AMD MOBO recommendation

[pat79]

I decide to replace my current amd mobo. Can you guys recommend to me which is the best around. It must have at least 4 USB 2.0, DDR333 support, LAN, AGP 8x.
I heard that Asus give 3 years warranty to their product. Would you recommend this brand to me? Anyone of you experienced problem with AMD Asus motherboard? I intend to buy Asus A7V8X-X? Any comment to this motherboard?
Or maybe I should choose other brand: MSI,GIGABYTE,
My budget is rm300 (US$75)

 

[The Sauce]

The hot AMD mobo around here for a while has been the A7N8X. It has only 2 USB 2.0 though.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Snatchface
The hot AMD mobo around here for a while has been the A7N8X. It has only 2 USB 2.0 though.

mine has 4


DO NOT get the A7V8X, get the A7N8X

 

[sinthon]

Asus A7N8X Deluxe MOBO

 

[wacki]

I have built 3 computers with the ASUS A7N8X Delux mobo..... All I have to say is ASUS rules. The boards are top notch, and so is their customer service. They have advanced RMA (unlike some other companies) so if something goes wrong you can get a replacement part in 24 hours.

Honestly I would recommend changing you budget for the mobo. The mobo is in many cases more important the the CPU speed when getting a budget computer. For instance a ASUS A7N8X-VM is $105 and has integrated GeForce4 MX GPU + Integrated TV encoder and Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650, dual display, onboard LAN, 4xUSB2.0. All that integration will save you about $200 if you tried buying that stuff on individual PCI cards.

The Asus A7N8X Deluxe is $129.99 at newegg.com and it has firewire, Dolby digital audio, Serial ATA and much more. The A7V8X-X is a good board, but the Nforce2 chipset is a better performer and a better value because of all of the built in features. But if you don't care about sound the A7V8X-X will do nicely. At $66 its cheap and is only slightly slower than the Nforce2 boards.

 

[ethebubbeth]

a7n8x deluxe (make sure to get the revision 2.0 PCB! It has the newer 400 ultra chipset), Abit NF7-S 2.0, and The Epox 85da+ are all excellent choices. Nforce2 MCP-T and 400 ultra are definitely the way to go.

 

[hdeck]

my epox 8rda+ is great =)

 

[Corporate Thug]

NF7-s

 

[Novgrod]

either the asus or the epox will do you just fine. i <3 asus, personally, because i've used 'em (just put together a system with the a7n8x deluxe this weekend) and they've worked--well. i count four usb ports--two in the front, two in the back. and everything else you need.

edit: hee i forgot all about the second pair in back. six indeed.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Snatchface
The hot AMD mobo around here for a while has been the A7N8X. It has only 2 USB 2.0 though.

mine has 4

mine has 6

 

[Macro2]

6 with the header to the front...collect your prize!

 

[FrozenYak]

from my limited exp in puttin comps together, i would also have to agree with the asus boards. They worked better and caused me less problems than the rest

 

[pat79]

A7V8X = KT400
VS.
A7N8X = nForce2

What is the pros & cons of the two chipset?
I thought the advantages of nforce2 chipsets is only the Geforce4 MX IGP. I don't think that I will use this IGP since I already do have a Graphic card.

 

[Bonesdad]

If your budget is $75 USD...then the EPoX 8rda+ is the only choice, and even that is closer to $85 USD. It's an excellent board...as are most of the NForce2 boards. Decide what features you need (SATA etc) then shop those features. Don't waste $$ on features you won't use or those you "might" use...cuz you never will. The EPOX has everything you asked for. A favorite board round here too.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: pat79
A7V8X = KT400
VS.
A7N8X = nForce2

What is the pros & cons of the two chipset?
I thought the advantages of nforce2 chipsets is only the Geforce4 MX IGP. I don't think that I will use this IGP since I already do have a Graphic card.

nforce2 is faster. onboard sound is GREAT

 

[Mavrick007]

The nforce2 chipset is more than just integrated graphics(most people that I know don't get the igp cause they have vid cards too).
The nforce2 chipset controls everything on the board and has given most people more performance than their Via counterpart.
The ide and memory performance is better than Via (at least for the Kt400, but possibly not the Kt600 from the benches) for one,
and they have become one of the most stable chipsets that people are using now for their Athlon XP cpus.

 

[pat79]

ok thanks, looks like I'm gonna buy the asus with nForce2 chipset. BTW how much perfomance(%) that I will get with this upgrade:
My current spec
AMD athlon XP1700+ (Palomino)
Pc Partner mobo
256MB SDRAM
Riva TNT 32MB
80GB WD SE
Win XP

New spec
AMD athlon XP1700+ (Palomino)
ASUS A7N8X
256MB DDR SDRAM
Riva TNT 32MB(should I use this video card instead of IGP, which one is better)
80GB WD SE
Win XP

 

[mechBgon]

The IGP on nForce2 IGP boards is much better than your TNT, and because your TNT card is very old, you shouldn't even try to use it in your new motherboard. It's probably a 3.3V AGP card and may damage a newer motherboard (they use 1.5V or 0.8V now).

 

[pat79]

oic...

 

[nick1985]

teh A7N8X doesnt come with the onboard video....

 

[Regs]

Soltek SL-75FRN2-RL Nforce 2 with onboard Raid/SATA . 96 dollars on newegg.

 

[ImprezaWRX48]

If yur looking for a fast budget mobo get the Asus A7N8X-X it is less expensive than the regular a7n8x or the deluxe because it has single channel ddr instead or dual channel but dual channel only really helps out if yur using the onboard graphics which u said u werent... and it's only like $85 with kick ass performance

 

[ssanches]

Another vote for the Asus A7N8X. Also you could try another excellent nForce board, the Gigabyte 7NNXP which is among the most feature rich and fastest Athlon motherboards

 

[Loobusk]

MSI K7N2 DELTA NForce2 Ultra 400 series dunno why but Ive been getting all these blue screen errors esp. while gaming (using ASUS)and IRQ_NOT_EQUAL_blahblahblah errors in win xp so I changed to the MSI and they totally disappeared. They are also a bit faster than ASUS mobos. YOU get an ASUS YOU will crash like hell:disgust:

 

[MikeMike]

hey, dont play i hate tis company cuz of one product.

most manufacturers are very good. asus, and epox are of high quality, abit is VERY good too. those to me are the top 3 out there, and now DFI has sme NICE boards, but they cost a pretty penny. if you are looking for onboard IGP. the a7n8x does not have it. go to newegg and search for onboard video w/ the geforce 4 mx400. and figure out which of those boards you could afford.

shuttly motherboards are pretty decent too, although not the fastest, they are inexspenive and very nice.

you should see a decent speen upgrade, not sure how noticeable, but in synthetic benchies you should deffinately see one, and w/ the new gpu, from onboard, you should also see a decent increase.

MIKE