Best & Most Stable Athlon DDR MB? Post stability/performance issues on your MB (good or bad!)

[jesterbot]

I have a 1st generation Slot-A Athlon MB (Biostar AMD 750 chipset) with an old Athlon 550 @ 750MHz... the retarded thing crashes all the time so I've finally decided its time to upgrade to a more stable platform. I've checked out what limited info I could find on the AMD 760 options, ALi MaGik, SIS, etc... but I want first hand feedback on the boards you guys use! I figure you guys would be the best ones to rate your MB's!

I hope to put in my old SB Live! Value card, Linksys EtherFast 10/100 LAN card, and a GeForce2 Pro that should arrive any day now.

I also ordered 512MB PC2100 RAM from Crucial, a 1GHz T-bird, and the ASUS A7M266 MB. I've heard people raising issues on the A7M266 and saying the Epox board might be the "way to go", so I want to know if I should order the Epox, Gigabyte, ALi-chipset boards or whatever else and just sell the ASUS board before it arrives.

Performance is great and all - I would like the OPTION of overclocking, especially FSB pushing, but STABILITY is the biggest key here. I'm tired of constant crashes, memory dumps, blue screens of death, etc. I don't want to lock up in the middle of a game of counter-strike or as I'm playing in photoshop. I run a web server during the school year, and crashes arent friendly for that either!

WHO's got the BEST, most STABLE motherboard out there? Thanks =)

 

[GundamF91]

Epox is great for OC, but dont' think for a minute it's not stable! I'm not into OC, so my rig hadn't crashed even once since I got it later May, in Win2k. It's a totally secure platform.

If you can get rid of A7M266, then do so, since it's no longer made by Asus, so you'd imagine the support will stop there as well. Read that post about 3way DDR shootout review and you'll see how good Epox, and Gigabyte is. Epox is also less expensive.

 

[jesterbot]

Thanks man, I already read that 3-way shootout this morning (I ordered the ASUS MB last week)... I've already started writing my sale page for the ASUS, but whether I post it for sale or not is still to be decided. I also prefer running Win2k (I actually run Win2k Server mostly), and would rather have a quiet, stable system than pushing out a few extra MHz.

What about my SB Live! card? I keep hearing about conflicts with it and the southbridge on these boards - which causes crashes, blue screens, lockups, etc (everything i'm trying to avoid). If people can confirm this, I might have to look into a Santa Cruz or something, but that's just another expense on an already growing price tally! So I'd rather not if its not necessary!

 

[jamesbond007]

Jesterbot,

The Turtle-Beach Santa Cruz can be had for under $80. I believe this is cheaper than most SBLive! cards. I've heard no complaints about it and I am going to use it in a new box I'm working on.

 

[Bingo13]

The Asus A7M266 is a very good board. Be sure to upgrade to the just released final version of bios 1004 as it improved my memory scores again compared to the last beta. I have both the Epox and Asus boards along with the Gigabyte that just arrived (not installed as the memory did not make it today). The Epox only beats the Asus when both boards are being overclocked on the higher limits ultilizing the FSB. The one big advantage of the Epox is the multiplier settings but overall I still like the quality/stability of the Asus board better after playing with the Epox for awhile now. You cannot go wrong with either board and you will never notice the 1~2 percent performance difference between both boards on a daily basis. However, I would buy the Epox or the Gigabyte board if I were purchasing new just because of the multiplier selection if you are really into overclocking.

 

[jesterbot]

Thanks for the feedback - its nice to have someone that's tried em all =)

My priorities are as follows:

1 Stability
2 Stability
3 Stability
4 Heat (relates to noise because I'll have to install more fans)
5 Overclocking capabilities

Overclocking is by far my least concern - I could live with a 1GHz machine with no worries, as long as it didnt keep crashing on me! I also think FSB adjustment (no multiplier) will be fine for my needs, as thats where most of the performance gains are to be had. I really don't see a need for squeezing every drop of power out of it, especially since that just mean more drastic cooling - ie. lots of noise. My current system sounds like a Hoover Vaccuum already, and I'm trying to avoid that in this system.

If the ASUS board will not bring me more problems than an Epox or Gigabyte board, I'd rather not sell it - that would slow down production on my new sytstem by a lot!

 

[Bingo13]

Keep the Asus board,it is very stable. If you need help with it PM me.

 

[tjdavis1138]

I'll put my two cents in for the Epox. Fantastic board and perfectly stable. I love mine.

 

[GundamF91]

yeah, if you dont' care for OC, then Asus will do you just fine. And SBLIve! isn't a problem for me, since I have one, and also the VIa686B. I only had Epox, but ever since the 4in1 patch by Via awhile ago, there's not alot complaints.

If you can come out of selling Asus for a ZERO loss, or even make some money on Egay, then do so (hey, don't overestimate someone's intelligence at Egay ). But if you'd be getting a loss, then stick with Asus, it's a mighty fine board. As far as stability, unless you get a bad batch, every current AMD760 board should be fine. (well, maybe not the FIC AD11 kind).

 

[damocles]

Asus are also pretty good with legacy support.

Try and sort out the A7M266 before looking elsewhere.

 

[chinman75]

EPOX 8K7A

see my results below

 

[formulav8]

I love the Epox. I am able to get my 1ghz bird up to 1.6ghz.

 

[WildeBeast]

How are you cooling it there formulav8?

 

[Pers]

formulav8- i want your computer!

 

[chainbolt]

That answers some of your questions: basically you cannot go wrong with any the AMD 760 boards.
It's more a matter of price and features:

AMD 760 shoot-out


GA-7DXR
1333@1600 at 10x160Mhz
Taisol HS with 92mm Delta CFM 100 fan
2x40 Giga Raid 0
256 MB NANYA CL 2
Pioneer 116 DVD
Kenwood 72x CD-ROM
Enermx 650 Watt PSU

 

[jesterbot]

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it!

Yeah, I could sell for a small profit on eGay (note: thats a silly word to be forbidden... I had been watching those prices for a couple days now), but I would still have the hassle of ordering and waiting for a new MB - not to mention shipping out the ASUS.

The ASUS should arrive today, so it looks like I'll stick with it. Maybe Epox would have been a good way to go originally, but since O/C is not my primary concern the ASUS should work with me =)

Thanks again!

Bingo, if I have any probs, i'll let you know - thanks bud!

 

[chainbolt]

The A7M266 is 100% ok, in the digitlife all-out AMD 760 shoot out, they have the A7M266 in each and every benchmark ahead of the Epox. You read this review the Epox is 2% ahead, and the next one they have the Gigabyte 1% ahead. This is all irrelevant. These boards are performing very much the same, because they follow exactly the same design principle. Unless some maker really scews up with cheap parts, you get the same output.

The only thing what is really missing, is the A7M266 multiplier setting (unless you solder) but what for? it's true that the Epox and the Giga go a bit higher in oc and FSB, so what? I had my A7M266 stable (really stable) at 1.33@1.58, what do you want more? My Duron 800Mhz was at almost 1200Mhz.