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Board on a budget...

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Jerboy, I already have a Geforce 2Ti. 🙂

From what I have been hearing, it looks like the Epox 8KHA+ is the way to go. NewEgg has a refurb for only 70 bucks. How good is the refurb stuff? Have you guys had any problems with it? Thanks for the help thus far.
 
the only board whose *poopiness* i can attest to is PCCHIPS. not only do they die on you after a year or so... they run sh*tty in the meanwhile.

from my 2 previous experience with PCCHIPS, ive developed a deep seated hatred for SiS (booo!)


however, im using the ECS K7S5A now with the SiS735 and it's running like a champ! stability is good.. now there's only the test of time 😛
 
If you want to use the onboard sound I'd take the
iWill XP-333 because it's C-media is much better the ac '97 on epox
also iWill XP-333 give you the opportunity to use PC-2700
if you want to upgrade the memory.

Refurb on newegg is not bad, it's still have 30 days warranty,
you can always return it if it's DOA w/out restocking fee.
 
I am not too worried about the quality of the on-board sound. I will be getting a sound card eventually, the onboard is just to hold me over until I have the cash for the sound card.
 
I am probably stupid or idiot by using K7S5A as my current main system, but I am not that stupid to buy some expensive mobos like ASUS or ABIT with the features that I don't really need. Try ECS K7S5A for budget under $70 or EPOX 8KHA+ for budget under $100. Both of 'em are the best in my experiences for your budget considering the features, performance and reliability.
 


<< the only board whose *poopiness* i can attest to is PCCHIPS. not only do they die on you after a year or so... they run sh*tty in the meanwhile.

from my 2 previous experience with PCCHIPS, ive developed a deep seated hatred for SiS (booo!)


however, im using the ECS K7S5A now with the SiS735 and it's running like a champ! stability is good.. now there's only the test of time 😛 >>



PC Chips=ECS= A group of mobo brands for mobos made by ONE company (which feels ashamed to stick to one brand name, after the brand gets a thorough bashing on forums worldwide). So I guess you're out of luck 😉 There are also other brands "owned" by this shady group
 
I have been using an ECS K7S5A in one of my systems since they first came out without any problems at all. So far I've run it with an Athlon 1.4/266 and a now a 1700XP with generic DDR with Nanya chips.

Just today I built another system on a K7S5A with a 1900XP and again no problems. Maybe I'm luckier than most but I think they are a great deal for the $.
 


<< I am probably stupid or idiot by using K7S5A as my current main system, but I am not that stupid to buy some expensive mobos like ASUS or ABIT with the features that I don't really need. Try ECS K7S5A for budget under $70 or EPOX 8KHA+ for budget under $100. Both of 'em are the best in my experiences for your budget considering the features, performance and reliability. >>




and I am not stupid enough to be cheap ass on my computer by using the cheapest components and puts "more power for dollar" as the number one prioirty.
 


<< I've heard great things about the Shuttle AK31A motherboards. They use the KT266A chipset, and come with AC97 onboard sound, 4 DIMM slots, and 6 PCI slots. I'd definitely get this board if I were you. Unless of course you don't trust VIA that is.... >>



Got to agree with AGodspeed and BUTTUGLY here, the Shuttle AK31A is the way to go. The EPoX 8KHAL is a nice board, but still $9 more than the Shuttle.
 
$53 for the ECS K7S5a is pretty hard to beat, I have been using it for over 3 months now with no problems at all, it loads faster than my friends EPOX EP-8KHA+, and the onboard network card in great. Both Enlight 300W and Enermax 350W power supply seems to do nicely for my setup.

If you don't want to take the gamble, I would suggest you get a refurbished Motherboard from www.newegg.com. They have some good ones with the Via KT266a chipset,
MSI K7T266 PRO2 VIA KT266A for $49
SHUTTLE AK31A AMD K7 VIA APOLLO KT266A for $49

If your into the nforce,, they have the MSI K7N420 PRO nForce MCP 200/266MHz FSB for $109

If you're thinking about getting a EPOX EP-8KHA+, make sure you're not using a enermax power supply , They don't work well together.
 


