Looking for some MB Advice

[StrongForce]

Hello All, This is my first post here.

I know this is a common question, but the more I read the more confused I get. I?m planning on building a new system (Have pieced some together before but always from scrapped parts). My main concern is stability (I?ll give up some performance as long as its rock solid stable, i.e. can go for days without a BSOD)

Here is what I already have:
1 Antec 1035B
1 Rebadged Lite-On 24X CDRW
2 Sticks of 256MB PC 2100 (Generic Centon)

The MBs I?m considering are:
Soyo Dragon+
Epox 8KHA+
Leadtek 7350KDA
It seems like there are negative posts for every MB made, which is why the more I read the more I'm confused.

I like the idea of having an integrated network card, and sound. RAID I don?t plan on using, but I like the idea of extra IDE ports. If there are better alternatives, PLEASE let me know.

Also, should I wait a little bit more for things like serial ATA, or USB 2.0 (to become more commonplace)?

Thanks in advance for suggestions, opinions and patience with a newbie

 

[googly]

I have had very good luck with the MSI K7T Turbo 2. Totally stable even at 150 MHz FSB with 2 sticks of 128 MB generic Centon Ram. No problems setting up a SCSI card and Ethernet card with USB and sound enabled. It is $86 shipped from newegg.com.

 

[googly]

OOps *DOH* me. I just noticed you are looking for a DDR mobo. Sorry about that.

 

[StrongForce]

Thanks googly,

I am looking for a DDR board, but that is the exact type of response I?m looking for (Firsthand experience with a board and its good points as well as potential pitfalls).

 

[Strawberrymom]

the 8K7A from Epox is the best made oen fgast and stable smokes em all

 

[googly]

If you take Strawberrymom's advice and decide on the Epox 8k7a you might want to check out the For Sale thread on this site. Illogic is offering one for $70 shipped. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=45&threadid=700544&STARTPAGE=1

 

[ScrapSilicon]

some customer reviews on Leadtek at newegg and Leadtek for $100 shipped even tho I believe the Shuttle ak35gtr is a better deal at $123 shipped What processor??

 

[StrongForce]

Strawberrymom, thanks for the advice, I took a look at the 8K7A and it seems that I overlooked a nice board. I?ve read about problems with VIA chipsets (Probably from the volume sold, my guess but not sure). Would having the AMD 761 chipset coupled with a Via southbridge correct some of those (ie PCI Latency issues etc) that I?ve read about.

ScrapSilicon, I?m thinking about buying something along the lines of an XP1700+. I saw some positive reviews about the Leadtek previously that got me interested. Although, I?m not all that familiar with the name so I?m unsure of whether it is a good quality board that will last for a few years.

Overall I?m looking for something with a reasonable price and quality components. I don?t want to go much higher than around $150 for a MB and at that point it better have a lot of pretty nice stuff integrated on. My current PC is a Pentium II 266 that I?ve had since about 97. I?m on a pretty limited budget so whatever I get has to last for a little while. I think I?m like everyone else dream about owning dual 64 bit chips (ie when Hammer comes out) with tons of memory but brought back down to reality by a lack of funds and realizing that the next best thing is always waiting around the corner.

NewEgg seems like a pretty good site. I haven?t bought anything from them but most people seem pretty positive about them. Their prices also seem pretty hard to beat.

 

[StrongForce]

Oops,

I didn't see an earlier thread with the poll asking which KT266A board was the best. So my original was somewhat of a repost. I guess not a complete repost since I?m not limiting myself to just that chipset.

 

[Boonesmi]

most times when you read posts about a motherboard not working, or doing something weird... most times it user error

any of those boards you listed are good, and none of them should give you any problems, for me personally i love the soyo dragon+, but if you dont want the raid,LAN, cmedia sound then you can save some $$$ and go with the epox

 

[Athlon4all]

Forget Leadtek 7350KDA. One person on the forums (Insane3D) got it, and had nothing but trouble.

<< My main concern is stability (I?ll give up some performance as long as its rock solid stable, i.e. can go for days without a BSOD) >>

As long as the system it setup correctly, AMD systems are just as stable as Intel.

<< I don?t want to go much higher than around $150 for a MB and at that point it better have a lot of pretty nice stuff integrated on. >>

What video card are you looking at? If you weren't gonna spend a lot on it (like less than $100) then look no further than MSi K7N420 Pro. It uses nVidia's nForce chipset and it is just as stable and fast as 266a, and it feature's on-board GeForce2MX video, On-Board SB Audigy (the best money can buy) type sound, and a On-Board NIC for $144 at Newegg. I think that if u aren't planning on getting something like a GF3 Ti200, then this is da board for you.

<< Would having the AMD 761 chipset coupled with a Via southbridge correct some of those (ie PCI Latency issues etc) that I?ve read about. >>

No, at least not for the PCI latency because it's all in the PCI bus, and b/c of the VIA south bridge, that means the PCI latency problems are still there. I will note that this "problem" doesn't effect users unless they're using SCSI or RAID, otherwise, it isn't a factor.

