Need help finding/reviewing Motherboard with onboard Geforce 4mx vid

I have found 2 so far..but overpriced everwhere...any more that you know of? I would prefer with agp slot for later upgrade when i am not poor.

Ones I have found:
Biostar M7NCG 400
Chaintek 7NIF2

Also if you have any advise on either of the above..please post. The biostar at newegg is $67 atm..was really trying to get one around $55..omg.yes i am cheap/broke.
Thanks guys,
Pocono

 

[Harvey]

Check the motherboard reviews on AT and other sites, Then, use the search feature to find members' comments, here, about boards that interest you. (There are other forums, too, but we don't have to get into that. ). When you find the ones you're most interested in, head to Pricewatch.com to get a good idea of the best prices for those boards.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

The only way you'll find one under $60@ the moment most likely is used. You also need to use 2 sticks of ram in dual channel mode to make the integrated graphics perform it's best. The difference between single and dual channel is nearly double so 2 same sized sticks to run dual channel is a primary concern.

There are many nF2 IGP boards in mATX and ATX to choose from and the biggest differences are wether they come with the MCP or MCP-T southbridge, since the MCP-T include firewire and the nVidia APU for audio that the MCP doesn't have, and if it's able to run 400DDR FSB which the Biostar can. Of course you'll need ram that can run 3200DDR speed to take advantage of the 400fsb but 333DDR dual channel synch mode makes for a very good IGP setup too.

BTW, do you have all/some the other parts or is this a from scratch build?

 

[Ionizer86]

Also, be sure to consider the fact that AGP video cards really aren't expensive. If all you need is basic 2D, you can get a standalone MX440 for $30 sometimes, and if you want performance, you can decide to use one piece of ram instead of two and then go for a video card like a Ti4200 with the money saved.

If you're still sticking to your integrated board though, here's two more boards to look up:
Abit NF7-M
EPoX 8RGA/+.

 

Thank you for the advice. I have some of the other parts..still price shopping on the rest. My goal is to have 4 systems set up so me and my 3 kids can play cstrike and battlefield 1942 against each other. I know geforce mx /intergrated isn't the best preformance..but as long as it runs a decent fps i don't mind running in 800x600. Thank you for the advice on dual ram instead of one stick though..i didn't know that. (do i just install 2 sticks or have to set up dual mode in bios?...assuming just install the 2 sticks). Also does that have anything to do with why the new motherboards seem to have the 2dimms together and the third spaced? or is that just for cooling reasons?

And one last newbie question... 7200rpm hdd's vs. serial ata ..i have never used a serial ata..do they help preformance(in general..i know name brand/cache also adds into the factor).

Thanks guys
Todd

 

[Harvey]

SATA is faster, but for now, it's much more expensive. All that slows is the HD read/write time. You're probably better off spending the extra money on components that will give you more speed when you're actually playing your games or running programs.