Micro-ATX Woes

[minitaz]

Hi all,

I kinda need some recommendations on what are the better Micro-ATX motherboards available. They can be for Intel (P4 Celeron and above) or AMD, doesn't matter to me. Gonna rig up quite a couple of Micro-ATX systems, so price is a factor. Must have is Integrated Graphics and LAN. Anything else is a bonus and not necessary.

Thanks

 

[Vette73]

Welocme to anandtech.

Is price the biggest part or are you looking for a more balanced system???

If you want a cheap system with power get a Athlon 1700+ $45 or less, and get the Shuttle MN31N $95 or less. The board has Lan, video, sound, USB2.0, and headers for Firewire. Also it can support the 166Mhz FSB athlons and maybe the 200Mhz FSB atlons with a Bios update.

 

[minitaz]

Thanks Marlin.

Price is the main factor as this machine is used only for surfing and general office applications. Bare minimum graphics with minimum sound and a 10/100 LAN port will be enough on the motherboard. They don't have feature the latest in technologies, though support for P4s or newer AMD processors is a must.

Also as important is that the board must be of a Micro-ATX sizing. The area to have these rigs is kinda limited.

Any other boards to recommend? I am trying to compile a list and check it out with my local store this weekend to see if they are available.

Thanks In Advance

 

[Vette73]

Well then the Shuttle MN31N is your best bet. You can pretty much get any nForce2 IGP board, but the shuttle is about the cheapest and has the MCP-T southbridge that gives the Firewire port and better sound. It can be had for $90-95 shipped.

But get a nForce2 IGP board, as the Athlon has been shown to be a better office and producitivity CPU, the P4 is better for video editing and programs that use SSE2. The nForce2 IGP boards will support at LEAST the 166Mhz Athlons if not the 200Mhz ones, so the computers should last a good time for general use.

 

[Pauli]

Yep, Shuttle MN31N fits your bill. I just put together a system with one of these for my brother.

 

[spanky]

i been looking for an decent matx mobo myself and ordered one of these -->Biostar M7NCG

 

[Psychosylph]

There's also the Chaintech 7NIF2 and Albatron's M-ATX NF2 board...

 

[mudboy]

I have a Biostar M7NCG and it's great. However, the Shuttle board looks like a better deal and will probably suit your price needs better. One word of advice though, if this is for an office environment, you might want to opt for a slower, cooler-running chip like the Athlon XP 1700+ so you don't have to jump through hoops to keep these systems cool & quiet. Some of us (like me) like jumping through those hoops, but it takes time & money to do so.

Pete

 

[Zepper]

AFAIC, you can't do much better than the MSI KM2M Combo L. Just make sure to update your BIOS to at least v.1.2, DL the latest drivers and you'll be good to go. $62 shipped from newegg. Happy to run on a cheap PSU (200-250W) as long as it has a P4 connector.
.bh.
:sun:

 

[KF]

>Price is the main factor as this machine is used only for surfing and general office applications.

ASUS A7N266-VM has been recommended countless times. This board has been around a LONG while, so the bugs are out. Although, it won't support the fastest of the Athlon XPs that use the 166MHz FSB, those CPUs are too high priced anyway.

ASUS A7N266-VM $70 shipped

>The area to have these rigs is kinda limited.

Do you have a source for MicroATX cases?

 

[RX]

Go the A7N8X-VM. Current release supports up to 400fsb for AMD XP up to 3200+. Also, C-Media 8738 audio controller and GeFORCE4 MX440 onboard. With enough ram it plays vietcong with ease while playing musicmatch mp3, no shivers or shakes. Up to 64mb shared memory for video. TV-out, onboard 10/100 baseT, 2xfr USB, IEEE 1394port.

 

[RedRonin]

minitaz wrote, "Price is the main factor as this machine is used only for surfing and general office applications."

If you are absolutely sure of that, and know the systems will NEVER be used for games, take a look at the Biostar M7VIG Pro.

HUN-YA!

Red Ronin