Good affordable DDR mobo for Athlon?

[CheapJabroni]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if you guys knew a good, affordable DDR mobo for my Athlon 1.2 ghz 266 FSB processor. I'm using old school Abit KT7 and it bugs me that I'm choking out at 100-133 FSB so I'm planning to get a new motherboard...might as well make it DDR. Suggestions will be appreciated 😉

 

[Shooters]

The Epox 8K7A seems to be the popular choice around here.

 

[Insane3D]

Epox makes two great DDR boards for the Athlon that are very reasonable in price. One is the Epox 8KHA and the second is the Epox 8K7A. The 8K7A uses the AMD 761 northbridge, so it's more expensive but still fairly cheap @ $120. The 8KHA uses the Via KT266 DDR chipset, and is much cheaper @ $108. Both of these boards can be found here.

 

[LXi]

Well, sounds like you're going to overclock, so why not go with the Epox 8K7A...

 

[CheapJabroni]

haaha overclocking....no sirreee my cousins board just gave out from overclocking..and 1.2 ghz is good enough for me even though I render alot in 3d Max. so..what's the big difference in the two mobos just mentioned? thanks.

 

[LXi]

The difference is, one use the AMD761 chipset, the other use VIA KT266, both support DDR RAM.

If no overclocking is intended, I recommend going with the 8KHA, because it's jumperless. Or consider the MSI K7 Master, which is also a jumperless motherboard, very stable.

 

[cherrytwist]

<< no sirreee my cousins board just gave out from overclocking >>



LOL you bring up a good point. I wonder if in 6 months we'll see the same ppl (myself included) bragging of their FSB speeds now complaining about their boards dying prematurely? 🙂

 

[Jeff H]

Also check out the Shuttle AK31, but make sure you get a revision 2 board if you buy one.

There are a number of reviews of the board out right now, and all are very complimentary. I've seen prices quoted @ approx. $90US. And, that's for a KT266 board that tops out in the benchmarks.