Need an upgrade; I would like to know what combination CPU/mobo/RAM works best!

[NurseRN]

I've always been an avid supporter of Intel. I'm thinking of choosing, for the first time an AMD chip; I need some feedback from you, AMD users.

I appreciate any thoughts on any hardware configuration. I am particularly interested in a solid compatibility between components even if I have to trade off something for it.

Thanks you so much,

Nurse

 

[limsandy]

As you might have noticed, there are many ATers using Epox 8KHA+, Athlon XP 1x00+, Crucial PC2100 256MB, Geforce3 Ti200.

As for myself, I am using Athlon XP 1700+ and Gainward Geforce3 Ti200.

To save yourself posting another thread titled "Where should I buy these computer parts?", I bought all my parts from newegg.com and mwave.com

Good luck.

 

[Duvie]

This is pretty much opinion and is hotly debated here regularly...

IMO there are alot of combinations by all the chipsets (ali,nforce, sis, and via) that can have rock solid stability and excellent performance...

That being said take this as one mans opinion....

If you are not a big gamer, but do some multimedia and play some dvd's on the computer = Nforce420 mobo
It comes with integrated 3d video and 5.1 sound...


If you are into saving as much cash as possible = ECS K7s5a sis735 mobo
It has ac97 onboard sound, but one can do much better then that for good quality sound...excellent performance all-around

If you are into fatest solution (accroding to synthetic benchmarks) out look at either ali magik Iwill333 or a host of kt266a mobos (good mobos being by Epox, MSI, and Soyo)

All current and older athlon/duron socket a's work in any of the boards...

CPU should be picked based on intended use and money to spend...


Ram I would go ddr as this solution has been out for awhile and has had a chance to mature...Crucial is good memory...stay away form generic stuff as it could problemsome in some motherboards...

 

[ChrisADuffy]

These are my reccomendations:

ENLIGHT EN-72370X3C4 MEDIUM ATX TOWER CASE with 1 Internal CaseFan - OEM Recommended by AMD and INTEL Pentium 4 Ready with 300Watts Power Supply

EPOX EP-8KHA+ VIA Apollo KT266A (VT8366A) 200/266 MHz Motherboard - For AMD XP, Athlon & Duron Socket A. Retail Box.

CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM

AMD Althon XP 1600+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL 1600+

LITE-ON LTR-24102B-02 24x10x40 CDRW - OEM

Anything else feel free to ask.


good luck.

 

[Chadder007]

Does anyone know if the SOYO Dragon with the KT266A is any good? I know it has a good sound card with digital outs (probably better sound than this old Diamond MX300 *clippy*) How does it compare to the EPOX....I remember seeing a review comparison but I have no idea where its located now. It was like between the SOYO, EPOX and Shuttle.

 

[ctty]

I think you would like an Abit KR7A-RAID & a XP1700+. The Abit KR7A-RAID is better than the Epox(In my opinion) and the xp1700+ is good value for money. As for the Asus, it is very space-constrained so many larger coolers cannot fit. I must agree that the Soyo is a good board but the performance cannot better than the Epox or the Abit. The Shuttle AK31 V3.1 is a good buy, if you want to keep it cheap. For AMD Boards, using crucial RAM is the most efficient and reliable. But when you buy VIA chipset, must install VIA drivers. If you want ALI chipset, like the Iwill XP333, prepare to install drivers also but get slightly lower performance, around 1-5%. But the Iwill is a good choice if you want to overclock the FSB without overclocking the AGP and PCI bus, cause it has a lot of dividers. I have emailed Abit's distributor in my country. He replied that the Abit board are not likely to have 1/5divider in the BIOS even in future BIOS updates cause it's a chipset limitation. How true this is, I do not know.

 

[tsnyder]

The Soyo Dragon + would be my first choice. After ordering the first one on a hunch I've been thouroughly impressed with it's quality and amount of features. For the money I think it's probably the best all around board you can buy. All the features don't mean squat though if the board isn't stable or has poor performance. The board is excellent in those regards too though. Soyo may not be one of the larger companies but that doesn't mean they don't make a quality product. Seeing boards from MSI, Epox and Shuttle I would say the Soyo impressed me the most. That being said I don't think there is a board I would not recommend. It's amazing in general how far the selection of quality motherboards has come in the past 2 years for this platform... remember when there were only a half dozen Athlon based (Slot A) mobo's to choose from ?