. However, there are quite a few differences here. First, demand for DDR SDRAM is high and it is a brand new technology, while RDRAM has been out for more than a year and demand is still very low. More importantly is the fact that DDR SDRAM is a fundamentally similar technology to SDR SDRAM, so it has quite a bit more backing and prices will drop as production/availability increase.
For now, however, the VIA KT133A chipset may actually be the best purchase for those needing a Socket-A motherboard. The addition of a 133 MHz DDR FSB puts its performance very close to that of the AMD 760, but without the need for DDR SDRAM. Earlier this week, the KT133A made its way into the AnandTech labs - read our in-depth review for more information. KT133A boards haven't quite shown up in the marketplace, but they should be here before AMD 760-based boards and will command a negligible price premium over current KT133 designs.
ALi MAGIK1 boards have yet to show up at retailers, so it looks like DDR SDRAM will have to wait until 2001 before making its way into the do it yourself market. Right now, the only easy way to get a DDR SDRAM system is to buy a prebuilt one from the likes of Micron (who is currently shipping the most DDR SDRAM systems).
For now, KT133 motherboards are fallling in price as are i815E-based boards which is a plus since both of these types of boards provide an excellent solution for buyers looking for a quality motherboard. The i815EP boards should also be making their way into the market place soon. The i815EP is identical to the i815E with the exception that the integrated video has been removed to cut costs slightly.
Memory
|
AnandTech Weekly Memory Prices
|
|||||
| Memory Type - Size | Price | Change | Vendor | Shipping | Promotion |
| PC2100 DDR - 256MB | $379 |  NA |
 AccessMicro |
$9.95 |
USPS Ground |
 PC2100 DDR - 128MB |
$127 |  $16 |
Crucial |
$5.50 |
Limited Quantity |
| PC2100 DDR - 64MB | $71 | $10 |
Crucial |
$5.50 |
Limited Quantity |
| PC1600 DDR - 256MB | NA | ||||
| PC1600 DDR - 128MB |
$117 | $17 |
Crucial |
$5.50 |
Limited Quantity |
| PC1600 DDR - 64MB | $61 | $8 |
Crucial |
$5.50 |
Limited Quantity |
| PC800 RDRAM - 256MB | $415 |  $10 |
StarComponents |
$11.00 |
Lifetime Warranty |
| PC800 RDRAM - 128MB |
$167 | $5 |
StarComponents |
$11.00 |
Lifetime Warranty |
| PC800 RDRAM - 64MB |
$89 |  $0 |
StarComponents |
$11.00 |
Lifetime Warranty |
| VC133 - 128MB | $106 | $0 |
MWave |
$8.00
|
Priority Shipping |
| VC133 - 64MB | $53 | $0 |
MWave |
$8.00 |
Priority Shipping |
| PC150 CAS2 - 256MB | $169 | NA |
MWave |
$8.00 |
Priority Shipping |
| PC150 CAS2 - 128MB |
$72 | $13 |
MWave |
$8.00 |
Priority Shipping |
| PC133 CAS3 - 512MB | $335 | $42 |
StarComponents |
$11.00 |
ECC, Fedex Ground |
| PC133 CAS3 - 256MB |
$100 | $3 |
AccessMicro |
$9.95 |
UPS Ground, $10 Rebate |
| PC133 CAS3 - 128MB | $51 | $3 |
Runtime Computer |
$10.50 |
UPS Ground |
| PC133 CAS3 - 64MB | $25 | $0 |
Paradise PC |
$10.50 |
UPS Ground |
| PC133 CAS2 - 256MB | $171 | $41 |
Crucial |
$5.50 |
Priority Shipping |
| PC133 CAS2 - 128MB |
$77 | $28 |
Crucial |
$5.50
|
Priority Shipping |
| PC133 CAS2 - 64MB | $49 | $9 |
Crucial |
$5.50 |
Priority Shipping |
| PC100 ECC 128MB | $76 | $0 |
AxionTech |
 $9.70 |
UPS Ground |
| PC100 ECC 64MB | $34 | $4 |
PC Progress |
$15.00 |
UPS Ground |
| PC100 512MB | $289 | $58 |
MemoryToGo |
$6.00 |
UPS Ground |
| PC100 256MB | $112 | $18 |
Upgrade Planet |
$9.70 |
UPS Ground |
| PC100 128MB |
$50 | $2 |
Neutron USA |
$11.00 |
USPS Ground |
| PC100 64MB | $21 | $5 |
Upgrade Planet |
$9.70 |
UPS Ground |
 |
RDRAM continues to fall in price with a few modest drops among 256 and 128MB
modules as more Pentium 4 solutions enter the market, making RDRAM more of
a necessity for some users. Hopefully, as more manufacturers will support
the P4, we will continue to see price drops making RDRAM more affordable since
it is still quite expensive compared to other types of memory.
