Best stable P4 motherboard on a budget

[swatoke]

I am building two budget P4 computers for two of my relatives. They know how to do basic maintenance like defrag and that is about it, so stability is my main concern. I am looking for a motherboard under $70, but if I go a little over that would be ok.

Here is what I have so far:

ATX case with 350W Power Supply
Intel Pentium 4 2.4B Ghz
Kingston 512MB DDR PC-2700
Western Digital 80Gb 7200 RPM Internal
High Tech RADEON 7000(VE), 64MB DDR
Lite-On 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive
SONY 52X CD-ROM Drive

I have used Abit or Asus for all the systems I have built in the past, but I am not opposed to using a different brand as long as it is stable. I have narrowed the search for motherboards down to three. Abit IS7-V (Intel 848P / ICH5 chipset), Abit VT7 (VIA PT880 / VT8237 chipset) and Asus P4X800D (SIS 655FX
SIS 964 chipset).

I would appreciate any suggestions on my choice of motherboards or maybe you have a suggestion for a different motherboard in my price range (under $70).

Thanks

 

[Vette73]

If you are not overclocking then get the Abit VT7

Offers a lot for your buck and stays in your budget. It should overclock OK, but not as well as the 655tx or 865/875 chipsets.

 

[swatoke]

I will not be doing any overclocking, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[o1die]

I was at Fry's today, and they had a matsonic 865pe board with sata and dual channel memory for only $74.95. Not a bad price.

 

[MichaelZ]

look for any bargin bin gigabyte or MSI boards using i845 chipset. that'll be right for your needs at very low prices.

 

[caz67]

go with the asus

 

[o1die]

I also use the 2.4b. My current motherboard is the msi 655max. It runs fine at 150 fsb (2700) with generic pc3500 memory. It has a promise sata controller with 2 ports, lan, sound, and dual channel memory support, but it also works with just one stick. It's available from 3 venders on pricewatch for only $47 shipped. It won't work with the newer "c" or "e" p4's.

 

[smahoney]

If you are getting the 2.4B chip I would suggest getting a couple of Abit BH-7 boards (845 based) - very stable and in your price range. four phase power and excellent stability. Can also support SATA if the WD drives you are getting are SATA. Not the newest boards but great for the B chips and can run 200MHz FSB. I recently replaced mine that was running a 2.66B at 3.2GHz (160MHz FSB) with PC3500 memory with a 3:4 divider (213MHz) with a 512MB stick of Corsair PC3500 memory at 2-2-2-5 timings. Clean board with easy to access connectors. plenty of USB connections but no firewire. Single channel memory controller but shouldn't be an issue for you.

 

[swatoke]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions, I will probably make a decision this Friday. One of the local stores here has a MSI 865PE Neo2-PLS board for $79 also at Newegg for $78, so I am considering purchasing it. Does anybody have any experience with this board? It's a little over my budget ($70) but, it might be worth the extra $15. The Abit BH-7 also looks good.

 

[zodder]

I'd like to hear about the MSI 865PE Neo2-PLS too!