K8V or MSI K8T, or... P4C800-E

[Shears]

Well, if I can't solve my problem with my video card, then it looks like I will have to sell the barn and get a new motherboard and cpu.

So far, from everything that I've read, I haven't found a clear winner for a new motherboard.

K8V
My first choice was to go with Asus K8V, but they seem to be rather problematic and they are picky with memory. Many people in these forums are having trouble with them. Plus, many of the mobo reviewers rate the MSI K8T as better.

MSI K8T
Many mobo reviewers rate this one as their top choice for the Athlong 64 platform. I've never owned an MSI motherboard, but I am willing to try. But for some reason, I'm just not totally sold on it when compared to my instintive desire for the Asus. Sigh, I dunno.

P4C800-E
The wrench thrown into the equation. I like a lot of the features this board has. 800MHZ Bus, CSA LAN, etc. This is a total jump from Athlon 64 to the Pentium 4 800Mhz. I've tried to read as much as I can online, but I can't really determine which is better -- The Athlon boards I listed, or this Pentium 4 P4C800-E mobo in terms of great performance and features.

Note: For all boards, I will be adding:
Radeon 9800 Pro
Audigy 2 ZS

Guys, I need your help on making a decision. Which of the motherboards or motherboard paths do you recommend?

 

[Shears]

Still need your help, guys.

Thank you.

 

[shiner]

I was facing the same dilemma....maybe this thread will help you out.

Good luck!

 

[Algere]

There's the ASUS K8V or K8V Deluxe and then there's the MSI K8T NEO FSR or NEO FIS2R. Basically different feature sets but same overall chipset.

As for personal experience with the K8V Deluxe only problem I had was with a old hard drive shutting down and restarting during bootup but wasn't really a problem to me perse since my case can dampen the hard drive sounds.

The K8V-D over the MSI is supposedly more overclocker friendly (acccording to X-bit) and in features they're pretty much the same in exception to the WiFi Slot for wireless networking and better onboard audio on the K8V-D

The MSI boards are generally cheaper so that's a plus.

IMO if you don't need the WiFi slot or already have wireless networking equipment, have no need for onboard sound, and no temptation to overclock then I'd take the MSI NEO FIS2R over the K8V-D.

 

[Shears]

Thanks Algere, that's some solid input. I will research more of what you wrote about.
It appears though that MSI has some really good support with their forum on their webpage. Man, that makes MSI really appealing. I wish Asus had that.
I'm still stuck between the two (MSI or ASUS)

Any other info or opinions, fellas?

 

[Odeen]

The P4C800-E is one of the most logically and thoughtfully designed motherboards I've ever seen. It implements the entire feature set of the i875/ICH5R chipset, it has both an extra PATA and two extra SATA connectors (off the PCI bus, though, don't use them until you run out of chipset-level connectors), and has a well-designed arrangement for networking.

On the other hand, both the A64 boards lump a Gigabit Ethernet (useless in the home environment) controller chip on an already saturated PCI bus, and the MSI cuts even more corners by using a Realtek chip that has problems with Jumbo Frame feature of Gigabit Ethernet.

That said, the A64 is NICE. I'd actually save some money if I were you, and track down a board that has chipset-level networking, and/or wait for someone OTHER than Via to release an A64 chipset with onboard SATA. I happen to be fond of the Soyo SY-CK8 on the nForce3 front, and the Soltek SL- K8AV2-RL on the Via front. The Asrock K8S8X and the ECS 755 A2 are solid contenders and will do everything you want save for onboard firewire (Which is a PCI bus-hosted feature anyways, so you may as well just get a PCI card) and overclocking.

 

[Shears]

Good info. Wow. I decided to order the Asus K8V-Deluxe on Friday, but they haven't shipped the order yet. After reading what you wrote and what some others have spoken about the near nForce3 250 chipset due to come out really soon, (and the additional talk pro-talk about MSI) I am back to doubting I made the right call. I have to make a quick decision now before they ship everything out tomorrow.

Argh!

Thanks for all the help guys.