<<

<< I've heard great things about the Shuttle AK31A motherboards. They use the KT266A chipset, and come with AC97 onboard sound, 4 DIMM slots, and 6 PCI slots. I'd definitely get this board if I were you. Unless of course you don't trust VIA that is.... >>



Got to agree with AGodspeed and BUTTUGLY here, the Shuttle AK31A is the way to go. The EPoX 8KHAL is a nice board, but still $9 more than the Shuttle. >>



Welcome to ECS group my dear fellas,... heheheh Shuttle now is belong to ECS group as well as PC CHIPS. I'm wondering that soon ECS group will also buy up ASUS and ABIT...🙂 Jerboy would say.. In Your Dream Dude....🙂
 
Well, I have the ECS K7VTA3 and it works great from the start. The only thing I would complain about is the On-board sound is a little flaky. I have used this board in several budget systems without one problem. The reason most people crap on ECS is the K7S5A board, which I also had trouble with, config error in 133mhz mode.
 


<< Never again will I recommend an ECS board. It's like Russian roulette. Sometimes you win, sometimes the board dies. The iWill XP-333 is a great value. About $100, onboard 5.1 sound (C-Media, about as bad as an SB Live!), RAID, decent performance, solid, and good overclockability. >>





<< Worst experience of my life with ECS. Well, worst computing experience. I thought that ECS was #6, after Asus, MSI, Intel, Gigabyte, and Abit. If they are no. 1, they're there due to extremely low prices. You get what you pay for. >>





<< HAVE NEVER OWNED AN ECS MOTHERBOARD THAT WASNT CRAP!!!

I hate ecs and i recommend their products to only my worst enemies.
I have owned Celeron, P3, P4, Athlon/Duron mobos, all of them had issues, and all of them had crappy drivers.

I even gave them a 2nd chance last month with a friends computer i was building, Duron1ghz rig. Ran like crap, USB drivers didnt work at all, checked the webiste, no drivers, had to go to vias site to get the 4 in 1s, they didnt detect the controller, i literally smashed the motherboard in the driveway i was so frustrated, got an Iwill KK266+, runs great. Same hardware. Go figure.
>>



AHAHAAHAHAHA! You guys are the kings of unintentional comedy, and that microwaving of the board was just great! Seriously though, I've had a PCChips mobo, and I belive an ECS one before, and yes, they are crap. Although some do run (that's about all you can say about them) they certainly don't "run like champs". They eek by on passible performance and borderline stability until they die, and they are sorry excuses for motherboards. After owning a few of these pieces of crap, I'm pretty much a pure-ASUS man (although I know MSI, Gigabyte, Abit, etc can make some pretty good motherboards).
 


<< AHAHAAHAHAHA! You guys are the kings of unintentional comedy, and that microwaving of the board was just great! Seriously though, I've had a PCChips mobo, and I belive an ECS one before, and yes, they are crap. Although some do run (that's about all you can say about them) they certainly don't "run like champs". They eek by on passible performance and borderline stability until they die, and they are sorry excuses for motherboards. After owning a few of these pieces of crap, I'm pretty much a pure-ASUS man (although I know MSI, Gigabyte, Abit, etc can make some pretty good motherboards). >>

My Russian Roulette line was intentional. I've actually heard many people have MSI boards die on them. Asus makes fine products, but their prices are even higher than ABIT's.
 


<< My Russian Roulette line was intentional. >>



That's true but the running comedy dialogue just seemed to develop. It was classic!




<< I've actually heard many people have MSI boards die on them. >>



Really? Scratch them off my "thought they were acceptable" list then!!



<< Asus makes fine products, but their prices are even higher than ABIT's.
>>





Yeah, ASUS are the best of the best for quality, and the worst of the worst for prices. Their boards are consistently the most expensive! Oh well, with quality comes a price, I guess. They really don't make any stinkers though, and their products are excellent, their brand naming clear (I dont like names like what Epox and Gigabyte give their mobos, it's hard to tell what they are at a glance), etc etc.
 


<< I've actually heard many people have MSI boards die on them. >>



Really? Scratch them off my "thought they were acceptable" list then!![/i] >>



I had a bad experience with MSI mobo last summer, always crashing with my Matrox G400 whatever BIOS or driver updates I installed, and just about 5 minutes ago I read another thread where a senior member "PUN" had 3 out of 4 MSI mobos died on him. It seems like any mobo must have some DOA in their production. Again, Luck matters sometimes.
 
IMO, folks having problems with ECS boards would have definitely found it more expensive to buy ECS and then play Russian Roulette with their hardware rather than spend more on a good motherboard and enjoy trouble-free computing. Personally, I'd be willing to keep most of my computer budget for the motherboard, because it forms a foundation on which we build PCs. It's better for folks to cheap-out on a CPU and buy a slower athlon/duron rather than compromise on a motherboard.
 
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