good socket A

[DeekEye]

I am building a socket A system. what is a good board that allows me to overclock. I don't need much else on the board. Its going to be a no frills simple machine.

 

[DeekEye]

Also,

I have noticed that many online retailers have depleted inventories of socket A boards. I know they're out dated but they still run well enough for most apps and games.

 

[CraKaJaX]

if you want to overclock, go DFI.

 

[Fern]

Abit NF7-S v2 (but not the NF7-S2, they are two differnet things with similar name)

Generally higher CPU OC on the Abit, higher FSB OC on the DFI

EDIT: Shuttle AN35 Ultra series is pretty good too.

Fern

 

[DeekEye]

What would be a good stable board if i did not plan to overclock. And will overclocking an Atlon xp 3200 yeild a significant difference?

 

[o1die]

xp3200 won't overclock much as a rule. High end cpus are too close to the limit for good overclocks. Can't recommend a good board, as most of my boards were older chipsets. But the ecs nforce2 board works, just not for overclocking. I used a barton 2600 and mobile 2400, and the mobile overclocked slightly better. If you want to overclock, check the bios before ordering, simply by downloading the board manual off the manufacturer's website. It will have voltage adjustments listed. They're the most important elements for overclocking, besides good memory and power supply. I wouldn't invest in too much high end stuff expecting a great overclock. Sometimes you get a medicore cpu that won't overclock no matter what else you have.

 

[DeekEye]

Thanks,

well if thats the case i may not try to overclock anything. I guess I just need to find a good stable socket A plain jane board.

 

[CraigRT]

I am loving my Asus A7V880's... I have one at work, and one at home as of recently.. SATA support is nice, everything else fairly standard, but a good stable board. I recommend.

 

[TRUMPHENT]

Originally posted by: CraigRT
I am loving my Asus A7V880's... I have one at work, and one at home as of recently.. SATA support is nice, everything else fairly standard, but a good stable board. I recommend.

I second that! My XP 2500 is running as an XP3200 on one.

 

[colonel]

I will get a Soltek board, with a Mobile Athlon

 

[zmaster]

Another vote for Abit NF7 v2

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: colonel
I will get a Soltek board, with a Mobile Athlon

Soltek rocks too.

I've had 3 Socket A Soltek's... stable as a rock. my favorite was the SL-75FRN2-L nForce2 Ultra... great mb!

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: DeekEye
I am building a socket A system. what is a good board that allows me to overclock. I don't need much else on the board. Its going to be a no frills simple machine.

I've had good luck with Asus and Gigabyte, and less than satisfactory results from Abit and Epox. The Asus NF2 board is easy to overclock, and stable as a rock, although doesn't go as far as a DFI will take you. I've never gotten around to finishing a DFI - PC I had started, and now have been playing with its LanParty NFII for the last day or so to see what it will do.

The thing about the Shuttle MB was that Shuttle was a very minor player (on MB's) in a very competitive arena; they gave up trying, and there just aren't very many of their boards still in the pipeline! Shuttle still makes their own shoebox computers, and sells enough to make profits on those.

From an overclocking point of view, a majority of MB models that had been available for the Socket A were not particularly adept at anything more than a mild nudge.

 

[ZoSo]

How about the Chaintech 7NJS Zenith?
Anyone use one of these?

 

[imported_Reck]

shuttle an35n ultra. very stable, excellent overclocking ability and it's got a passively cooled northbridge.

 

[ZoSo]

Well I forgot to mention that I'm in the market for a Socket A board also.
Of what I could find, using the NForce2 Ultra 400 is:

Shuttle AN35N-Ultra
Chaintech 7NJS Zenith
EPoX 8RDA3+Pro
DFI LanParty NFII Ultra
ABIT AN7

I was thinking about the ASUS A7N8X-X, but from what I read, it doesn't support dual-channel RAM.

It's getting harder to find the NForce2 boards

 

[Thorny]

Originally posted by: ZoSo
Well I forgot to mention that I'm in the market for a Socket A board also.
Of what I could find, using the NForce2 Ultra 400 is:

Shuttle AN35N-Ultra
Chaintech 7NJS Zenith
EPoX 8RDA3+Pro

I was thinking about the ASUS A7N8X-X, but from what I read, it doesn't support dual-channel RAM.

It's getting harder to find the NForce2 boards

The A7N8X-E supports dual channel, but it doesn't make much difference for these cpu's. I had good OC results with mine with several differect procs, best OC'er was a 3000+ 333fsb that would reach 2.5 at stock volts easily. My 3200+ did close to the same though, but the higher fsb did help mem bandwidth.

 

[ZoSo]

Thanks thorny169,
I kind of want to get away from ASUS though, been running one for a long time, A7V133(1.04) OCing an AthlonXP 2400+ Barton core to 2.3GHz with it, and the PCI BUS is starting to give out on me. I recently had to underclock it to get a somewhat more stable system.
I'm still deciding on whether to spend the extra cash and get one with all the bells and whistles or just a basic one, as I'll probably build a new up to date system in a couple months, been yurning for some heavy duty gaming action lately

 

[forumposter32]

If you get desperate and go socket 754 instead, Abit KV8 Pro & Sempron 3100+.

 

[ZoSo]

Originally posted by: forumposter32
If you get desperate and go socket 754 instead, Abit KV8 Pro & Sempron 3100+.

It was tempting to go for a 754 setup, but when I do build the new system it'll be 939 or whatever is current at the time.

 

[ZoSo]

OK I found a couple deals.

DFI LanParty NFII Ultra B
It's never been used, it was a replacement board for someone
Included is, the board, fontx panel, one SATA cable, and I/O sheild. for about $90 might be able to get it for a little less. NOTE: It's been sitting for a year in a static free bag in it's original box.

ABIT AN7
Brand New w/Zalman NB cooler, 2800/333Barton, VANTEC AEROFLOW 2, for $170
Going to find out if they'll just sell board only though.

What do you guys think?

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: Fern
Abit NF7-S v2 (but not the NF7-S2, they are two differnet things with similar name)

Generally higher CPU OC on the Abit, higher FSB OC on the DFI

EDIT: Shuttle AN35 Ultra series is pretty good too.

Fern

I've got an AN35 Ultra for sale (see sig)

 

[ZoSo]

Thanks cherrytwist, I'm starting to lean to the boards with the MCP-T southbridge, but I'll keep it mind.

 

[ZoSo]

Just found an Abit NF7-S v2.0 for $49, tis might be the one

EDIT: Yep, sure is, just ordered it.
Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[DeekEye]

I am having trouble finding nforce 2 400 ultra boards. Zoso where did you find that Abit NF7-S v2.0?

Also is it worth it getting the athlon 3200 processor or should I just get something cheaper and overclock it?