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Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1013
Weekly Hardware Price Guides - Motherboards & Memory: October 2002 2nd Edition
by Kristopher Kubicki on October 14, 2002 1:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
For this weeks price guides we have compiled a list of prices for motherboards and memory for today's processors. For those of you not familiar with the guides here is a brief overview on how we construct them:
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 Motherboards, Memory 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
As usual, if you have any reports of incorrect prices please
feel free to email us with the name of the vendor and the product/price that
appears incorrectly on their website. This will help us produce a more useful
guide in the future.
Last week we decided to give the Price Guides a little bit of an overhaul. We would like to take the time and address some of the feedback we got in the form of your emails.
First and foremost, the majority of the emails we received asked why we did not use PriceWatch.com for our price listings. There are several good reasons for this and we are going to try to address them all. In order to be listed on PriceWatch, a dealer must pay PW, and then update their prices by contacting PW. Unfortunately, this is a setup for disaster. Several vendors purposely list prices inaccurately to draw clicks into their websites. This goes unchallenged by PW. Most of the companies that do this place the product 7 clicks (and even deeper) off the front page. Don’t fall for these scams. If you see a dealer with a deal that is too good to be true, and it’s not on their front page, it most likely is. Another play on this scam is that dealers will sometimes list a product fairly low, but then charge an unacceptable amount for shipping. By the time you actually determine the shipping amount, you have probably seen 10 or more pages with more products. This is an old, dirty marketing technique.
The second issue with PW goes hand in hand with the previously addressed one. More often than not, simply substandard service gets delivered with substandard pricing. Have you ever got a motherboard you were sure was refurbished? Have you recieved RAM that was a different CL than advertised? The simple fact is bigger companies do not do this kind of thing. However, smaller websites sometimes do not have much to lose. Even scarier though, some operations might not even know the true details about the product they are selling either! In conclusion, the point we like to make about PW is that it simply pays off in the long run to do our own research based on big name operations. It’s not to say there are not good deals out on PriceWatch, but many people need to know the truth of the matter is that there are dealers out to scam, and PW provides a very simple way for these dealers to get their foot in the door.
With that being addressed, we would like to let you know how to protect yourself as well. First of all, get involved! Our reseller ratings can provide tons of information on a particular reseller. Seeing a dealer with a positive rating of only 40% might change the way you think about a particular website. There are several ratings on companies that have never shipped products in there! Also do not forget to check ResellerRatings. Another way to get the best deals while protecting yourself is through our forums. Check out or For Sale/Trade or our Hot Deals section for more information about resellers!
Back to talk about Price Guides; we added several features to this weeks PG. First of all, many people asked for links from the listed products to the reviews we have done at AnandTech. This should definitely help anyone research what they are buying a little bit more, so we did not hesitate to add this to the guides. Also several people asked for notation of Editors Choice awards on the PG as well. For motherboards, this was no problem, although we are still searching for a way to denote which RAM is the best deal. Several visual enhancements will also be added in the coming weeks as well.
Several updates were made to this page on Oct 16, many thanks to tsee from our forums!
AMD Chipset Prices
Chipset/Motherboard |
Editor’s Choice |
Current Price (10/1/02) |
Current Price (N/A) |
Change |
Vendor |
Shipping |
CNet Pricing |
Notes |
VIA KT400 |
||||||||
Abit KD7 |
$118.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
Albatron KX400 Pro |
$88.95 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
RTL |
|||
$94.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
||||
$160.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
||||
BRONZE |
$130.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
SILVER |
$95.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
BRONZE |
$75.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
BRONZE |
$103.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
SILVER |
$68.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
BRONZE |
$136.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
RTL |
||||||||
GOLD |
$85.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
SILVER |
$65.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
BRONZE |
$74.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
SiS 735/745 |
||||||||
ASUS A7S333 (SiS 745) |
$69.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$9.00 |
RTL |
|||
MSI MS-6561 (SiS 745) |
$64.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
Chaintech 7SID (SiS 735) |
$65.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
ECS K7S5A (SiS 735) |
$61.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
AsusTek A7N266-VM nForce 220 |
$72.99 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
Abit NV7-133R nForce 415-D |
$92.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$9.00 |
RTL |
|||
MSI K7N415 Pro nForce 415 |
$104.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$9.00 |
RTL |
|||
AsusTek A7N266-E nForce 420-D |
$115.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
MSI K7N420 Pro nForce 420-D |
$118.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
As you can see, we went through several changes on the motherboard guides. A lot of readers suggested that we sort by processor chipset, and we are doing just that now. Also note that we are linking back to an AnandTech review whenever possible. Because we revamped the way we did prices, we don’t have any changing price information yet.