Crucial has upped the prices of DDR SDRAM modules in both the PC2100 and PC1600
flavors, illlustrating that this memory solution is probably gaining more
attention, although not enough of it is being produced to satisfy the interest.
Therefore we see that Crucial has taken advantage of the situation by increasing
the price of DDR SDRAM in the range of 11 to 16 percent. That's just plain
old supply and demand economics.
For this week virtual channel memory has been mostly quiet with no significant price changes, but many PC133 and PC100 modules have come down significantly in price. Note that PC133 CAS2 memory has taken a big plunge, which is a major plus for anyone looking for high-performance memory for a great price. It's probably safe to say that now is the best time to buy while these prices are low. Even PC100 is falling in price making it an eye-catcher for the budget-minded upgrade.
Related Articles
Make sure you check out our latest Memory and Chipset reviews for more information.
| Memory Reviews | Publication Date |
| PC133 SDRAM Roundup - April 2000 | April 3rd, 2000 |
| Chipset Reviews | Publication Date |
| DDR SDRAM on the AMD Athlon - Performance Preview | September 14th, 2000 |
| AMD's 760 Chipset: DDR for the Athlon is here | October 30th, 2000 |
| ALi MAGiK 1 Chipset: The Athlon gets a second DDR platform | November 29th, 2000 |
| VIA KT133A Socket-A Chipset: AMD 760 Performance without DDR SDRAM | December 21st, 2000 |
i815(E) Socket-370 Motherboards
|
AnandTech Weekly Motherboard Prices - Intel
Socket-370
|
|||||
| Motherboard Model | Price | Change | Vendor | Shipping | Promotion |
| ASUS CUSL2 |
$131 | $12 |
Jazz Technology USA |
$10.95 |
|
| ABIT SE6 | $134 | $1 |
Essential Computer |
$12.00 |
Fedex 2 Day |
| ABIT SA6R | $145 | $4 |
Essential Computer |
$12.00 |
Fedex 2 Day |
| Transcend TS-ASL3 |
$109 | $20 |
Jazz Technology USA |
$10.95 |
|
| Microstar 815E Pro | $102 | $7 |
Googlegear |
$16.00 |
Fedex 2 Day Insured |
| AOpen AX3S Pro | $145 | $1 |
AxionTech |
$7.50 |
UPS Ground |
| Chaintech 6AJ | $89 | $0 |
PCBoost |
$16.00 |
Limited Quantity |
|
In the i815E arena we have a mixed bag of changes from our last motherboard price guide. Our favorite mobo out of the bunch, the ASUS CUSL2, has taken a price hike of $12 although the ABIT SA6R has come down in price by $4. Considering the prices, we still recommend the rock solid ASUS CUSL2 over the SA6R despite its SoftMenu III and ATA/100 RAID support.
For a standard no frills i815E mobo, the Transcend TS-ASL3 is a good choice since it has come down significantly in price to $109. If you're on a tight budget the Chaintech 6AJ is what we recommend considering it still runs for $89 and sports overclocking features and stability for a low price. Note that the 6AJ is only an i815 board (not an i815E board), which means that it only supports ATA/66.
We should see i815EP boards hitting the market relatively soon. As mentioned previously, the i815EP chipset removes the integrated graphics, and thus requires an external graphics card. However, if you weren't planning on using the integrated graphics (and anyone building a high performance system wouldn't be), then the i815EP will save you a few bucks.
