Best motherboard for Athlon XP 2000+

[thecoolnessrune]

I was able to get a hold of an old Emachines with a bad mobo. I want to get a new one so I can use the system as it would make a potent server compared to my existing 759 Mhz PIII 550E. So what is a good board to get... Additionally, no any good places to get a hold of one?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Bump for the night crowd.

Additionally, the general consensus seems to be the DFI nFII Ultra B.

Any others agree or have opinions of their own?

 

[will889]

Great OC board but it's the last board I would use for a reliable server of any kind. I would look for a Biostar M7NCD Pro or Shuttle AN35N, or Asus A7N8X Deluxe/A7N8X-X. The A7N8X-X would probably be the best overall choice

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Ah, thank you for the suggestions and I will look at each of those.

 

[will889]

It's not that you can't use the DFI board for that purpose, but a slew of beta bios/s and such make it not a good choice for a drop in server board on the cheap. That said if you get one cheap there's nothing wrong with using it - as it may be stable you would just have to set it up and see how well it runs with the hardware you have in on it. The other boards I mentioned are well known for super high stability.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Thats definitely what i need, Once I'm through modding it up to suit my needs I dont intend for it to really ever be shut off. Thank you for the suggestions.

 

[bigsnyder]

Most emachines that I ever worked on are mATX form factor. This changes things considerably if that is the case.

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: will889
Asus A7N8X Deluxe/A7N8X-X

Either of these would be excellent choices. I have an Asus A7N8X Deluxe w/ an OCed 2100+ that has run perfectly for over four years.

 

[will889]

Well, if the mATX case is going to be re-used I recommend a Biostar M7NCG-400. However, eMachines that came with the socket-A XP2000 were usually of the ECS VIA mATX chipset variant -- you can find it on the emachine website but like the dogs they are they charge about the same as a socket 939 Asus SLI board LMAO. If you want to be sure you can easily use your old OS-Restore CD's then you should first verify what mobo and chipset the system actually has. The Nforce2 emachines had FIC AU31 mATX NF2 OEM mobo in them and 333 FSB AXP2700-3000's- but I used Biostar M7NCG-400 twice in the shop as a drop in for those very units and it worked fine. The FIC AU31 that was sold with the emachine is nearly impossible to find, but if you have an ECS VIA board in there now it's very easy to find and replace (ebay).