Needs recommendation

[plexus]

Hi,

I'm a newbie to this forum Hence, if I post this message to the wrong forum, my apology

Well, I like recommendation and information for motherboards which are suitable for AMD Athlon XP. Can I know which brand is recommended? Also, what does 256/512K refers to in Pentium 4 motherboards? If possible, hope someone can guide me as I would be changing my system to Athlon XP pretty soon.

Thanks

 

[mechBgon]

Hi plexus, welcome to the Forums

First, the easy one: 256/512kb on Pentium 4. When Intel started making the Pentium4, they gave it 256 kilobytes of level-2 cache memory. This type was called the "Williamette." Williamette models have no letter "A" in their GHz rating (1.6GHz, 1.8GHz, 2.0GHz). The Williamette models are made using 0.18-micron lithography, and all of them use a 400MHz bus. The fastes Williamette Pentium4 was the 2.0GHz.

Later, Intel changed the Pentium4 to 512kb of level-2 cache, and changed to 0.13-micron lithography. These are called "Northwood" models. They have the letter A or the letter B after their GHz number, such as 1.6A, 1.8A, 2.0A, 2.26B, 2.4B, 2.53B. The letter A means it uses a 400MHz bus, and the letter B means it uses a 533MHz bus. The Northwoods are faster and produce less heat.

Now the hard part: finding the AMD motherboard that you want. There are lots of choices:

• Motherboards using the SiS735 or 745 chipset, such as the ECS K7S5A
• Motherboards using the VIA KT266A chipset, such as the Asus A7V266 family
• Motherboards using the VIA KT333 chipset, such as the MSI KT3 family
• Motherboards using the VIA KT400 chipset, the newest VIA chipset
• Motherboards using nVidia nForce, such as the Asus A7N266 family

If you go to Newegg.com and click Motherboards - AMD, you can pick a chipset from the list and see what models are available, and some of their features. Or you can look by brand.

The three brands I would be most interested in are EPoX, Asus and Microstar (MSI). Asus has 3-year warranties on most of their motherboards. EPoX seems to pay a lot of attention to what enthusiasts want.

If you have any features you need, such as FireWire, USB 2.0, or onboard video, tell us and maybe we can make some suggestions. Also be aware that nVidia's nForce2 is coming onto the market soon, and many people are expecting it to be very good.

 

[plexus]

Hi mechBgon, thanks for your prompt reply

Well, I would certainly like to have USB 2.0 in my new motherboard since I'll be using the mainboard for few years before keeping up with the technology again. As for firewire, would you recommend me to get one with firewire port? Next, I heard from my friends that GigaByte mainboard are not too bad. However, there are complains that it crash with norton antivirus 2002. What processor and motherboard are you usingn currently? I'm also confused with the chip I should get. Heard from my friends that Athlon XP is hotter as compared to P4. My main needs are for school work, a little gaming and web/graphics designing. Also, can I still use my old voodoo 3 AGP card with the new mainboard? Do you recommend mainboard with bundled graphics card? I already have a pretty good soundcard. So, I don't think i need a mainboard with a soundcard

 

[mechBgon]

Most motherboards come with sound anyway, so that is a bonus I don't think FireWire is too important, and if you buy a device that needs FireWire (like a FW hard drive) it may come with a PCI FireWire card included, so maybe you should wait until you need it and get a PCI FW card then.

I have three motherboards of my own. One of them is the Asus A7V333-RAID, which uses the VIA KT333 chipset, and it has onboard USB 2.0 and FireWire, onboard sound, but no onboard video. I tried to update the BIOS and it failed, so now it is on the way back to Asus for repair The non-RAID version doesn't have FireWire. The A7V333 will probably support AthlonXP's up to the 3000+, including the future ones that use 333MHz bus instead of today's 266MHz bus.

I also have an ECS K7S5A, which is a low-priced board that uses the SiS 735 motherboard chip (I would say "chipset," but they built it all into one chip with SiS 735). It has basic onboard sound and supports AthlonXP's up to at least the 2200+, probably up to the 2600+. It works fine, I'm using it now. It has no USB 2.0, FireWire or video, but the board is so cheap that I could add a PCI USB 2.0 card and a PCI FireWire card when I need them.

