Any opinions, good or bad, on AOpen motherboards?

[Ken90630]

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.

PPS: Sorry for the double-post. Wasn't intentional. :-(

 

[Ken90630]

Just givin' my original post a bump here in the hopes it'll get seen by the higher weekend traffic on the forums.

I apologize again for the double post. If the moderator is watching, he/she can delete one of 'em.

 

[o1die]

I've had good luck with aopen customer service. I tried one of their nforce2 boards, but it had limited multiplier adjustments in the bios. If you're looking to overclock, I suggest one of the abit nforce2 boards.

 

[Ken90630]

Thanks. I don't have any interest in overclocking, so that won't be a factor. Also, I've ruled out any of the Abit boards 'cuz, as I said in my original post, they all have northbridge fans and I don't wanna deal with a buzzing or failed fan in a year or two (other than that, I wouldn't have anything against them).

Thanks for the comment on their customer service.

Anyone else have any comments about AOpen?

 

[Soulkeeper]

i've always seen them as budget motherboards with limited bios and features from what i've heard and read.
I've never owned one tho, but i would recommend reading a review or two on the particular motherboard you are looking to buy before you actually get it.
make sure it can do everything you want

good luck

 

[Ken90630]

Thanks for the feedback, Soulkeeper.

I'm not too concerened about "limited BIOS & features" on the board I'm looking at (this one). As you'll see, it seems to have everything but the kitchen sink. Feature for feature, it seems to have everything the much-touted Asus A7N8X Deluxe has except the extra Ethernet port (which I can add virtually for free with a PCI card if I ever need it). I can't see much that it doesn't have!

My project for this evening is to find & read all the online reviews I can about this board, the A7N8X Deluxe, and a particular Chaintech board I'm looking at too. I think I've narrowed my short list down to those three boards. (Any comments on Chaintech in general would be much appreciated also.)

Thanks!

Ken

 

[KGB]

Ken,

I've been using the AK79D-400VN in my main rig for almost a year now without a hitch.
I'm running a Barton 2500 at 200MHz FSB and it runs flawlessly.

I know AOpen doesn't get discussed around here very often so let me have a stab:

I've been building PCs for customers for over ten years and my experience with AOpen boards has been very positive. They are very high quality products and noted for their stability (not overclocking). I have had to RMA very few of them but when I've had to, their customer support has been very good (wish I could say the same about Asus!).

I never hestitate to use their motherboards.

 

[Ken90630]

Wow. I had just about given up expecting much more feedback on my post, and then KGBMAN comes along. Thanks, thanks, and more thanks. You're, uh, the 'man.' (No offense to Soulkeeper and O 1die -- I appreciate your responses very much too.)

I have to say the AK79D-400VN looks good to me, on paper anyway. Both this board and the Max version look pretty impressive, and feature-for-feature comparable to anything by Asus, Abit, or any of the other big name mfgrs. I wonder why AOpen boards seem to be essentially ignored on Anandtech.com and also the mainstream computer magazines (at least recently, anyway)?

Only thing I wondered about, and maybe you can comment on, is that these boards do seem to have a lot of bells & whistles. Do you have to spend some time disabling things during initial set-up, or can things pretty much be left alone with no detriment to system stability?

Oh, and how about the battery-less feature? I read where it uses an eprom or something instead, but the techno speak was a bit over my head. Briefly, what's your take on that feature? Will any data be lost if the machine is unplugged for any length of time?

The "KGB" in your moniker isn't by any chance a reference to the San Diego radio station of the same name, is it? If so, the "frequency, Kenneth" is 101.5.

 

[KGB]

As far as disabling anything in BIOS before installing the OS, it's no different than any other MB.
Granted, there are alot of "bells & whistles" but just set your boot sequence and boot to your OS CD.

The battery feature you mentioned is merely a method of extending the battery life and not a "battery-less" design. Apparently when the system is plugged into AC, the MB switches some "juice" into the CMOS to retain the settings rather than using battery power. When you unplug it from the AC connection, it switches back to battery power to retain the settings thus, allowing for extended battery life.

AOpen boards don't get discussed here much because they're not noted for overclocking features.
As I mentioned earlier, I like them for stability & reliability (as I type this on my 200FSB Barton ).

I am aware of the KGB radio station in SoCal but it is not the source of my "moniker".

 

[Ken90630]

Thanks again. Yeah, I went back and read thru the "battery-less and long life design" link again on their Web site and you're exactly right. Why they use the specific terminology "battery-less" is kind of a mystery -- maybe "battery saving feature" would be more accurate.

AOpen boards don't get discussed here much because they're not noted for overclocking features

Yeah, I guess so. I've only been an Anandtech.com member for a few months and am realizing that a good percentage of the mobo discussions tend to center around overclocking and gaming-related needs (neither of which I'm interested in). There are obviously a lot of other mobos that don't get discussed much either.

Glad to hear you've had such good luck with your AK79D-400VN & Barton 2500 combination. That may be exactly what I end up getting, although I'm considering getting a 2600 just because it's only about $5 or $6 more than the 2500.

Just thought I'd ask about the KGB thing as it's a station I've listened to, off & on, for many years (since high school). I'm not even gonna ask, then, if you're a Soviet security agent sent to spy on us capitalist pigs. Don't wanna know ....

I'm gonna PM you as I have a question about your choice for a vendor for this board.