I need some help on a motherboard upgrade

[BD231]

I have an Athlon XP 1800+ on a MSI KT266 Pro mobo(orig. KT266 chipset, not "A"). This mobo is really starting to piss me off. I've updated to the latest BIOS and I still have weird issues with it. Whenever I try to use a USB mouse on start-up, it wont even post. I have a Logitech 2x iFeel mouse, and when I use the USB to PS/2 adapter, it works, but the laser never turns off, even when the comp is off, and that go's for the keyboard as well. Sometimes I get completely random restarts, not often, but it's happend more than once, it seems like a power surge when it happens. This is very annoying and I need some advice on which motherboard I should replace it with. I'm not planing on doing any upgrades for a while, so I want to buy the best mobo out there for my XP that will last me till my next upgrade. What should I get?, is the KT266A my best bet, or should I wait for the KT333?, or maybe get a nForce?. I'm in to gaming so performance is a must, and stability is a must also, none of this random restart and quirky USB issues will do. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[optimistic]

You can't go wrong with anything using the KT266a!😀

I'm using the Shuttle AK31 3.1. Premo in stability & plenty fast! Only, the northbridge fan died on me🙁

 

[BD231]

So any KT266a will do?

 

[bockchow]

there's a recent socketA ddr roundup done over at tech-report lot of good info, should have what your looking for

 

[Mark0999]

USB issues have plagued VIA based motherboards for quite some time now. The fact you are having problems does not come as too much of a surprise. The are some things you could try to do to fix it...

1) make sure you have a 400W power supply
2) try different USB ports -- including the extra brackets provided by MSI
3) try a different BIOS
4) try different BIOS settings
5) try a different USB mouse
6) use the PS/2 adapter -- I have never been a fan of USB mice and keyboards
7) try a PCI USB add in card

As for the KT266A boards? There are quite a few good ones, but my choice would likely be the Abit KR7A-133RAID.

 

[BD231]

Well I have no use for RAID, and I certainly dont want to spend a bunch of money on making an out dated piece of hardware work. Thanks for the link bockchow. I think a KT333 based board looks to be the best choice. When can I expect to see the KT333 boards pop up?

 

[Xelloss]

Well, I can't say for sure when they'll come out, but my impression is that the difference between KT333 and KT266A is practically nil. Other than official support for faster RAM and ATA-133 (only on one of the possible southbridge chips), the chipsets seem to be practically identical. They're all pin compatible. In fact, if I read the via page right, the KT266A northbridge can actually be paired with the ATA-133 southbridge.

Short answer - very little reason to take KT333 over KT266A. That said, I'd expect boards anytime now. Manufacturers will probably just slap the new chips onto their existing board designs and ship 'em out the door.

 

[Piper1]

To address your USB issue. I have a K7T266 Pro2 (KT266A) and had the same issues with my USB ports. My USB Explorer mouse would keep cutting-out on me. At the time I had an AMD approved 300w PS. About 2 weeks ago I've moved up to an Enermax 431w PS (model #eg465p-ve) and the problem never surfaced again.