Hot or not? Asus A7N266-VM AA $71.99 shipped
- Thread starter imported_Pablo
- Start date
well, it's been that price for awhile now. I think it's a great board. there's a hardmod that gives you fsb adjustment.
This is an awesome board for a budget system. I bought this board for a dollar more about two months ago. The onboard video is GeForce2mx quality, sharing your ddram. Perfect for low to medium level gaming on a short budget. And if you ever need better graphics, there's an agp slot to add a video card. The onboard lan and sound also work great. Yes, it does only have 2 dimm slots, so buy ram accordingly. Overall, I'd say this is one of the best budget boards out.
a little hot....I just bought this board for 73.00 in store (NO TAX). It works great with XP, I am using a XP 2000+ and 512 DDR. Gaming is good and desktop apps run perfect. For the price I am going to buy some more.
mechBgon
Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
- Oct 31, 1999
- 30,699
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Excellent board, I have 18 at work and another two in the pipeline. (edit: now 20 at work and three more in the pipeline 
) I was impressed enough to buy one for myself. The price is pretty much where it's been for a long time, but it's still an ok buy. Here are some remarks in case they're helpful:
And here are some warnings:
) I was impressed enough to buy one for myself. The price is pretty much where it's been for a long time, but it's still an ok buy. Here are some remarks in case they're helpful:- 3-year warranty
- The retail-boxed board comes with a S/PDIF-out bracket that has one RCA-style and one optical S/PDIF connector, if you have equipment that can connect to those
- Supports 266MHz-bus AthlonXP's up to a 2600+ with the 1.02 PCB revision and the recent BIOS
- Onboard nVidia LAN (this rides the 800Mb/second Hypertransport between northbridge and southbridge, leaving the PCI bus free)
- Onboard nVidia 5.1 audio processing unit, this is the same as in the new nForce2 boards. Full Soundstorm qualifications, thanks to the S/PDIF-out.
- Onboard nVidia GeForce2MX-engine video, but don't expect too much (Half-Life maybe). With an AthlonXP 1700+, it will get around 1700 3DMarks. Ok for daily-driver/student/office use, although add-in cards will give superior 2D quality at high resolutions (judging by mine at 1280 x 1024 on a Planar 17.4" LCD, compared to my add-in TNT2 Vanta). This shares a fixed amount of system memory (you can choose from 8Mb, 16Mb or 32Mb).
- Huge passive northbridge heatsink, no whiny little fans that wear out and squeal
- Only two 3-pin fan headers
- Accepts Alpha PAL8045, piece of cake
- Extremely efficient PCI bus, my SCSI card can hit over 120Mb/sec transfer rates to the PCI bus (theoretical max = 133Mb/sec for PCI) and this was what made me buy one, after my KT333-based board was getting only 72Mb/sec peak
- Layout is not too bad
- Very, very stable with Win2000 (haven't tried it with other OS)
And here are some warnings:
- Hard mod has failed for several people. You take the risk, you suffer the consequences.
- When starting Win2000 Setup from CD-ROM, don't freak out if the screen goes blank while the CD-ROM continues to do stuff in the background. Give it a couple minutes to find its video driver for the onboard GPU and it will surface at the "To set up Windows 2000 now..." screen and you're good to go.
- If you're planning to use it with Win98, there is a driver-installation guide here in PDF format
- The manual was printed with the 100/133 jumpers depicted upside down. I believe they now ship with a correction sheet. All the ones I've received came pre-set for 133/133, and with the price of AthlonXP's these days, that should get most people going without having to worry about it.
What's the highest fsb supported on this board? Does it have a pci lock to keep the pci bus at 33?
I'm looking for a budget board for a system that will be used for surfing only. How good is the quality of the video? Sharp text? What's the highest refresh rate @ 1280x1024?
mechBgon
Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
- Oct 31, 1999
- 30,699
- 1
- 0
If you are asking about sharp text then you'd probably be best off with an add-in video card. On my Planar, it's not as good as my budget add-in card (an 8Mb TNT2 Vanta). If you're truly interested in the refresh-rate question, I can find out on one of our CRT-equipped systems at work and get back to you... LMK.
