Cheap Athlon XP Board to run MCE on?

[homestarmy]

I have an MCE system that just will not run properly, it does random restarts, locks up, you name it. I have replaced literally EVERYTHING in it, RAM, Power Supply, Video Card, Hard Drive... even the Motherboard (but with the same motherboard, both were refurbs from newegg). At this point, I am thinking that maybe this motherboard just doesn't work well or work well with MCE.

So I need a new board that will handle my 2600 mobile processor that isn't too expensive. I'm thinking I should stay away from the refurbs at newegg this time. Any suggestions? It doesn't need anything special onboard, but a lot of usb headers would be nice!

 

[keeleysam]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127166

 

[MDE]

The NF7-S is a GREAT board. Not the cheapest thing out there but it'll run the mobile chip without a problem and be solid for years.

 

[tropic]

Heh, the NF7-S v2 is my favorite Socket A board, period. You might try the Biostar M7NCD Ultra for a cheap, reliable board for your XP-M. Using an XP-M 2400+ 35W on an M7NCD Pro at work... no frills, but it's chugging along at about 3400+ speeds.

 

[homestarmy]

Thanks for the info guys. I can't really see anything the NF7-S is going to offer me that will be necessary for my simple HTPC box, except for the onboard TOSlink audio connector. I am already using a usb item to accomplish that anyhow.

Are either of these boards very sensitive on what type of RAM used? I have various types of RAM and I think the last thing I was using (with the most success) in the system that I have mentioned about was some of the WINTEC stuff from newegg which everyone comments about being the most compatible with anything.

 

[homestarmy]

And are there any other boards to choose from? I wish they would just say on the specs whether they will run a mobile chip or not. Is there a guide to say which will run mobile chips?

 

[homestarmy]

How about this motherboard? I am drawn in by the fact that it has PATA RAID and 3 extra USB Headers...

or this one?

 

[loafbred]

For compatibility with different brands/grades of memory, and with XP-m cpu's, I would strongly recommend NF7 (might find a good used one) or NF7-S. The plain NF7 doesn't have firewire, SATA, or Soundstorm.

 

[tropic]

Most any Socket A board that allows you to manually set the FSB, clock multiplier, and CPU core voltage will allow you to run an XP-M. Both the boards you linked to should work if your priority is more USB headers and you're not afraid to buy refurbished hardware. I wouldn't do it, but I'm not the one shelling out cash.

The reason you're getting so many NF7-S v2 fanboys in this thread is that no Socket A board handles an XP-M better, period. It also has Soundstorm, a very capable hardware audio solution that can even do on-the-fly Dolby encoding. There are a hell of a lot of modded BIOSes for this board--my favorite is the D26 Black Mantarays BIOS from tictac. The board is solid as a rock, has premium components, has great power regulation, isn't picky about memory, performs great at stock settings, and is probably the most capable Socket A overclocker ever made.