absolute cheapest way to get a Socket A board---any help guys?

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GroundOO

Senior member
Mar 14, 2000
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I need a cheapo Socket A board for my new Duron to tide me over a week or 2 until I can afford a kt7-RAID (Don't even try to talk me out of that!) What's the cheapest POS board I can get (new or used) that will work decently (read: at all) for a couple weeks? Thanks,

Chris
 
D

Darius

Banned
Apr 24, 2000
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I am interested in this topic also. I haven't found anything less than $130, have you?
 
D

da loser

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
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call staples online and see if they have any kt133 boards ask them to check their special order database too, then pricematch pricewatch and use a coupon found at your local coupon store
 
jonnyGURU

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
11,815
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Umm... This is what I would do:

Buy this board for $99: Biostar at TCWO.COM (that's not necessarily the only place to get it, I just happened to know the link)

and then when you have the money, if having an ATA100 is important, you but the Promise FastTrak100 RAID controller card for $100 and stick it in a PCI slot.

I've got this exact set up running right now. The Biostar is a good board. I have had a 650 running rock solid at 728 MHz (modest, I know) and the machine never locks or crashes. I was surprised. Actually, my board and CPU are featured in this column: My M7VKA review at SystemLogic. The board I have is actually the micro ATX version (a buck less, whoopie!), which is the exact same board as the previously mentioned full ATX version only smaller. The Promise card was added later so I could test Maxtor vs. IBM ATA100 scores. Which is a story in itself (see below). It's a fun little machine. I like it.

:):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:)The ATA100 story::):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:)

We (not just I) started out HDD comparison on an Asus board with onboard ATA100 the scores were really low, but we just figured that was because ATA100 was all hype. Well, Tiger over at AMD Zone/3D Hardware told us he had the same set up and got much higher scores. We then took the FastTrak card, installed it in my PC and ran the tests again on the same drives. Sure enough! The onboard ATA100 was bad. This brings up another point. Integrated componenets suck. When an integrated component fails, the WHOLE BOARD has to get RMAd. Not just the controller. That Asus board we had? The whole thing had to get sent back.

:):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:):):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:):Q:):):Q:):Q:):Q:)

I know, I know. You're looking at an Abit not an Asus. Well, regardless of brand, although it is RARE that you will have an ATA100 problem on ANY board like I did, the RMA rate is higher on Abits then Asus. The odds are with you that you'll be with a good board, just like the odds are with you that when you get a PC Chips board, that the video, sound AND modem all work, but the chance is still there. Personally, I'll stick with cards over integration.

Tell you what, if you STILL have to get the Abit and end up buying the Biostar just to hold you over, I'll buy it off of you for $50 PayPal when you're done with it. I could always use another one and I have faith in the board. You know where to find me! AnandForums!!!
 
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