Cheap - stable motherboard with everything onboard..?

[Nemmeh]

Hey guys, I'm looking to build some office systems that will be used strictly for office type applications. The level of gaming will be solitare, hehe..

I'm looking for a motherboard that has onboard lan, vid, sound and supports DDR memory, has to be socket A. I'm gonna go with XP procs in these. Do you think I should just stick with xp1700's or spend a few extra dollars and bump em up to xp2200s.. I'm trying to keep costs at a minimum so going the barton route is not an option really.

If anyone knows any good barebones for sale, then point me in the right direction.. Thanks...

 

[ndee]

You get what you pay for...

 

[PanzerIV]

Nemmeh, if you want stability and everything integrated I suggest the Asus A7N266-VM AA. Here are the specs from NewEgg where it sells for $65.99 with free shipping:

Socket A AMD Duron, Athlon, and Athlon XP up to 2600+
Chipset: NVIDIA nFORCE 220D (IGP-64 and MCP-D)
FSB:266/200 MHz
2 DIMM sockets support max. 1GB unbuffered PC2100/1600 non-ECC RAM
Slots:3x PCI 1xAGP PRO 4x
Onboard LAN:10/100 Mbps
Integrated AC97and Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC-3) Encoder Audio
Integrated Nvidia Nforce GeFORCE2 Video.
2 onboard USB ports

For the applications you mentioned an XP1700+ is more than sufficient. Bundle them with 512 MB of RAM and you'll have systems that will last them awhile provided they pretty much stick with the same applications they use now. Even so, those boards are compatible with up to an XP 2600+.

I've built a few systems with them and their great. No problems at all. A really a good value.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

office use - intel mb.

 

[OzzieGT]

Originally posted by: Kingofcomputer
office use - intel mb.

intel != cheap

 

[beatle]

PanzerIV has a good idea. I've built a system with this mb and its users have had no problems with it. Another forum member, mechBgon, has built a couple dozen systems with it and they're all well-behaved as well. I'm confident he'd recommend this board as well. If you're really tight on cash, a Biostar M7VIG PRO might be in your future. This is the board in my server w/a 1700+ and mismatched ram sticks. It has been very stable, and only $56 shipped from newegg.

 

[Actaeon]

NF7-M...

 

[Kingofcomputer]

intel != cheap

Intel mb is very cheap now, as low as MSI or Gigabyte, way cheaper than ASUS. But for features, Intel mb is not a good deal.