I need a good MP mobo?

[ShyguyMX6]

Hey I need help finding a good Athlon MP motherboard, Ive been looknig aorund & found one that looks good & had the basics that I need , IWill MPX2, but can't find the damn thing anywhere, I know its a year or 2 old but would like to get it, otherwise another board thats comparable in features would be nice, the one catch is that it has to be affordable, like around a $150 or so, maybe $200 tops, so if its a year or two old thats fine, I found a site thats selling MP 1.2's for real cheap like $40 or so, & need to find a decent board to use, plan on using it for number crunching, graphics & animations (hobby stuff) & as a possible game server, things I need is a 4x AGP slot, supports up to DDR266, & also be able to support "newer" MP's (don't know a whole lot about the MP as I do about the XP, whether their 333fsb or still at 266 or what).

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!!!

 

[Vette73]

To be honest you would get a better bang for your buck with a single Athlon64 or a Opteron board, then you would a Dual 1.2Ghz MP's.


I use to runa 760MPX board and a couple of Athlons. All the 760MPX boards are pretty much the same expect some come with different add on then others. So if you do go with a 760MPX system get the cheapest one with ythe features you will use.

And the 760MPX chipset only supports 133Mhz FSB, and you can run XP chips on it fine as long as you do the L5 mod.

But again, get a Athlon64 or opteron system. Will cost about the same but perform better and have a better upgrade path.

 

[ShyguyMX6]

In that case a single Athlon 64 would be better, not 64FX-51, cause I sure as heck can't afford a FX51 or even some of those opterons, whats the cheapest standard 64 board out there?

 

[Vette73]

Actually the cheapest Athlon64 chip is $227 at newegg.com BUT the cheapest Opteron is only $165 (1.4Ghz) or $179 (1.6Ghz) OEM. So the Opterons are a little slower but have more L2 cache and can use more memory.

So if this is a gaming/editing system and you want to run the basic flavor PC3200 ram then go with a Athlon64, as I have. BUT if it is going to be mostly a server then go with a Opteron.

Opterons can handle more memory as it requires Reg. memory, like a 760MPX system. Now a Athlon64 system can run regular memory, but you can only use 2 slabs of ram in the system if running at PC3200.


With that said the board I like for Athlon64 systems is.... Albatron K8X800 ProII for $119 at newegg.com , its the board I use
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-170-114&catalog=22&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

A good Opteron board....... MSI K8T Master2-FAR for $207 at newegg.com , can handle single OR dual opterons
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-436&depa=1

 

[ShyguyMX6]

Will they ( Athlon 64 boards) run DDR333, PC2700, because if I did go the Athlon 64 route I'd see about using it as a replacement for this system, but would like to use my existing 512MB DDR333, the other stuff in my system is no prob, vid card, sound card, etc. but need to know if older ram will work (even though its running slower than the fsb of the board), also will WINXP Home be able to support the 64 or would I HAVE to upgrade to XP PRO, not should I, but would I have to?

I have to take all this into account as I might need to buy more RAM, possibly a new OS, definetally need a better vid card, gonna get one of those newer 36GB Raptors, & add the Board & CPU into the picture & I could be spending a lot more than I want to!!!

My original plan was to upgrade my current system to a newer KT600 board or nForce2 Ultra board get a new Barton 2500+, add a 512MB stick to my existing 2x256MB sticks for a Gig, Buy the Raptor & get a new GFFX 5900XT, 5800, 5800U, 5900, or 5900U 128MB or 256MB card (yeah i know the 256MB cards are a bit slower, but their 256bit memory & still blazing fast compared to my existing GF4Ti & GFFX5200 cards), which ever I can get the better deal on, & also see about getting a new CRT, 17" or 19". But then decided to see about just getting a new vid card, more RAM, & the Raptor drive (plus a SATA Card) for now & if I still need more performance then I would see about a new board & CPU, but then just recently heard about the "Thorton" chips & now want to possibly add a new CPU into the equation too.

The thing is, is that I'm pretty much stuck on what to do, I want a 64 system, but don't want to spend too much cash & still want to keep my old one too, but also wouldn't mind severely upgrading the existing system instead of getting a 64 system. I can't afford a FX51 system, & wouldn't mind settling for a basic 64, but not sure how it compares with gaming compared to say the top of the line Socket A systems with the Barton 3200+ chips in it.

My existing "older" set-up:

-AMD Athlon XP 2200+
-AOpen AK77-333 mobo (KT333, only supports 266fsb CPU's)
-2x256MB DDR333 (Crucial)
-Antec Plus 1080AMG case with Antec 430watt True Power
-GF4Ti4200 64MBDDR
-SB Live!
-ATI TV tuner card
-ATA133\RAID 0, 1, 0+1 controller card
-10\100 NIC
-80GB WD HD (2MB cache 7200RPM ATA100\133)
-16x10x40 Yamaha CDRW
-6x Hitachi DVD
-Zip100 (internal)
-WinXP Home

-Had a 40GB WD ATA100\133 HD in here, but wiped it & removed it to be used in my newest system

-Have a 30GB WD ATA100\133 HD from my even older system that has to have data that needs to be backed up & then have drive wiped, also have a 10GB WD ATA100 HD that has to have the same thing be done to it too


My Second newer Set-up Basic info:

AMD Athlon XP 2200+
AOpen AK79D-400VN
Generic ATX case with 360watt PSU
2x256MB DDR266 in dual channel mode (K-Byte brand)
40GB WD ATA100\133 HD
SB Live! Value
GFFX 5200 128MBDDR
WinME

 

[Vette73]

Yea you can use the PC2700, heck you may be able to overclock it to PC3200 levels.

And WinXP Home will work just find with a Athlon64.

 

[ShyguyMX6]

Thanks for the Help!!!!!

Now its off to trying to find a cheap (price wise) Athlon 64 system, Board & CPU, Also Gotta looka round for good deals on Thortons & other essential upgrades for my " Spring upgrade 2004", just in case the 64 route proves to be a bit expensive.

 

[Vette73]

Well the board I got is less then $120 NOW The board
Has a true hardware sound card and other great features.

I then got a Retail Athlon64 3000+

Fast setup yet as cheap as its going to get. Price on the Athlon64's should start to drop a little more in a week or so since Intel I think is going to cuts theirs a little??

 

[ShyguyMX6]

HELLLLLOOOOOO!!!!

That is cheap, & Hardware 7.1 sound, can't go wrong there, lets see, $120 (for board) + $70( for RAM) + $160 (for vid card) + $205 (CPU price, http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-OEM ) = $555, Hmmmmm, Ya know what I just might be able to get a kick ass system after all, sell some of my old parts & get a new raptor drive, well maybe the raptor drive can wait a couple of months, but yeah this is starting to sound real good. Spend a little more and get another copy of WinXP, just wondering if my PSU will be compatible, its an Antec True Power 430watt PSU. I think I will go this route, A lot of power, more expandability down the road than to upgrade to an nForce2 Ultra board, 64bit processing, 1600MHz effective fsb, etc. I would probably spend just as much on up-ing my mobo, CPU, vid card & RAM, using Socket A tech, as the top of the line Bartons go for as much as the bottom A64 & mobo price is about same too.