Help, need a new/old MB

[gorobei]

original thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=32&threadid=2095189

ECS 755a2: Sis chipset, AGP, ddr1, socket 754.
board came as part of Frys combo deal just died. I want to replace it for now since I'm waiting for the gf9800 or 8900 to come out.

what do you think about these options:

1)msi k8n neo v2
http://www.starsurplus.com/vie...m.lasso?i=K8N-NEOV2-PB
[platinum series got good reviews, but this seems to be a mid to budget board at the time of release. some of the older AT forum postings had really bad experiences with msi in general]

2)biostar NF325-A7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813138247
[seems to come as part of a combo deal so a bunch of reviews indicating average number of bad boards and bios/driver update issues. but a lot of recent buyers have had to RMA. Would rather not have to pay rma shipping]

I'm leaning towards the nforce3 chipsets, since it was the amd powerhouse at the time(just before 939,ddr2,pcie) I have pretty good ram vidcard and heatsink, so I'm thinking I might as well attempt some overclocking

 

[o1die]

Check for newegg open box boards. You can compare the ports with your current board to match up the backplate openings. Most open box boards don't come with a backplate. I bought 2 of the same recently so I would have a spare board. Both work fine.

 

[imported_i2k]

I have an Asus K8N4E Deluxe board, still running strong. Same chip model

 

[gorobei]

sorry, guess i was a little unclear about my plans.


I can buy the same ECS board (refurbished) over at frys for $20. But the 755a2 isn't exactly a reliable workhorse (I've already had to rma one back to the manufacturer. This second one just died, so this would be my third 755a2 MB) The damn thing doesn't even overclock.

Since I'm looking to get a different board and do some overclocking, I'm trying to find a NFORCE3 MB with DDR1 and AGP. The only ones I can find for sale(quasi-new) are the biostar and msi.
1)msi k8n neo v2
http://dealspl.us/MSI-K8N-Neo-...-ATX-Motherboard_41216
2)biostar NF325-A7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813138247

So, of these two which would you get? and why?(i.e. bad experience, good overclock, etc.)

or if you know of a better nforce3 board for sale, send me the link please.

 

[gorobei]

anyone?

 

[gorobei]

not that anybody cares, but I went with the msi K8N. nice board, well laid out, decent features. manual is pretty thin on details. works fine, nice bios and driver features.

good enough for anyone needing a socket754 with agp. geeks.com had a 100+ in stock two weeks ago. Sold out now. Anyone wanting a backup board might want to consider hunting one down before they really become hard to find.