Opinion on the best MATX board for Athlons?

[Techno]

I was interested in getting the MSI KT4M-L however its not in stock anywhere and MSI is not giving me a date as to when it will be out. Could someone tell me in there opinion what is the best MATX board for Athlons?

Thank you!

 

[Jhhnn]

This one is widely regarded as the best currently available-

Asus

And this one is also pretty good-

Epox

Neither one is an overclockers' board, the integrated video on the Asus is definitely better for 3D...

You'll have to hold out for awhile for the nforce2 microboards....

 

[TheBlindMan]

The newest available I've come across is the ECS L7VTM (VIA KT400) and the soon to be available Biostar M7NCD (Nforce2).

 

[Jhhnn]

Like I said, you'll have to hold out for awhile for the nforce 2 Matx boards.

The Biostar would probably be OK, I wouldn't touch the ecs with a pole- just my personal prejudice, from the old days when ecs/pcChips marketed total trash. Won't be buying any Abits or Shuttles anytime soon, either, their new stuff is made by ecs, iirc....

 

[TheBlindMan]

Funny how some people are afraid of ECS, personally given a choice, I'd stay away from VIA. 'in the old days when ecs/pcChips marketed total trash' implies that their current stuff is OK, so why continue staying away from Abit and Shuttle or ECS for that matter? Asus and Epox MATX are all older chipsets, so they may not be the best choice. It all depends on what the user defines "the best" to mean... best overclocker? best stability? best feature set? best upgradablity? and the list goes on.

The ECS L7VTM is the closest board to the MSI KT4M-L, same chipset, similar features, and it's available now. IMO it is much better than the Asus A7N266.

 

[Techno]

TheBlindMan

Where is it at? i looked on pricewatch and couldn't find it.

Thank you!

 

[MithShrike]

Yes, that would be some good info, about that ECS board's availability...

 

[TheBlindMan]

Only place I've found it is at XTechnology (a Yahoo store). It's a bit pricey at $119 and ships in 5-7 days. Google search rocks!

EDIT: I just noticed that the XTech site titles it as the L7VT<U>A</U> (A for ATX) but the pic and description is of the L7VTM. Before you order I suggest you confirm that you're getting the MATX board.

 

[TheBlindMan]

Anybody found any other Nforce2 boards? So far Biostar is all I know of. Oh and does anybody know of any expected release dates for MATX Nforce2 boards?

Thanks

 

[Jhhnn]

What I said wasn't an implication that ecs has improved, not at all, but I did acknowledge the possibility. Deer might be makin' better stuff, too, and I'm more than willing to let others be at the forefront of discovery, if you can catch my drift.... Have at it, guys, might follow your lead somewhere down the road.

Without a very high degree of stability, none of the other stuff really matters. Whatever other shortcomings they may have, the two boards I offered have that attribute, and come from makers with a history of quality....