Related Articles
Make sure you check out our latest i815 Socket-370 Motherboard reviews for more information.
Socket-370 Motherboard
Reviews
Publication Date
ASUS CUSL2 Socket-370 i815E
ATX
July 9th, 2000
ABIT SE6 Socket-370 i815E
ATX
October 25th, 2000
Transcend TS-ASL3 Socket-370
i815E ATX
October 27th, 2000
ABIT SA6R Socket-370 i815E
+ RAID ATX
November 13th, 2000
Intel i815(E) Chipset
June 27th, 2000
Intel i815 / i815E Motherboard
Roundup - August 2000
August 3rd, 2000
KT133 Socket-A Motherboards
Motherboard Model
Price
Change
Vendor
Shipping
Promotion
ASUS A7V (Non-RAID)
$130
$3AllStar Microelectronics
$15.25
Fedex Ground
ABIT KT7-RAID $138
$5AllStar Microelectronics
$15.25
Fedex Ground
ABIT KT7
$122
$2AllStar Microelectronics
$15.25
Fedex Ground
Microstar K7T Pro
$97
$2Comp-U-Plus$14.95
2nd Day Air
Microstar K7T Pro2$110
NA
PC Progress$14.00
UPS Ground
Chaintech 7AJA
$94
$1 PCBoost$15.85
UPS Ground
Chaintech CT-7AIA
$89
$6Openlinx$7.00UPS Flat Rate
EPoX EP-8KTA2
$105
$11Z-Buy$0.00
Free Fedex
3 Day
FIC AZ11
$88
$3Hardware
Pro $10.00
UPS Ground
Gigabyte GA-7ZX
$105
$0Essential Computer$11.24
Fedex 2 Day
All of the KT133 motherboards have dropped in price except for the MSI K7T Pro2 motherboard which was just added this week to the price guide. Since all of these KT133 boards have come down modestly in price, we recommend that if you are in the market of upgrading to a Socket A solution consider these mobos over the DDR-based Socket A boards, which are still quite expensive and difficult to find. As we mentioned earlier, the KT133A chipset should be showing up on boards any time now and offers much of the performance of the AMD 760 without the need for DDR SDRAM.
The MSI K7T Pro2 was our pick as the best overall KT133 motherboard in our recent roundup thanks to its good price, performance, and features as well as being the the most stable KT133 board we've tested to date. The ABIT KT7-RAID is another great motherboard and comes with the popular SoftMenu III feature, and ATA/100 RAID support.
Check out our recent KT133 Motherboard
Roundup to find more information on our picks for the best Socket-A
motherboards.
Related Articles
Make sure you check out our latest Socket-A motherboard and chipset reviews for more information.
Socket-A Motherboard Reviews
Publication Date
ASUS A7V Socket-A KT133
ATX
August 22nd, 2000
ABIT KT7-RAID Socket-A
KT133 ATX
August 12th, 2000
Microstar K7T Pro Socket-A
KT133 ATX
July 23rd, 2000
Microstar K7T Pro2 Socket-A
KT133 ATX
October 16th, 2000
Chaintech CT-7AIV2 Socket-A
KT133 microATX
October 5th, 2000
FIC AZ-11 Socket-A KT133
ATX
July 8th, 2000
FIC AZ-11E Socket-A KT133
ATX
November 15th , 2000
EPoX EP-8KTA2 Socket-A
KT133 (686B) ATX
November 14th, 2000
Gigabyte GA-7ZX Socket-A
KT133 ATX
July 15th, 2000
VIA KX133 Athlon Chipset
- Guide
February 7th, 2000
Socket-A VIA KT133 Motherboard
Roundup - November 2000
November 30th, 2000
AMD 760: DDR for the Athlon
is here
October 30th, 2000
ALi MAGIK1: The Athlon
gets a second DDR platform
November 29th, 2000
VIA KT133A Socket-A Chipset:
AMD 760 Performance without DDR SDRAM
December 21st, 2000
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