Keep your eyes on the refurbished section on NewEgg. I picked up my board a couple weeks ago for $39. Works like a charm with the Athlon 1700+ and twin 256mb pc2100 ddr memory.
I look at it this way...It's like the famous budget board the ECS K7S5A with decent integrated video sound and LAN. The price difference between the K7S5A and the A7N266-vm is a little less than what you'd pay for the quality of graphics you're getting, plus it's a better more stable chipset/board.
A7N266-vm gets an A++ in my opinion
Not to mention the overclocking mod for the true enthusiast
A7N266-vm gets an A++ in my opinion
Not to mention the overclocking mod for the true enthusiast
No, unlike the N-force 2 boards, this is not an option without modding the chip somehow (95% sure of this, anyway)
What's the highest fsb supported on this board? Does it have a pci lock to keep the pci bus at 33?
Without the mod, you don't get jack for FSB options. Yes, there is an AGP/PCI frequency lock with this chipset.
If anyone is interested in having the mod installed, I've got a lab at work with all the necessay tools for the job. PM me
Question....I understand the AA in the name stands for AMD Assured.....but what does it mean????
I had two of those boards, and one of them is AA another one is not.....any difference????
I had two of those boards, and one of them is AA another one is not.....any difference????
Is this MB a micro ATX board ?
And if someone buys this, will this fit in a regular commonly used ATX case or we need a Micro ATX case ?
Thanks
And if someone buys this, will this fit in a regular commonly used ATX case or we need a Micro ATX case ?
Thanks
I used this an an XP1600 to build my father a new rig to replace one of his older ones in his office. GREAT litle budget board. The one I used is a micro ATX, fit no problem into ainto one of those cheap $30 cases found here on hot deals with the 300W PSU.
Even came with extra USB bracket and a bracket for a TOSLINK fiber out audio cable as well (both take up PCI slots in back of case).
I definately do not think u need to use an ad in video card if u are doing regular office stuff and browsing.
This is probably the best inetgrated XP board for the avg, non gaming surfer/office user!
Also forgot to mention that I upgraded 30 Pc's at my Co to Compaq's with Xp2000s and I believe Compaq is using these boards (as they look identical, have the same features). They are running PERFECT here at work!!!!
Even came with extra USB bracket and a bracket for a TOSLINK fiber out audio cable as well (both take up PCI slots in back of case).
I definately do not think u need to use an ad in video card if u are doing regular office stuff and browsing.
This is probably the best inetgrated XP board for the avg, non gaming surfer/office user!
Also forgot to mention that I upgraded 30 Pc's at my Co to Compaq's with Xp2000s and I believe Compaq is using these boards (as they look identical, have the same features). They are running PERFECT here at work!!!!
Do not be afraid to do the fsb freq mod.
It is very simple.
Sure you run a slight risk, but if you do any mod such as unlocking CPU, you also run a risk of damage.
I would much rather do this mod 10 times than unlock one XP Palamino.
To put it simply, the factory removed the 3 pin jumper for manual settings, and added a wire (staple)
to connect 2 of what would have been jumper pins. Simply cut the wire (staple), or unsolder if you are
capable, and connect the center pad to the other pad that was not used. To connect the center pad
to unused pad, some use conductive pen, others use solder. Basically, you could use whatever you
would use for unlocking CPU's. I simply removed the staple and added a 3 pin jumper from an old
modem, so I could then switch between manual and jumperless settings. Or you could just remove
the staple and put it back in other position.
After doing the mod, if your CPU is also unlocked, you do have control over multiplier.
There is no vcore adjustment in bios, so if you want to change CPU vcore you will need to do that with
L11 bridges on the CPU.
My XP1600+ is now running nicely at 155MHzx10.5, and using onboard graphics hits 2200 3dm2k1se.
EDIT:
Forgot to add, mine was a Newegg $49 Refurb, and I will be buying more. Excellent boards!
It is very simple.
Sure you run a slight risk, but if you do any mod such as unlocking CPU, you also run a risk of damage.
I would much rather do this mod 10 times than unlock one XP Palamino.
