AMD Motherboard

[NJDevil]

I am building a new computer soon and I am planning on using the AMD 2100 XP CPU along with two sticks of 256 MB DDR-SDRAM, what sort of motherboard can I use (max RAM = 2 gig).
Thanks

 

[mechBgon]

You can choose from a lot of brands and models, based on several different types of motherboard chipsets.

• The motherboards using the KT333 chipset are *generally* considered the highest in performance. They are also the latest chipset to appear on the market, so they should give you forward compatibility for when the AthlonXP is converted to the Barton core, with 512k cache.
• Motherboards based on the SiS 745 chipset or the similar 735 chipset are perhaps 10% slower but are somewhat less exspensive and also should be forward-compatible.
• Motherboards based on nVidia nForce are available in several types, some of which have arguably the finest onboard sound ever (those ending with the letter D, such as 420D), dual-channel memory controllers (any with the 420 or 415 number), and onboard GeForce2MX-level video (which have model numbers ending with 20).

If I had to recommend one board right now... I saw what looked like a good buy on a Gigabyte 7VRX, which is based on the KT333 chipset and has USB 2.0, plus a very good layout. The deal was at Multiwave for $75, just a little more than a SiS745 board would cost. Notice that the VRXP is also available; it adds an IDE RAID controller and onboard network adapter, and still has a great layout.

Another option would be the Shuttle AK35GT2, whose claim to fame is KT333 with RAID and four memory slots, but no USB 2.0.