I am just about to order new computer parts. I have been reading over what is out there for the last few weeks and I think i am gonna go with a 6400 and single eVGA GTO just in case I want to step-up around Christmas time (possible limited availability of this card is why I want to buy soon). I have done minor OCing the past, and I will most likely bump up my FSB on any MOBO I get, but nothing major. I like to buy high quality compenents simply due to reliability. Over the last 10 years I have had one MOBO and 1 CPU die on me.
Anyway, I was looking at the Abit AB9. I like the looks and the features of the board for the price it comes in at. eSATA, firewire, and lots of USB. Lastly, I have had great luck with Abit in the past remembering my (Celron with a 50% OC). Thing is, I would rather not have to install a floppy drive just to install my OS. I have one floppy drive and it is in my old computer because it too cannot install onto the SATA drive from windows. I looked for an SATA DVD burner but that search came up short. I hate IDE cables, what is taking companies so long to switch to the superior interface anyway?
Now my question. Is this something that I will have to deal with with any 965, 975 board? From what I can tell from my cursory searches, the IDE is not native to the chipset. I looked at a couple MOBO manuals and they don't seem to say if you need the floppies to run a raid or just install. Also, the problems with the SATA recognition seem to be a windows installer problem more than mobo/chipset problem and this may go away with Vista.
Rephrase for those who dont' feel like reading everything:
Do the DS3, S3, or the $150 ranged ASUS boards have this issue with needing a floppy? Do the 975 chips have the same problem?
Those who have installed Vista on a clean machine: Does Vista have the SATA drivers ready to go thus eliminating this problem for good?
Lastly, I did a search and came up with not much about the AB9 Pro. The review here was on a beta bios. Anyone with this board give it a thumbs up or thumbs down?
Anyway, I was looking at the Abit AB9. I like the looks and the features of the board for the price it comes in at. eSATA, firewire, and lots of USB. Lastly, I have had great luck with Abit in the past remembering my (Celron with a 50% OC). Thing is, I would rather not have to install a floppy drive just to install my OS. I have one floppy drive and it is in my old computer because it too cannot install onto the SATA drive from windows. I looked for an SATA DVD burner but that search came up short. I hate IDE cables, what is taking companies so long to switch to the superior interface anyway?
Now my question. Is this something that I will have to deal with with any 965, 975 board? From what I can tell from my cursory searches, the IDE is not native to the chipset. I looked at a couple MOBO manuals and they don't seem to say if you need the floppies to run a raid or just install. Also, the problems with the SATA recognition seem to be a windows installer problem more than mobo/chipset problem and this may go away with Vista.
Rephrase for those who dont' feel like reading everything:
Do the DS3, S3, or the $150 ranged ASUS boards have this issue with needing a floppy? Do the 975 chips have the same problem?
Those who have installed Vista on a clean machine: Does Vista have the SATA drivers ready to go thus eliminating this problem for good?
Lastly, I did a search and came up with not much about the AB9 Pro. The review here was on a beta bios. Anyone with this board give it a thumbs up or thumbs down?
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