Comp Geeks $39 ATX Case Deal Has Gotten Hotter!

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Floyd

Senior member
Nov 17, 1999
674
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mjquilly, I don't know what type of secondary system you're looking to put together, but since you're in the Hot Deals forum, I assume cheap is good, eh? ;) I bought one of the CompGeeks cases a couple of weeks ago and ordered a Tekram P6L40-A4E motherboard for $32 shipped from the company's online store: http://store.tekramusa.com//product.asp?dept%5Fid=3&sku=217. It's a darned good board for the money, but of course it's nothing state-of-the-art at this price. Full ATX form factor, Slot 1 processor, AGP, 4 PCI / 3 ISA (1 shared), dual USB, FSB up to 83MHz, and 3 DIMM sockets. IMHO, the asking price of $25 is almost a joke for this many features. As long as you don't need a 100MHz FSB, I can't think of a single reason why it wouldn't be an ideal choice, plus Tekram has a good reputation for making solid products. Since I just bought a Celeron 566 for my main machine (which will hopefully be clocked up to 850MHz), I'll be moving my current Cel 450 over to this Tekram mobo.

Anyway, like I said, I dunno what you're looking for...just trying to be helpful!

Best regards,
Floyd
 
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Underclocked

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,042
1
76
As long as you guys are mentioning cheap motherboards, you can't go wrong with one from Bummer over in the For Sale section. He sells some nice boards VERY cheap. Have to have your own cables and download any drivers though.
 
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Buddha Bart

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
3,064
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I'll be moving my current Cel 450 over to this Tekram mobo

yeah, but it won't be a 450 anymore. 450's fast enough to do stuff, 300 bogs.

bart
 
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Floyd

Senior member
Nov 17, 1999
674
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0
Budda Bart, please explain what you mean by your statement. The Tekram is specified to support processors up to 533MHz. It will probably be necessary to download the latest BIOS, but that's always a good idea anyway.
 
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DW

Member
Oct 12, 1999
36
0
0
Floyd:

The board has a LX chipset which provides only 66MHz FSB. So, you can not overclock your 300A to 450.
 
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Floyd

Senior member
Nov 17, 1999
674
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0
Oh, I see :) Haha, I'm not using a 300 @ 450, rather a 400 @ 450 (75MHz FSB). So no problems here, which is why I mentioned the 100MHz FSB as a potential drawback for some applications. But if it isn't needed, then the Tekram would be an excellent choice for the money.

Best regards,
Floyd
 
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Floyd

Senior member
Nov 17, 1999
674
0
0
>>What do you think of this MOBO? for $43.44 shipped? 63.44 -20.00 off coupon

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2...ID=27&amp;cid=0&amp;refer_url=BEFREE&amp;fp=T<<

NICKel, from what I can tell, the plusses are:

1. socket 370 processor, no need to buy a slocket adapter as you would for the Tekram board.
2. onboard audio &amp; video, potentially save some money if you don't already have spare audio &amp; video cards lying around (though quality of onboard a/v is often questionable, it's better than none)
3. support of 100MHz FSB

The negatives:

1. Who's Q-lity? ;) I'm more inclined to trust the Tekram name.
2. baby ATX form factor which means fewer opportunities for expansion; only 3 PCI slots and no legacy ISA slots

These pros &amp; cons will probably help you make a decision that best fits your specific circumstances, rather than me giving a one liner that says &quot;board XYZ is better&quot; :p. However, IMHO, I'd go with the Tekram unless I really needed the 100MHz FSB. A slot 1 board is more versatile since you can use either a slot 1 or socket 370/slocket combo. With a socket 370 board, all you can use is socket 370. Plus the Tekram has one additional PCI and two ISA slots. I don't know anything about Q-lity products, but Tekram is widely acknowledged to produce stable boards...you can't put a price on that, and nothing will make your computing experience more miserable than a flaky motherboard. Trust me.

