I'm looking to get a Socket A motherboard for an Athlon XP 2600 soon. I'm looking hard at the Asus A7N8X or the Deluxe (if I can still find it anywhere), but I also like the looks of this AOpen board and it's sibling, this one.
The 400 Max appears to have everything the Asus A7N8X Deluxe has except the extra ethernet port (which I can add cheaply with a PCI card). And it has a 3-year warranty like the 8X. It also has some bells & whistles that I don't really need; not sure how I feel about that yet (whether they could potentially be more problematic than beneficial).
What I'd like to know is if any of you guys have any experience with, or opinions on, these two particular AOpen boards, AOpen's customer service, their reputation, and/or the general quality of their motherboards ... those sorts of things. I like the Asus A7N8X boards, but I "heard from a friend" here at Anandtech.com that their customer service is basically non-existent and that if I ever have a prob with the board, good luck getting them to answer my e-mails or phone calls.
I do plan to scroll thru the A7N8X thread this evening, but thought I'd get a head start and post this so you guys can be typing your thoughts while I'm reading the 8X thread. Thanks in advance for your comments.
PS: I don't mind recommendations of other boards, but I really want one with a fan-less northbridge. Thus the Abit board is not on my list. FYI, for anyone who might have wondered about that.
The 400 Max appears to have everything the Asus A7N8X Deluxe has except the extra ethernet port (which I can add cheaply with a PCI card). And it has a 3-year warranty like the 8X. It also has some bells & whistles that I don't really need; not sure how I feel about that yet (whether they could potentially be more problematic than beneficial).
What I'd like to know is if any of you guys have any experience with, or opinions on, these two particular AOpen boards, AOpen's customer service, their reputation, and/or the general quality of their motherboards ... those sorts of things. I like the Asus A7N8X boards, but I "heard from a friend" here at Anandtech.com that their customer service is basically non-existent and that if I ever have a prob with the board, good luck getting them to answer my e-mails or phone calls.
I do plan to scroll thru the A7N8X thread this evening, but thought I'd get a head start and post this so you guys can be typing your thoughts while I'm reading the 8X thread. Thanks in advance for your comments.
PS: I don't mind recommendations of other boards, but I really want one with a fan-less northbridge. Thus the Abit board is not on my list. FYI, for anyone who might have wondered about that.
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