For my computer at work, I got an Asus A7N266-VM, which is a great microATX board using the nVidia nForce chipset. It has onboard GeForce2MX video, excellent Dolby-certified onboard audio, onboard network card, and supports up to an AthlonXP 2200+ at least, maybe more. I built some computers for my workplace using this one too. It would be great for school, with about 256Mb of RAM and Windows2000. It doesn't have USB 2.0 or FireWire, but you could add those with PCI cards if you needed them. It also has an AGP slot so you can upgrade to a separate video card later. I really like this motherboard a lot, and nForce2 should be even better when it comes (similar price, USB 2.0, FireWire, and support for the future AthlonXP's with 333MHz bus speed).

Another chipset that has onboard video is VIA's KM266 chipset, and I did see a KM266 motherboard which has USB 2.0, optional onboard network, onboard 3D video, and onboard sound: Biostar M7VIQ

To compare the prices of these different boards:

A7V333-RAID is $140
A7N266-VM is $80
K7S5A is $55
M7VIQ is $70

At work, we are using AthlonXP 1800+'s and they are very fast for doing office work, even with our antivirus software slowing them down.

Gigabyte had a problem with some of their Pentium4 boards about six months ago, and they didn't seem to fix it very well, so I'm not sure if they are doing good quality control and testing. I do like their board layouts on the 7VRX boards, it's perfect.

 

[plexus]

Ahh, seems that Asus A7N266-VM is a good choice huh Well, i didn't know it is possible to get external USB and Firewire PCI cards

Do you happen to know ASUStek A7M266 (AMD 761) ATA-100 Mainboard or is it the one you mentioned? I checked that out from Hardwarezone What is the AMD 761? Would you recommend this mainboard or an Abit mainboard? I really can't make up my mind I need to keep budget low too

Next, is AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (1.67GHz) 266MHz fast enough? Hehe

 

[Insane3D]

Personally, I think the Epox 8K5A2+, with the KT333 chipset is a much better choice than any of the Asus offerings. It comes with 6 USB 2.0 ports, ATA100/ATA133, Onboard LAN, 5.1 sound, and ATA133 RAID. It's faster than the A7V333, and cheaper.


Here's a suggestion..

Epox 8K5A2+ - $100
1600+ - $55
512mb Samsung PC2700 - $125

Total : $280

You can take that 1.4ghz 1600+ and run it @ 166mhz FSB to match the memory and get a 333mhz 2100+ (1.75ghz) for ~$50. I just set up two of these and they are a damn fast combo...

 

[plexus]

Let's say if I don't need onboard lan, which other brands and model would be recommended? BTW, can I know what is FSB?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: plexus
Let's say if I don't need onboard lan, which other brands and model would be recommended? BTW, can I know what is FSB?

The Epox 8K5A2 (no " + " ) is the same board without an onboard ATA/RAID controller and without LAN. It runs right around $85.

 

[plexus]

Ahh, okie

Sorry abt this... seems like I'm asking too much questions Can I know what's RAID? Also, are ATA-133 harddisk out?

 

[canadianpsycho]

RAID: Redundant Array of Independant Disks. YOu need 2 or more identical size/speed hard drives. A RAID controller can run these matched disks such a way that it either gives better performance then 1 ATA HD, or you can use it to back up data, in case 1 of the 2 drives fail.

ATA-133 hard drives are out, but only so far made by Maxtor. ATA-133, even ATA-100 is more of a theoretical statistic then a practical one. Most IDE drives never attain 66 MB, never mind 100.

If you want only 1 Hard drive, you don't need RAID. If you go with 1 hard drive, I'd look for a Western Digital Special Edition drive, with the 8 mb cache. Normally I'd swear by Maxtor, but most of the HD companies are dropping their 3 year warranties to 1 year. the WD SE HDs are still going to be 3 years, and they outperform most IDE hard drives.

 

[Harvey]

You'll find lots of info in Anand's motherboard reviews and links to more info on the homepage. I'm told there are other hardware review sites somewhere out there, too.