Hope this helps!

allman, I don't think you'll be able to find a slot 1 Celeron anymore. Even if you were to locate one, you'd be better off getting a socket 370 Celeron and a good slocket adapter for $10 - $12. The slot 1 Celerons were typically $15 - $20 more than the socket 370's anyway. If you're interested, you can get a MSI 6905 Master slocket for around $11 shipped from Onvia...really good slocket at a really good price, and shipping is free.

Gamster, you can find the info on http://www.techbargains.com/

Best regards,
Floyd
 
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allman

Junior Member
Jul 4, 2000
8
0
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just bought the converter...at first i was confused...but using some logic...i knew that u can't convert a socket 370 to a slot 1 so i bought the slocket...
thanx buddha...oh yeah....for the motherboard that u recommended...it can only hold up to 566...so if i got a 600....what happens?

allman
 
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Floyd

Senior member
Nov 17, 1999
674
0
0
for the motherboard that u recommended...it can only hold up to 566...so if i got a 600....what happens?

Allman, if you're referring to the Tekram board, the max supported rated processor speed is actually 533 rather than 566, but you can manipulate this to some extent with the FSB setting. You mention a 600MHz processor, but not whether it is a Celeron or Pentium. Either one will be multiplier-locked, so reaching the the 600MHz mark will depend solely on the FSB setting. If it's a Celeron, then no problem because it uses a 66MHz &amp; 9x multiplier for rated speed. If it's a Pentium, then you won't be able to use it at its rated speed because it depends on a 100MHz FSB (6x multiplier)...max you would be able to do with the Tekram is 83MHz FSB x 6 = 500MHz. The other board mentioned in this thread does support 100MHz FSB, but is rather crippled in terms of expansion slots. Clear as mud?

can u use pc100 sdram with the motherboard??

Yes, PC100 means it can support at least 100MHz FSB, if you run it at less than that, no problem. It's like buying a sportscar that will do 185MPH, but only driving 70 down the highway. Well, the ratios aren't the same, but you get the idea ;)

Best regards,
Floyd
 
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Merlin

Senior member
Nov 4, 1999
444
0
0
why would you want that generic case when you can get a nice aopen mid tower w/ 250 watt power supply from axiontech?
 
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ANEO

Member
May 19, 2000
54
0
0
the only thing wrong with this case is where the power supply is placed, its directly over the cpu, and in some cases, over where the pwer is connected to the MB. i didn't order this, i have one made made by the same company and have seen side pics of this same case on compgeeks in the past.
 
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allman

Junior Member
Jul 4, 2000
8
0
0
how do u manipulate my fsb with the motherboard budda talked about? is it in the jumper? i'm a newbie at making my comps so this is a newbie experience for me....thanx anyway

allman
 
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mjquilly

Golden Member
Jun 12, 2000
1,692
0
76
Floyd, the insights are greatly appreciated. I think I'll wait for bummer's next post, but I'll keep the Tek in mind.
 
NICKel

NICKel

Golden Member
May 7, 2000
1,774
0
71
I generally consider most components mediocre to fair unless I've been severly burned by a manufacturer.... But I haven't bought a lot of components just yet. So I haven't been in the deep waters of tech as you have been floyd -- Nonetheless thanks for your objective assesment of the overstock MOBO.....

~ NICKel
 
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Floyd

Senior member
Nov 17, 1999
674
0
0
My pleasure, guys. I always appreciate it immensely when others take the time to lay out the details. I figure I should help out when I'm capable, a lot of the discussions that go on around here I can't follow very well :p

[edit] I just checked out a couple of threads posted by Bummer in the FS/T forum, and he has some very attractive prices. Better still, we have people here who can vouch for his credibility...that's great. If you haven't already, you might want to do a search for his user name in the forum and check out a couple of the recent threads, I'm not positive but it seems he still has some of the listed items in stock. [/edit]

Best regards,
Floyd
 
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