Obligatory Newb Post

[InterWebGuy]

Hey all, posting this cause I couldn't find an amalgamation of these topics in the forum archives.

Anyone have some opinions on:
-Which Mobos are the most stable of this years crop?
-Which motherboard companies have the best tech support (asus definately DOES NOT make my list )?
-The best value in motherboards for general purpose computing?
-Your favorite type of RAM (ie- crucial pc2100, mushkin pc133, etc.)
-Your favorite vendor for all things technological (newegg rocks )
-Your opinion of the N-force debacle.
-Anything else you feel is relevant, naturally
Thanks!

 

[ScrapSilicon]

needs to be in OT forum...not Motherboards forum...registering in "Feb 2001" does not make you a "Newb" ....have a nice day

 

[InterWebGuy]

AH, sorry, just thought that since my post dealt primarily with motherboards it shoult go here. Oh, and I wasn't refering to the date I joined, but rather the number of posts I had
I'll ask the Mod to move the topic if you guys think it's inappropriate.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

Now me, I am a newb.

Anyways, I'll speak for AMD mobos and such, since I know jack about Intel's hardware. As for stable, you could go for an AMD 761 based mobo...dated, but stable. Via's KT266A is stable as long as you get some 4 in 1's and do some research on compatibilities when picking up hardware. SiS735 is a good, solid contender as well. Lots of good, stable options, really.

Motherboard...tech...support? I don't think these go together in a sentence. E-mailed Shuttle like, 2 months ago w/o reply, Soyo longer than that.. no reply. I'd call if it didn't cost me money.

Best value in mobos for general purpose...the ECS K7S5A or the Epox 8KHA+. Inexpensive, fast boards.

RAM...Crucial PC2100 seems to be the way to go.

Vendor...www.newegg.com

N-force...415-D might be promising. And the 420-D is gonna make me a nice word processing/homework PC one day.

Anything else relevant...I like cookies...and we're having spaghetti for dinner. Yummy.

 

[InterWebGuy]

And here I thought Asus was a special case
BTW, I had the impression that KT266A was finicky at best due the conflicts with anything that uses electricity- this have any basis in reality? :Q

 

[ScrapSilicon]

....hehe....MistaTastyCakes I had to bump your rating in your profile on the " cookie " comment as that was what I was snackin' on when I read your post...yes ...spaghetti is yummy ( sausage instead of meatballs )

 

[ScrapSilicon]

<< And here I thought Asus was a special case
BTW, I had the impression that KT266A was finicky at best due the conflicts with anything that uses electricity- this have any basis in reality? :Q >>

not to sure about that but I'm eyeing that Shuttle ak35gtr

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

lol...thanks Scrap. Peanut butter is the best...followed in a close second by Oreo.



<< BTW, I had the impression that KT266A was finicky <I>at best</I> due the conflicts with anything that uses electricity- this have any basis in reality? >>



If they were as bad as people complain, then Via wouldn't be in business. Mine's working just fine, had an SBLive problem for a little while, but I changed PCI slots and all is fine and dandy now. I haven't had a single crash on my 8KHA+ that wasn't due to me pushing my overclocks too far, and many people are in the same boat as me. It's just that you rarely hear posts about how good a mobo is for someone as opposed to questions asking for help w/ probs. My only beef with the chipset is that I had to screw around with the mobo to get my SBLive going in the first place. So much for plug and play, hehe

I forgot the new ALi chipset too, it's pretty nice actually. Used on the IWill XP333-R...nice, fast, reliable board.

 

[InterWebGuy]

<< It's just that you rarely hear posts about how good a mobo is for someone as opposed to questions asking for help w/ probs. >>



Well, in the interest of fairness to Asus, once I got my board working tolerably well, I grew rather attached to it
My A7V rocks 98% of the time, the other 2%... well, it's just cranky

BTW, here's another question for ya: Is it worth splurging on an abit for general computing/gaming purposes? I can't make up my mind.... abit or epox... hmmm...