Cheapest 400FSB Socket-A mobo?

[Wag]

FIC AU11 died- using K7S5A w/2500+ @ 150/150.

As a temporary upgrade, what's a decent, cheap 400FSB motherboard?

Newegg has the Biostar M7NCD for $57 shipped. Can I do any better? It doesn't have to be perfect- just a temporary stop-gap untill I upgrade again.

Or maybe I should just give up on the 2500+ altogether? I have 1gig 3200 DDR, so that's a concern.

 

[Peter]

You want a temporary stopgap over your temporary stopgap?

PC-Chips M848ALU: $55 shipped - SiS 748 chipset (not 746 as the page says), OS reinstall probably not required since you're coming from an SiS chipset, very solid performance on single-channel RAM. Single-MHz clock adjustment, lots and lots of CPU:RAM clock ratios to choose from, even a slight voltage raise for either is on the menu.

 

[Wag]

Yeah, well, 150/150 is too damn slow- I can't get any faster on the K7S5A, even with SpeedFan.

Oh well, maybe I'll just suck it up untill the new nForce FX chipsets are out.

 

[Peter]

There's not too much going to happen anymore on socket A. No point in waiting, so spend those $55 or leave it like it is. The 848A will perform a lot better with your stuff than the 830 (aka K7S5A) does - if only because it lets you run CPU=166 and RAM=200 MHz clocks as intended.

 

[Wag]

Do all M848ALU have SiS 748? Newegg is selling a refurb for $32 shipped, along with the Biostar refurb for the same price (although I read the Biostar bios settings are locked).
No point in buying the mobo if I'm stuck at 333 w/2500+.

I do have 2 sticks of 512 DDR.

 

[Cheetah8799]

Biostar M7NCG 400 microATX nForce2 mobo sells for about $60 - $65 shipped at Newegg. Excellent board IMO.

 

[Wag]

ATX please, at least 5 slots. $60+ is beginning to be a little too high.

 

[Peter]

848A is SiS748. The older, non-A revision isn't. (To prevent you from panicking after you get it, the 748 chip identifies itself as a 746 to software. It is actually just a later revision of the same chip.)

 

[Wag]

Thanks- I'll probably go for that one then. Newegg does have some nForce2 refurbs in the $40 range as well.

Do any of those low-end boards have voltage adjustments? I know I'm not expecting much, but the 2500+ should be able to do 3200 at stock voltage, correct?

Aopen AK77-400N is in that price range- not dual channel, but ATA133 and everything else. Looks good.

Ah crap- Might as well get a cheap nForce then. Oh well.

 

[Peter]

The 848A has voltage adjustment, I said that already

 

[Wag]

Thanks for everyone's advice.

I gave in and went for a MSI K7N2 Delta-L for $45.

That's my second nForce 2 board in about a year. I hope this one lasts- at least it's 1/2 what I paid for the last one.