$22.95 mainboard (now $29.95) -Intel S370, MATX, up to 433Mhz, ATI Rage 128vr AGP, Creative Sound motherboard

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SimMike2

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2000
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Unfortunately the price went up to $29.95. But it is still an excellent board. What sets it apart from other all-in-ones, is 8MB of physical video ram and the ATI 128VR video chip, which is not a bad display chip at all. Pretty decent 3D performance. The hardware sound is the SB PCI128. Overstock is selling these same Intel Freeman boards for $39.95. If you are still eligible for a new user discount, you could score a good deal at Overstock.

If you have an extra Celeron PPGA chip, these boards pack a lot of punch for the price.

I'm always on the lookout for cheap mainboards. This appears to be one of the better deals. Go to the StarSurplus site below and scroll down to Motherboards. You will see this mainboard on the list: Intel Socket 370, ATX, up to 433Mhz, ATI Rage 128vr AGP, Creative Sound motherboard. 41 in stock on Saturday December 30, 2000.
http://www.starsurplus.com/

This appears to be a Gateway mainboard, which StarSurplus provides this link:
http://www.gateway.com/support/manlib/cmponts/sysboard/8504032/index.htm

If you have an old s370 Celeron chip up to 433 sitting on the shelf, this might be the ticket.

Shipping to Seattle was $8, but if you order something else, shipping stays virtually the same.

I have ordered from this site before. They were OK that one time. One complaint is the website sometimes loads real slow.
 
Lanyap

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
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Ordered this mobo from Star last week and received it yesterday. When I checked it today I realized that there was no documentation on the case connections to the mobo. No info on Star's site or the Gateway links. After checking the markings on the board I found that this is an Intel FJ440ZX OEM board for Gateway. Found this link at Intel that contains the specs PDF file (look for the link under retired boards section). Looks like it contains all the info I need.
null

Can't tell if this is a new or pull by looking at board. When I first saw this board at Star it was $34.95 and said it was a pull. Then the price dropped to $29.95 which was when I ordered it. It's now down to $22.95 but says it is new? Oh well, looks like a nice board anyway.

I've also seen a lot of Gateway boards at Computer Geeks. Gateway must be unloading it's older warrenty replacement mobo's to clear its inventory. I was planning to install this mobo in a MinMax $12.95 desktop case from Computer Geeks (mentioned in a previous post) but they screwed up my order and did not send the case. Now it's out of stock. I sent Geeks an email to find out what's going on. Hope I can get that case.

 
Lanyap

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
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BTW, (yeah it's me again), just wanted to add that this is a microATX mobo and the Creative Sound is a Creative ES1373 onboard chip. I believe this is the same chip used on Creative's Ensoniq lower priced (aka value) sound cards so it is not an actual Sound Blaster.
 
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SimMike2

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2000
2,577
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http://support.ati.com/identify/visual_inspection_graphics_chips.html If you scroll down on this page, you should see the Rage 128 VR driver links. The Expert 2000 is an ATI card with this chip set. These drivers should work.

http://www.soundblaster.com/drivers/welcome.asp?reg=0&OS=Win98&prod=sbpci64&Select=Get+Files&x=74&y=4 This is a link to SB PCI64 drivers. These have worked on previous Gateway mainboards with the 1373 chip.

http://members.aol.com/simmike/ Try this page for the standard pin-out assignment for many Gateway mainboards. Not sure about this mainboard.

All of the above is preliminary, seeing as how I don't actually have the board yet, but from past experience with Gateway boards, the above links should work. Gateway should also have drivers.

Mike
 
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SimMike2

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2000
2,577
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Lanyap when you get the board up and running, could you post the BIOS ID at the bottom of the startup screen. I am curious about the most recent BIOS update available from Gateway.
 
Lanyap

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
8,260
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SimMike2

BIOS version is: 4F4JZ0XB.15A.0008.P06.9906171056
Gateway logo displayed during boot up.

I swapped this board into one of my WinME machines with a Celeron 433. WinME loaded all the drivers without a hitch. Got it running my psychedelic maze screen saver now to put it through a few paces.

I may order another one of these...

Lanyap


 
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Frozen

Member
Dec 25, 2000
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I have used a dozen or so of these boards. They work real well. The only hitch is they don't support coppermines. I have run 500's on them and suspect a 2.0 volt 533 would be fine too. For an inexpensive workstation, they are hard to beat. No ISA slot though. You have to use Gateway bios. This is an OEM board and Intel doesn't support it. The model is FJ440ZX.
 
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Rush

Member
Aug 21, 2000
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Ordered one of these boards today. Anybody no of a place I can pick celeron chip for this board at a good price. Thanks!
 
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SimMike2

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2000
2,577
1
81
http://www.atacom.com/ has the 433 chip for around $45. Shipping was kind of expensive. Unlike many other CPUs, the bottom never did drop out of Celeron PPGA prices. Still $45 plus $23 isn't too bad for most of the guts of computer system.
 
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SimMike2

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2000
2,577
1
81
I just got two of these boards and they perform great with Celeron 433 chips. Lots of bang for the buck. And Intel quality which isn't great for overclocking, but scores high is stability.

If you are a new customer, you could buy two at Overstock for $39.95 and use a $20 off $50 coupon which other sites have. This would give you the board for $30 apiece which includes shipping. Even at $29.95, it is still a good deal at StarSurplus, provided you have extra Celeron PPGA cpus sitting on the shelf. Unlike other computers which people refer to as "great computer for kids," this one actually is powerful enough for most kids.

I put in a 20GB Maxtor 7,200 with a pre-installed OS, and it worked great. So I don't think the BIOS needs updating.

Mike
 
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BadMuleS

Senior member
Jul 30, 2000
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using this board and the veleron 433mhz cpu, what is the max it could prolly be oc'd to?
 
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Dameon

Banned
Oct 11, 1999
2,117
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433.... INTEL BOARD = No OverClocking.
No slot, thus no Slocket workaround.

IE. No overclocking. Ever.
 
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BadMuleS

Senior member
Jul 30, 2000
875
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hey im like a raccoon man, u know u put food in a can with nails punched in the sides and the only way to get ur hand out of the can is to open ur hand up.. and u know how the raccoons never are smart enough to open their hand cuz they want the food, well thats me, im the raccoon... ;) .. so hellz yeah id like to OC that mofo mobo lol... id overclock my electronic toothbrush if it was plausible..
 
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steevo

Member
Sep 2, 2000
34
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I am running a PPGA 300 at 450 on the 29.95 Tekram 810 board that was a Hot Deal a few months ago. Problem with many all-in-one type boards is they usually lack voltage adjustment so you need a chip that will "go" at stock voltage.

Tekram still has a good deal..35.00 for this board and will run at 100 mhz if you have a chip that will do it. May even be a voltage hack out there somewhere like there was for the Soyo mobos..

Tekram S381-M

These boards are great for the price and are packaged better than some popular hi-end boards with a full manual , cables etc...

 
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