Best integrated motherboard

[Baldy18]

I know you all have opinions so don't hold them back. I am looking to build an inexpensive computer and I need a good motherboard with integrated video/sound/LAN, 10/100 LAN is very important. I was thinking about a celron processor on and 810e chipset motherboard but am open to all suggestions. By the way how is the Intel D810EMO?

Thanks for the help and don't be afraid to voice your oppinions.

 

[Peter]

Have a look at the offerings built around the SiS 630E/S chipset. ECS and PC-Chips have quite a few, and they all have video, sound, modem, and LAN integrated.

However, a Celeron is not a good choice on any integrated-VGA architecture. For halfway decent performance, you need fast busses, not the stoneage 66 MHz the Celeron offers - the chipsets however do offer clocking the SDRAM at 100 MHz while the CPU bus is at 66. This helps, but running 133 MHz on both ends certainly gives better performance. Think about using a lowly clocked P-III.

Or go with a similar Duron solution right away, there you get fast busses and lower prices. PC-Chips M810LMR is the only available all-in-one at the moment, and it's selling like hotcakes for exactly that reason.

Regards, Peter

 

[rcraig]

Asus has just released a All-in-one socket A MB, the A7VI-VM. Link to where I read about it.

It has the VIA KM-133 chip, integrated video, sound and LAN. I am about to build 6-10 computers for a local library sometime in the next 2 months and am considering this with the Durons. Then they can be upgraded later to Thunderbirds. Just waiting for the reviews to come out on this MB.

Hope this helps,

RCraig

 

[jamesbond007]

I've heard the Intel D815EEAL is pretty good, as well. Has LAN, Sound, Video, etc. Nice all-in-one board. I heard it has very good stability as well. Never owned one, however. I like the box Hehe. I'd go with a Pentium 866 with the 133Mhz bus. Those aren't too pricey. If that's still a bit rich for your blood, you can go down to 700Mhz with the 133Mhz bus, but I wouldn't go lower than that. Good luck!

 

[Peter]

That Intel board is about twice as much as the PC-Chips ones without doing anything any better. Add to that the more costly Pentium-III chips (you wouldn't want to do shared-memory VGA with a Celeron's wimpy 66 MHz bus), and you'll end up with anything but a budget solution. Go for a Duron and an SiS 730S based board. That gets you there.

Regards, Peter