Biostar iDeq 210V (VIA KM400A chipset)

[imported_TJay]

Hello the forum!

I'm thinking of buying this SFF pc, but I don't know anything about the KM400A chipset... So, is it as good as the KT400A? Overclocking and stuff? Stability? Driver support? (Linux)
-Does it have a PCI/AGP lock?
-Does it have any overheating safety stuff in case the fans go dead or something? I'm a bit paranoid about this as I almost burned my current processor when the fan just stopped spinning...
-Can I set the FSB to 200MHz even if i'm using a 166MHz Barton?

The SFF itself looks good, Firewire too. Are the sound ports the auto-detect kind, where i can just plug the headphone jack into the line-in, etc?

http://www.biostar-usa.com/ide...ls.asp?model=ideq+210v

I'm thinking of hooking this up to a Sempron or Barton, 2x512MB DDR400 RAM, and nVidia 6600GT (AGP version). I could alternatively get an Athlon 64 plus 6600 non-GT with the same amount of RAM, but I like pretty PCs. Practicality is overrated
I'm gonna use it for 3D animation, image/video editing, and some other stuff.

Will get it about 2 weeks from now, hopefully the AGP card is out by then.

Thanks for all replies!

 

[VTrider]

Welcome to the Forum! I have a Biostar IDEQ 210VB (B=black version) w/ the VIA KM400A chipset. I'm pretty sure that the KM400A chipset is sorta like a scaled down KT400A. It's not a bad chipset, you can forget about overclocking though, on the IDEQ 210V atleast. I would regard it as stable, no problems with drivers, and I know there are a lot of Linux users with this particular board. It doesn't have PCI/AGP lock and there are no overheating safety failsafes. I personally haven't been able to get my 2500+ barton running on a 200FSB with this machine (will overclock fine to 3200+ on other boards) which I think probably has to do with the fact that ou cannot set the vcore higher on this board. I have managed to run it @ 183FSB although. There are headphone jacks in the front as well as in the back, drivers loaded fine.

Many are running those 200FSB Barton 3000's w/DDR400 memory which makes a nice combo IMO. Oh yeah before I forget, the PS unit is only 200watts so this may or may not be a bit funky with some high powered AGP cards.

It's a sleek looking box, one of my more satisfying builds lately - it's absolutlely the quietest machine I've ever had too! I'm actually going to make it my video editing machine soon too.

 

[imported_TJay]

Thanks for the reply
I might get DDR333 RAM to go with it, since you've had no success running it with 200MHz FSB. Save myself some money for the tablet and DVD writer Or maybe I should go with the 200n and get 400MHz RAM and FSB, and burn up some more cash in the process..

How's the infrared thingy on your iDEQ? Is it just a receiver, or can it send as well? I would love to upload some new ringtones and wallpapers for my phone

I don't think the PSU will cause trouble. If it can handle a 9800Pro, it can handle anything

 

[bupkus]

I'm glad to see that the 210V can run a 200 fsb with pc3200. However, I'm currently using a borrowed 266 fsb 2100+ Tbred and I'm thinking of getting a cheap 1500MHz Sempron (333fsb) and trying to OC it to a 400. This, of course, is counting on a Sempron that won't require a vcore adjustment. The memory is PC2700, so if it doesn't work and I must default to its 333 fsb, I'll just have to settle for a 1:1.