Any suggestions for a nForce2 board w/onboard video?

[paperfist]

A friend of mine wants me to build him a computer and he doesn't play games he just surfs the web, uses MS Office, etc. I've built a handful of systems using the Abit NF7-S board, which has been great, but I am not sure of how the M versions are with onboard video. Any suggestions? Thank you

Oh I need the board to have the SoundStorm audio and a dual channel controller.

 

[mechBgon]

The Shuttle MN31N could be another option. It's got the full MCP-T southbridge, IGP northbridge, dual-head for two VGA monitors, and three memory slots, and it's $86 shipped at Newegg ATM. DAPUNISHER managed to wring about 6000 3DMark2001 out of it with some judicious OC'ing Of course, the Abit probably would do nicely too. For doing actual work, the dual VGA could be really sweet (another option being a basic Radeon 7000 or 7500, which also leaves you with that much more system memory free).

 

[Corporate Thug]

NF7-M

 

[paperfist]

Mech, you should be a Shuttle salesman as you made that board sound very, very sweet Looks pretty good too and it's ATXmicro so won't take up a lot of room. So 2 Abits and 1 Shuttle vote, anyone else want to share their thoughts?

 

[JustStarting]

I was going to go with the MN31 also, but decided I wanted to possibly game a little on this system too- and knowing myself I have to tinker with OC'ing a little. The MN31N does not have too many OC'ing options, which it sounds like, would be fine for you. My main rig is decked out, but this was to be a secondary rig for the wife and kids. Kids games nowadays need something decent, so i decided to go with the Shuttle AN35N-Ultra 400. If I had decided not to game or OC, I would have bought the shuttle MN31N. If you want a basic surfing/processing rig, get the Shuttle.

 

[Bonesdad]

'nother Shuttle vote...nice board

 

[bupkus]

I'm also looking for a board that will provide a cheap solution for a couple of game machines for young kids.
In the past I've used the ASUS A7N266-VM with the NVIDIA nFORCE 220D chipset.
They work pretty good as the memory we use is discounted/rebated PC2100 stuff with the cheapest AMD XP processor.
But since the Nvidia nForce2 chipsets have come down in price I'm wondering if I should try one of those with onboard video.
The cpu and memory will stay the same but is it worth the price difference to get the better onboard video?
There will be no overclocking cause of the memory.
Note: this is not a mobo replacement but a new system for another room.

Thanks

 

[Vette73]

Shuttle MN31N only way to fly baby. Fast and cheap

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Shuttle MN31N only way to fly baby. Fast and cheap

Do you think I would see an improvement over the nforce1 video?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: bupkus

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Shuttle MN31N only way to fly baby. Fast and cheap

Do you think I would see an improvement over the nforce1 video?

Yes. Updated video card, and I don't know if many/any of the nForce1 boards had dual Ch. memory. That and the price difference is so small it is not worth it to not get a nForce2 board. The shuttle cost less the $90 at newegg.com, has dual monitor built into the board, Firewire header, USB2.0, etc....

 

[lycurgus]

Using the integrated video, you're not going to be able to run reliably at 400MHz FSB anyway. So, you might consider some of the older pre-Delta models. For example, the MSI K7N2G-L has been good to me. ASUS also came out with a micro nForce2 m/b with onboard video, A7N8X-VM.