mobo recommendation: stable, athlon 1800 + sdram

[lamplighter2]

My K7S5A is now dead and needs to be RMAed. I can't go a month without my gaming computer, so I'm going to have to get another motherboard. I've decided I need some advice, cause I can't afford to make a mistake now (moneywise and frustration wise). Anyways, I need a stable motherboard, no overclocking, for my Athlon XP 1800 and PC133 SDRAM, and I wouldn't make use of any extras like onboard LAN/Sound. The main problem is I don't know what SDRAM mobo's will support that CPU, so I'd especially appreciate if someone was using a similar combination (and if I'll need a new BIOS for the mobo). I would prefer to get one of these since I'm going tothis store tomorrow, but if something jumps out, please let me know. (note: Canadian prices).

ABIT KT7A VIA KT133A --- $142
ABIT KT7A-RAID VIA KT133A --- $179
Iwill KD266 ALi M1649 --- $124
Iwill KK266Plus VIA KT133A w/ 5.1 audio --- $159
Iwill KK266Plus VIA KT133A w/ 5.1 audio and RAID --- $188
Magic-Pro 7VIP-AX2 2.0 VIA KT133A w/ audio --- $152
Magic-Pro S7V-266 (MicroATX) SiS 730S w/ AUD/LAN/VID --- $135

I would also consider getting another K7S5A even thought it has given me this trouble.
ECS K7S5A SiS 735 w/ audio --- $92

Thanks!

(note: I can't get to my real account because I changed my @home email address in my profile, and they emailed me a new password, but I can't get to the email from that address because @rogers gaved me some crazy password and it is only stored on my dead computer )

 

[lamplighter2]

Alright, after checking each mobo's site and checking the BIOS updates and FAQ, it looks like it is between the Magic-Pro S7V-266 and ECS K7S5A. It seems that the K7S5A would be the obvious choice (which is why I chose it originally)... but I don't know.

 

[Buz2b]

The Magic Pro board is just another SIS board, like the ECS. The difference being that you might suffer a distinct lack of support. Of course, ECS's support is nothing to speak of. Unless you need the integrated stuff on the Magic, I'd go for the ECS board. Besides, you will have much more expansion possibilities with the ECS. You do know that the Magic board is a mATX and the ECS is ATX don't you?
If you are unsure if you want to go with the ECS, then I'd go for one of the ABIT boards with the KT133A chipset. I'm not a big fan of ABIT, but the KT133A chipset is pretty good. I built a couple of systems recently with that chipset and it was pretty nice, considering the lack of DDR, etc.

 

[Peter]

ECS K7S5A is going to make you happy ... as long as you don't use a wimpy underpowered PSU
with it.

For an XP1800+, you want at least 25 amps on +5V, 2 amps on +5Vstandby, and a +5V/+3.3V combined
power allowance of at least 180 watts, or more depending on how much juice your PCI and AGP cards want.
Add to that the power draw of your mass storage drives.
Don't go by the nice and shiny "400 Watt" stickers, watch for the above details.

And watch out, don't get an old board revision - you want one that has an "XP" sticker near the
CPU socket, revision 1.1 or 3.1 or newer. Finally, put BIOS 2002/03/25 or a newer one in.

KT133A and ALi 1649 are old chipsets with limited PCI bandwidth (because they run the south bridge
on the PCI bus). I'd avoid these.

regards, Peter