AnAndAustin
Platinum Member
😉 Buying some new bits and was wondering what input you guys have, esp regarding the mobo choice.
Asus nForce 420D £70.50 Dabs=20ZHWS manu=A7N266-VM
Asus website: (Says A7N266-VM is nF220D) 2xATA100, Opt LAN is RealTek 8201L PHY, 1xPar, 1xSer, 2xPS2, 1xVGA, 1xaudio i/o, 1xgame, 1xRJ45 opt. 3xPCI 1xAGP 2xDDR (3x on 420) LAN 2xUSB(6) (iPanel front panel) 3yr, 1900+ & beyond, Realtek ALC650 audio, nV IGP-64 North(128 on 420), nV MCP-D South, up to 1GB (1.5GB 420?). Integrated MAC in MCP-D (LAN?). mATX.
Giga 7VA KT400 £66.97 Dabs=285VWS manu=GA-7VA
Giga website: 2xATA133, 2xPS2, 2xCOM, audio(linein, lout, mic & game), BIOS FSB adjust 1mhz, full volt adjust (ramagpcpu). KT400+8235south (totally new PCI etc), 5xPCI, AGP8x, 3xDDR, 4xUSB2 (2 by front), AC97 RT ALC650 6 channel audio, SuperIO=ITE-IT8705F, 333FSB, DDR400, up to 3GB, thermal protection. ATX 20.0x29.5cm.
GA-7VAX KT400 £74.02 [EXTRA £7]
Has dual-BIOS and LAN (I already have a very good LAN but having a spare is nice for the future, and Dual-BIOS takes the stress out of flashing).
AOpen KT400 £77.55 Dabs=280YWS manu=AK77-8XN
Seems pretty much the same as Giga std KT400 (7VA) inc thermal protection and Realtek ALC650 AC'97 codec, you also get Realtek LAN (PHY), 305 mm x 244 mm. Very nice website. AOpen rave about their Low ESR Capacitors, "AOpen implements 2200ìF or 3300ìF capacitors, which is much larger than normal capacitor (1000 and 1500ìf) and it provides better stability for CPU power."
AOpen KT400 AK77-8XN link
😉 And here's the CPU choices:
XP1800+ £71
XP1900+ £79
XP2000+ £88
XP2400+ £168 (way outside my budget)
😱 If the Asus turns out to be 220D then forget it, KT400 it is. Now I know nForce won't o/c as well, isn't as tweakable, doesn't support USB2 (I'd like to have), AGP8x, ATA133 or 333FSB and doesn't gain from DDR333-PC2700 ... but considering the low price of XP2000+ which doesn't o/c anyway, added to the facts it is rock solid, has great LAN and sound and the gfx may come in handy if I sell it on later. It would be nice to have the future option of adding DDR333-PC2700 (or better), adding Barton, maybe o/c'ing XP2400+ or running an XP2800+ 333FSB which only the KT400 is likely to allow. Maybe by then I'd be looking at Hammer and a new Socket anyway ...
😉 I already have Crucial 256MB DDR266-PC2100 and a GF4TI4200-128MB ready to go in but I'm having trouble with these choices. I have an old Creative SB PCI128 (bought for Win9x game compatability and cheap price) and no close plans (or cash) for surround sound speakers but would like the better sound some of these mobos might have built in. What's the deal with iPanel on the Asus, it mounts on the 3.5" external bay doesn't it (so would need a case without 1 hardmolded bay), is that like what the Giga's extra USB ports do too or is that for cases with them mounted at the bottom ready? I like the safety of thermal protection as found on the KT400 mobos. It would be nice to have decent audio and throw my PCI128 (which Creative don't fully support in WinXP), Realtek ALC650 audio is used on both the nForce and all these KT400, does that mean they'll all be equally good? What do you guys think esp of the brands; Asus vs AOpen vs Gigabyte?
🙂 BUDGET IS VERY TIGHT, what do you guys think?
Asus nForce 420D £70.50 Dabs=20ZHWS manu=A7N266-VM
Asus website: (Says A7N266-VM is nF220D) 2xATA100, Opt LAN is RealTek 8201L PHY, 1xPar, 1xSer, 2xPS2, 1xVGA, 1xaudio i/o, 1xgame, 1xRJ45 opt. 3xPCI 1xAGP 2xDDR (3x on 420) LAN 2xUSB(6) (iPanel front panel) 3yr, 1900+ & beyond, Realtek ALC650 audio, nV IGP-64 North(128 on 420), nV MCP-D South, up to 1GB (1.5GB 420?). Integrated MAC in MCP-D (LAN?). mATX.
Giga 7VA KT400 £66.97 Dabs=285VWS manu=GA-7VA
Giga website: 2xATA133, 2xPS2, 2xCOM, audio(linein, lout, mic & game), BIOS FSB adjust 1mhz, full volt adjust (ramagpcpu). KT400+8235south (totally new PCI etc), 5xPCI, AGP8x, 3xDDR, 4xUSB2 (2 by front), AC97 RT ALC650 6 channel audio, SuperIO=ITE-IT8705F, 333FSB, DDR400, up to 3GB, thermal protection. ATX 20.0x29.5cm.
GA-7VAX KT400 £74.02 [EXTRA £7]
Has dual-BIOS and LAN (I already have a very good LAN but having a spare is nice for the future, and Dual-BIOS takes the stress out of flashing).
AOpen KT400 £77.55 Dabs=280YWS manu=AK77-8XN
Seems pretty much the same as Giga std KT400 (7VA) inc thermal protection and Realtek ALC650 AC'97 codec, you also get Realtek LAN (PHY), 305 mm x 244 mm. Very nice website. AOpen rave about their Low ESR Capacitors, "AOpen implements 2200ìF or 3300ìF capacitors, which is much larger than normal capacitor (1000 and 1500ìf) and it provides better stability for CPU power."
AOpen KT400 AK77-8XN link
😉 And here's the CPU choices:
XP1800+ £71
XP1900+ £79
XP2000+ £88
XP2400+ £168 (way outside my budget)
😱 If the Asus turns out to be 220D then forget it, KT400 it is. Now I know nForce won't o/c as well, isn't as tweakable, doesn't support USB2 (I'd like to have), AGP8x, ATA133 or 333FSB and doesn't gain from DDR333-PC2700 ... but considering the low price of XP2000+ which doesn't o/c anyway, added to the facts it is rock solid, has great LAN and sound and the gfx may come in handy if I sell it on later. It would be nice to have the future option of adding DDR333-PC2700 (or better), adding Barton, maybe o/c'ing XP2400+ or running an XP2800+ 333FSB which only the KT400 is likely to allow. Maybe by then I'd be looking at Hammer and a new Socket anyway ...
😉 I already have Crucial 256MB DDR266-PC2100 and a GF4TI4200-128MB ready to go in but I'm having trouble with these choices. I have an old Creative SB PCI128 (bought for Win9x game compatability and cheap price) and no close plans (or cash) for surround sound speakers but would like the better sound some of these mobos might have built in. What's the deal with iPanel on the Asus, it mounts on the 3.5" external bay doesn't it (so would need a case without 1 hardmolded bay), is that like what the Giga's extra USB ports do too or is that for cases with them mounted at the bottom ready? I like the safety of thermal protection as found on the KT400 mobos. It would be nice to have decent audio and throw my PCI128 (which Creative don't fully support in WinXP), Realtek ALC650 audio is used on both the nForce and all these KT400, does that mean they'll all be equally good? What do you guys think esp of the brands; Asus vs AOpen vs Gigabyte?
🙂 BUDGET IS VERY TIGHT, what do you guys think?