To put it simply, the factory removed the 3 pin jumper for manual settings, and added a wire (staple)
to connect 2 of what would have been jumper pins. Simply cut the wire (staple), or unsolder if you are
capable, and connect the center pad to the other pad that was not used. To connect the center pad
to unused pad, some use conductive pen, others use solder. Basically, you could use whatever you
would use for unlocking CPU's. I simply removed the staple and added a 3 pin jumper from an old
modem, so I could then switch between manual and jumperless settings. Or you could just remove
the staple and put it back in other position.
After doing the mod, if your CPU is also unlocked, you do have control over multiplier.
There is no vcore adjustment in bios, so if you want to change CPU vcore you will need to do that with
L11 bridges on the CPU.
My XP1600+ is now running nicely at 155MHzx10.5, and using onboard graphics hits 2200 3dm2k1se.
EDIT:
Forgot to add, mine was a Newegg $49 Refurb, and I will be buying more. Excellent boards!
I have built about 30 Systems with this board. NO PROBLEMS OR GLITCHES OVER 1 1/2 year period on any of them. This is a great board for the Money. Its Micro ATX But will work in any case. Excellent preformance and the Gforce2 is great for most people. If not just pop in a new video card in the AGP SLOT.
I got 2 of these boards in the Refurb section for $39 each...and free shipping.
I'm really impressed. It's a sweet budget board for a cheap box. I got a couple 1.1 Durons from TCWO for $28 each when they had free shipping on 'em(not no mo'). Along with the extra hsf's, ram and cases I already had...two sweet systems fer dirt cheap.
I'm really impressed. It's a sweet budget board for a cheap box. I got a couple 1.1 Durons from TCWO for $28 each when they had free shipping on 'em(not no mo'). Along with the extra hsf's, ram and cases I already had...two sweet systems fer dirt cheap.
I have built 2 systems using this board. One was a WindowsXP box with an Athlon XP 1700+ which is running great. The other system I finished this week and is a Red Hat 8.0 box with a Duron 1 GHz. I had to install the drivers from nvidia's site before I could get the X-server running, but after that it is working great. I highly recommend this board.
Brad
Brad
Yeah, Red Hat is a pain to install, I gave up on it since I had no clue what I was doing.
Its a great board for the money. There aren't that many PCI slots, but if you think about it, you already have onboard sound and LAN, which would take up another 2 PCIs anyway. The onboard LAN is perfect and the sound is decent. I don't think its a true 5.1 sound though. I remember reading something about that at nForcers. The onboard video is fine for casual users and web browsing. I didn't try it with any games. The video memory is shared but can be regulated. For optimal performance, you're probably better off with 512 or possibly 384. I noticed a little choking with 256 but nothing really major...
this makes a very good cruncher/folding rig, no vid card needed keeps the cost down, same for the onboard nic, and sound. this has replaced the ECS K7S5A as the low budget mobo to get in my book anyway. I'm sure it would be great in a mom and pop system, or for the dorm room if serious gaming is not a priority..drop in a relatively inexpensive XP and you will have a nice fast rig that will handle just about anything you throw at it.
I found the mod to enable FSB adjustment to be quite easy....I have a unlocked Palimino 1800XP in mine and I do not have multi control, I have tried all avalible ver of bios for this board, and I have not seen any good evidence that this board will do multi adjustment with any cpu..please correct me if I am misinformed on this point.
that's my .02
I found the mod to enable FSB adjustment to be quite easy....I have a unlocked Palimino 1800XP in mine and I do not have multi control, I have tried all avalible ver of bios for this board, and I have not seen any good evidence that this board will do multi adjustment with any cpu..please correct me if I am misinformed on this point.
that's my .02
I put 7 workstations togather for my work place using this board. no probs at all and the OB vid evens games pretty well for an office machine. I dint have to use any PCI cards all the OB stuff worked great. HELL OF A DEAL on a Quality Budget Board and it even has a AGP slot for vid upgrades SWEET........
My RMA replacement for my HTPC (1st one was DOA) and it's coming in next week. Just a quick question for those of you who have this board and are using the Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding and output. How does it work and sound? If you hook it up to a Dolby Digital receiver, does it output everything you run (mp3s, DivX movies, games, even general Windows sound effects???) into a DD 5.1 signal? How accurate is the sound positioning in DivX movies and games? I'm not expecting DVD quality where the DD effects are mixed properly, but I'm hoping it's reasonably accurate.
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