i'm looking for info on different AMD mobo chipsets...

[idea]

I don't understand what the differences are between KT133, nForce1, nForce2, etc etc. Anyone have a comparison chart? I'm looking for a mobo to accomodate a low-1ghz athlon or duron processor. something similar to my Abit BE6-II in features. many options in the BIOS, no onboard crap, and good stability and support. SDRAM would be a plus, so I can reuse my chips. what's popular nowadays? i want to spend about $125-50 on cpu/hsf + mobo.

 

[nick1985]

then forget about nforce2

 

[mechBgon]

Hmm, you might want to consider the ECS K7S5A, which has acceptable performance while accomodating standard PC133 SDRAM. It has rather disappointing onboard sound but you can always disable that in the BIOS. Onboard LAN, never a moment's trouble with that so you might as well use it. Not built to overclock.

$55 board
$72 retail AMD 1700+ with heatsink/fan included

$127 total

Factor in a respectable 300W Sparkle Power power supply if yours is not a quality 300W+ unit. $33.

 

[nick1985]

get the shuttle board for 50-60 dollars. its way more stable than the ecs board

 

[mechBgon]

Speaking for my self, my K7S5A is stable even when I wring 1.33GHz out of my 1.00GHz Duron (stock voltage too! ). One of its merits here is that it does take both DDR and non-DDR memory, although there are a few other boards out there with that ability too.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Speaking for my self, my K7S5A is stable even when I wring 1.33GHz out of my 1.00GHz Duron (stock voltage too! ). One of its merits here is that it does take both DDR and non-DDR memory, although there are a few other boards out there with that ability too.

that's a good feat for the ECS to do that I would think

congrats! :Q

 

[mechBgon]

Thanks! I retired it to my workplace, where it serves as a "service loaner" when peoples' regular PC's are down.

 

[spanky]

so u didn't buy a cpu yet? how much do u plan on spending on the cpu? becuz i'm guessing for a 1ghz athlon or duron... that will run about $30. over in FS/FT... u can get an xp1600+ w/hsf for $40 shipped. so if u go that route... u will still have $110 left in ur budget. that should be more then suffice for a decent mobo. i'm not a mobo guru by any means, but from my experience, the ecs is a good mobo.