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Looking for a rock solid board with all the bells and whistles

S

Salvador

Diamond Member
Hi.

I'm looking to build a machine for a guy that isn't really into gaming. He just wants a solid machine for email, web surfing, etc.. The most intensive stuff he plans on doing is working with digital photos. I'm looking for a rock solid board that's easy to set up and has all the bells and whistles. I'd love integrated LAN, sound, etc..

BTW.. Do any new mobos have integrated firewire? I don't know why he needs it, but he was talking about using a case with a front firewire port.

Oh.. This is going to be an AMD Athlon XP system.

TIA,

Sal
 
I just got the kids a loaded Gigabyte KT400 motherboard with AMD XP2000+ at newegg.com for about $200. 6 usb 2.0 ports, 3 firewire, LAN, RAID, ATA133s, 5.1 sound, AGP 8X. Very nice and stable, I highly recommend!
 
use that Epox 8k5a2+(has integrated LAN and ALC650 sound) and XP2000+ you have or grab the BioStar M7VIG Pro(has onboard video) and/or probably grab one of these if he wants firewire. <edit> I suppose that GB 7vax1394 @ newegg is fairly nice.
 
Soltek SL-75FRN is not expensive, and is very solid. my last Soltek board was one of the most stable boards I've ever seen in my life. and still continues to run 100% trouble free. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Soltek to anyone who wants a reliable PC.
 
Originally posted by: Salvador

BTW.. Do any new mobos have integrated firewire? I don't know why he needs it, but he was talking about using a case with a front firewire port.
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probably for the digital imaging stuff (or just to say he's got a firewire port!! 😉 ) the asus nForce2 is very full featured.
 
The Asus A7N8X is about as full featured as it gets. USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 (Firewire), SATA, dual integrated NIC, integrated sound, rock solid stability, the list goes on and on. I own this board and love it, espcially the dual integrated NICs.
 
Well then, It's the MSI K7N2G-ILSR (MS-6570-20) that you are looking for. Best of the best.
Additionally, the integrated graphics are exactly what's needed in the application you specified.

Look at the review just posted today (I think) on TomsHardware.

Or, if you want to read the review on all three boards threee new nForce2s😎
 
I must of just crawled out from under a rock and woken up. What's all this about the Nforce chipset? Is this chipset superior to VIA? If so, why?

Thanks again.

Sal
 
You can get more on the nForce2 chipset by going to the Chipset section of AnandTech.com and reading the previews of the chipset, as well as going to the Motherboards section and checking out Evan's 6-way nForce2 shootout. It's got a lot to offer. Two or three Crucial 512Mb PC2700 DIMMs would be a smart buy if he's working with large images in Photoshop or something. I have an nForce2-based system at the office and am really liking it so far (EPoX 8RDA+, in my case).
 
I have the Asus A7N8X Deluxe, nforce2 chipset. It's got integrated 6.1 channel surround sound, firewire ports and Serial ATA.
 
You can get more on the nForce2 chipset by going to the Chipset section of AnandTech.com and reading the previews of the chipset, as well as going to the Motherboards section and checking out Evan's 6-way nForce2 shootout. It's got a lot to offer. Two or three Crucial 512Mb PC2700 DIMMs would be a smart buy if he's working with large images in Photoshop or something. I have an nForce2-based system at the office and am really liking it so far (EPoX 8RDA+, in my case).
Click to expand...
PC2700? Doesn't it use faster RAM than this? I know that the KT400 boards are out now and they use faster RAM, don't they?

I will most certainly check out the nForce2 chipset. I did catch a glimpse and it's a chipset made by nVidia, which should be pretty good.

Thanks again.

Sal
 
Yes they can use faster RAM than PC2700 but with that faster RAM comes a higher price, in some cases almost 50% higher than PC2700. We are only talking 333 vs. 400 and you have got to ask yourself whether the extra cash is worth the extra speed also whether you are going to actually use that extra speed you are buying.
 
Ok.. So you can use DDR400 RAM, but people are buying DDR333 RAM because it's cheaper. Gotcha.

Thanks again.

Sal
 
Also, if you get an Nforce2 with the IGP (Integrated Graphice Processor - onboard video) you might be restricted to PC2700 instead of the PC3200.
 
Dont a significant number of mobos actually state what DDR400 manufacturers they're compatible with? Which one is compatible with most? Lame a$$ question, I know
 
Asus A7V8x deluxe is what u want.
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The A7V8X? That's with the Via chipset instead of the Nvidia? What's the major difference here? The person putting this system together doesn't have a emphasis on gaming at all.

About the Deluxe.. What does the Deluxe offer that the regular version doesn't? If it's just RAID, I think I can do without it. Are there other features missing?

Thanks again.

Sal
 
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