Intel Chipset Prices
Chipset/Motherboard |
Editor’s Choice |
Current Price (10/1/02) |
Current Price (N/A) |
Change |
Vendor |
Shipping |
CNet Pricing |
Notes |
Abit BG7 i845G |
$97.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
SILVER |
$133.99 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
GOLD |
$138.95 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
$129.95 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
||||
$90.95 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
||||
Asus P4PE i845PE |
$132.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
$146.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
||||
$145.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
||||
VIA P4X400 |
||||||||
Soltek 85ERV |
$100.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
Soyo P4X400 |
$158.95 |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.00 |
RTL |
|||
VIA P4PB P4X400 |
$125.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
|||
$94.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
||||
$95.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
||||
$110.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
||||
$121.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.00 |
RTL |
Intel Chipsets have been laid out the same way as the AMD. We are still compiling all of the motherboards necessary to make the Intel section complete. Please feel free to let me know what boards need adding!
AMD Chipset Prices
CPU |
Editor’s Choice |
Current Price (10/1/02) |
Current Price (N/A) |
Change |
Vendor |
Shipping |
CNet Pricing |
Notes |
DDR |
||||||||
Corsair XMS C2 PC-3500 512MB |
$195.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
OCZ C2.5 PC-3500 512MB |
$199.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Corsair XMS C2 PC-3200 512MB |
$177.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$0.50 |
RTL |
|||
GeIL C2.5 PC-3200 512MB |
$165.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
Corsair XMS C2 PC-3200 256MB |
$97.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
GeIL C2 PC-3200 256MB |
$75.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
OCZ C2 PC-3200 256MB |
$96.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Samsung C3 PC-3200 256MB |
$98.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
OEM |
|||
Kingston KVR333 PC-2700 512MB |
$125.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
OCZ Ultra PC-2700 512MB |
$147.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Crucial C2.5 PC-2700 256MB |
$75.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston KVR333 PC-2700 256MB |
$66.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
Samsung C2.5 PC-2700 256MB |
$67.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
Kingston KVR266 C2.5 PC-2100 512MB |
$116.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$0.50 |
RTL |
|||
Corsair C2.5 PC-2100 512MB |
$139.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Mushkin C2.5 PC-2100 512MB |
$131.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Crucial C2.5 PC-2100 256MB |
$82.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston C2.5 PC-2100 256MB |
$63.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Mushkin C2.5 PC-2100 256MB |
$69.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
SDRAM |
||||||||
Corsair Value C2.5 512MB |
$69.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston KVR133 ValueRAM 512MB |
$49.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
Mushkin C3 512MB |
$58.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Corsair C3 256MB |
$39.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston KVR133 ValueRAM 256MB |
$28.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
FREE |
RTL |
|||
RDRAM |
||||||||
OCZ 1200MHz 256MB |
$165.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston KVR1066 256MB |
$164.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
OCZ 1066MHz 256MB |
$135.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston 800MHz 512MB |
$246.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$1.00 |
RTL |
|||
Samsung 800MHz 512MB |
$249.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$1.00 |
RTL |
|||
Corsair 800MHz 256MB |
$116.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$2.00 |
RTL |
|||
Kingston KVR800 256MB |
$95.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
$1.00 |
RTL |
The RAM guide has been a complete overhaul from what we used to have. Most importantly, we stripped out as many bad dealers as possible. Several readers have gotten burned by some of the dealers on the Price Guides. From now on, we will only be listing reliable dealers from our Ratings Database. We only have 1632 ratings at the time of this weeks Guides – the more feedback the better! We know there may be errors in this week’s guide; please be patient and we will fix as much as we can. We thank all the readers who gave us feedback last week, we certainly are trying our best to provide the best guides on the web! Look forward to more improvements in the coming weeks! I closed the last guides with an open ended question on how to improve the guides; I will close this week the same way. Please feel free to email me directly kkubicki at anandtech.com for feedback on this weeks guides, or any further suggestions anyone might have!