Really, if you are going cheap on the vid card, than it's a no brainer to take K7N420 Pro. If you do want a better vid card, then take like Boonesmi said a Dragon+ if u want the NIC and Sound, or if you don't want any Integrated stuff, EPoX 8KHA+. Oh and about 8K7A. IMO, it was a great board in it's day, and still is a rock solid ocing board, but IMO it's out dated because both nForce and KT266A out perform it so I would recommend a 8KHA+ rather than a 8K7A.

<< most times when you read posts about a motherboard not working, or doing something weird... most times it user error >>

Hmmm, it can be a toss up. Often yes this is correct, but sometimes problems on VIA platforms are actual problems not just user error. Any more questions just ask

 

[Wind]

Epox 8KHA+.

 

[StrongForce]

Thanks for the info! I haven?t heard a whole lot about the Nforce, but it sounds like a very promising economical alternative (save some cash on the video card, and still have the option to upgrade it later on). I have a few quick questions about the chipset. Has it been fairly bug free, considering it?s nVIDIAs first attempt at a chipset? Why is the ASUS A7N266-E so much more expensive? Lastly, I don?t know too much about MSI, do they have fairly consistent high quality over their product line? Whatever I choose, I plan on keeping it for a few years.

Thanks for the help. I?ve been looking at the forums for a few weeks and they have helped me out immensely. Some of my purchases were aided by the Hot Deals section. Hopefully, I?ll be able to positively contribute in the future instead of asking all these questions.

 

[Strawberrymom]

never had a problem with the 8k7a and it is XP ready .

rock stable and fast get it retail for 75.00 at newegg

 

[googly]

I was in the same boat as you - had been blissfully using my P-200 MMX with 64 MB for about 4 years and then got the Upgrade Itch. The MSI with SDRAM I mentioned above is going to MrsGoogly, for myself I have decided on the MSI K7T266 Pro-RU. I wanted the USB 2.0 capability, probably will never use the RAID but heck it was only $5 more than the board without RAID. For what it is worth, I based my decision after mucho reading of forums and then took the advice of my local retailer in Cambridge MA who sell loads of MSI and ASUS boards to the MIT geeks. I very rarely see them selling off RMA'd boards. I rather suspect that the horror stories one reads about MSI are largely due to 'user error'. Whichever High-end board you buy you will need to take things slowly and carefully. There's no point in slamming all the h/w together at once. Two words 'Baby Steps'...

 

[MrBumpy]

I have heard a lot of people praise the ALi chipset in the Iwill XP-333 for its stability. You might want to check it out, even if you're not overclocking. Think about it, a board that's designed to run components way out of spec is more likely to run them stable at stock speeds, right?

Iwill website.

 

[Athlon4all]

<< Has it been fairly bug free, considering it?s nVIDIAs first attempt at a chipset? >>

Really, the main issues I have heard of on the Forums are:

1. getting the Audio to work correctly with 4.1 speakers. These issues have been fixed by the Unified Drivers I mentioned
2. Memory. For optimum performance, you must have 2 DIMM's of identical size and make and put them in Slots 1 and 2 (latests BIOS for both A7N266-E and K7N420 Pro). If you use only 1 DIMM, then the integrated video performs terribly. Also, if you use the 3rd DIMM slot with a double sided DIMM, then you will decrease overall performance due to something called SuperStability. SuperStability can be a pain, but as long as your memory configuration follows the rules I mentioned then you'll be fine.

Otherwise, I've heard nothing but positive about nForce. It is just as good as the 266A boards mentioned here stability wise (maybe better) and more or less just as fast.

<< Why is the ASUS A7N266-E so much more expensive? >>

The Asus Brand name. Really, the MSi and Asus A7N266-E are pretty much the same. The main thing that the A7N266-E is that it is a much better overclocker than K7N420 Pro. That's really the only reason to go it is for the ocing. K7N420 pro can still oc a bit, but don't expect anything extreme.

<< Lastly, I don?t know too much about MSI, do they have fairly consistent high quality over their product line? >>

Generally yes. And K7N420 Pro (and K7T266 Pro2-RU)is no exception. I would not hesitate to go an MSi board, and really, I would urge you to ask people about their experiences and really consider nForce. It sounds like the perfect thing for you. Sure the GF2MX isn't the hottest thing on the block, but considering you're coming from a Pentium II 266, it'll rock as far as you're concerned right? If you have any questions about nForce just ask

EDIT: Here's some threads from Anandtech on nForce:

- *OFFICAL* K7N420 Pro thread
- K7N420 Pro vs. A7N266-E

Enjoy

 

[bowie71]

Go WITH EPOX 8KHA+ for $98 plus s/h, just built one for my friend using this mobo yesterday, it rocks hard!!! If you have a limited budget, then go with ECS K7S5A like me for $58 plus s/h. Anyway you may give Leadtek 7350KDA a try also. LAN integrated, overclocking options do that sound great?.. SIS735 chipset is not a big player in socket A mobo market like VIA or AMD, but it's like David, smaller than Goliath, though it can be a winner.

Good Luck with your new system, whatever the choice.

 

[KouklatheCat]

I am extremely pleased with my 8KHA+. I was skeptical when I first ordered the board but is rocks. It was easy to set up and it has been rock solid stable for me.