Recommended Motherboards?

[Garet Jax]

Hello all,

I am new to the OCing business and am looking for some advice on motherboards as the heart of a good over-clockable machine. I already have 512MB PC133 Cas2 RAM and an ATA 100 hard drive. I will probably put an Intel PIII 850MHz (or so) CPU in it (I am open to recommendations for better CPUs).

Can anyone recommend a MB with a good quality Chipset that will take full advantage of all my RAM, have native ATA 100 support, be able to use the Intel (or other recommended) CPU and is kind to inexperienced over-clockers like myself.

Thanks a lot for all of your insight.

--Anthony

 

[GT1999]

Well, you could go for the Asus CUSL2-C, but that still has a limit of 512MB RAM, which, as well can both see, is what you have right now. :Q

So, I would probably recommend something such a the ASUS CUV4X-D. It's a VIA Apollo Pro 133A Chipset solution that supports Dual FC-PGA Pentium III and Celerons up to 1 GHz. 4x SDRAM DIMMs, up to 2GB SDRAM. AGP Pro, 5 PCI, Dual Channel Ultra ATA/100, and Asus's Ipanel. Excellent solution, and you could always throw a second PIII in there.

Don't want to go dual? I'd recommend something like the Abit BX-133 RAID or ASUS CUBX. The BX chipset is a very old chipset, however. You will be limited to a 100MHz FSB and AGP 2x. Most BX chipsets will run 133MHz+ FSB no problem, but you will be running your AGP out of spec, since the i440BX does not support an AGP 1/2 divider; something that the i815(E)[P] and VIA chipsets offer.

If you still don't think you will like either of those boards, then I'd check out the i815EP chipset. As you can see, you are limited to 512MB SDRAM, which is very painful for a RAM upgrade. Here is a summary of the specs for the Asus CUSL2-C i815EP motherboard:

- Intel i815EP Chipset (no onboard video), FC-PGA
- Supports Intel Coppermine Pentium III and Celeron processors
- AGP Pro 4x, 6 PCI, 1 CNR, 3 DIMM (512MB Max)
- 133 MHz FSB with PC-133 Memory Support
- Dual Channel Ultra DMA/100 Disk Transfer
- Jumperless Overclocking through BIOS
- No Integrated Video like other i815E Boards\



There are many other motherboards out there, especially ones based off of the VIA Apollo 133A chipset, I just glanced across some of the newer, more popular boards. The BX boards are not new however, but they are the newest revisions that motherboard manufacturer's have made to the chipset. I hope this helps in your decision making process.

G|T

 

[Garet Jax]

Geekish Thoughts,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond.

I have done quite a bit of research since reading your response. It looks like the ASUS CUV4X-D is the one I am going to go with.

One quick follow-up question. I couldn't find a reference to Lpanel or Ipanel anywhere on ASUS' website. Could you possibly give me a little more information on it? Thanks again.

 

[GT1999]

Hardwaremania - Asus Ipanel



<< It's been a while since Asus has released its new mainboards (like CUSL2, CUC2, CUSI-FX ) with an I/O port. Yet, the device to be used with this port has just been available. This device (aka Information Panel) which is installed on one of the 5.25&quot; sockets is designed to give information about the system parameters as well as to enable an easy access to the frequently used ports like USB, Audio, serial port and IRDA by moving them to the front of the case. The installation process is quite simple, you can mount iPanel just by connecting the two ribbon cables. (one for the USB) >>




The specs I gave above for the CUV4X-D came from GamePC's website under the &quot;Components&quot; section to the left of their website, and then &quot;Motherboards&quot;. After checking, it shows &quot;support&quot; for it, it is not included. I should've read closer. Sorry about that!

G|T

 

[AndyHui]

The iPanel is sold separately, and is not bundled with ASUS motherboards.

I would look carefully at some of the posts over at CUSL2.com regarding problems with the iPanel though.

More information on the ASUS CUV4X-D can be found here.

 

[GT1999]

AndyHui beat me to my edit

 

[Garet Jax]

Anyone know of a MB that supports dual AMD chips and is similar to the CU4VX-D? Thanks again.

 

[GT1999]

There aren't any dual CPU motherboards out for the Socket-A or Slot-A Athlons. So far, the best chipset for that is probably going to be the AMD760MP. It has been anticipated to be out for quite some time now, but I believe it has been delayed, delayed, and delayed yet again. Also, it uses DDR-SDRAM, and you already have 512MB of SDRAM.

By the way, if you do go AMD, you won't regret it I'm running a 1.1GHz Thunderbird (blue core) on an Abit KT7-RAID and it's great. I bought my system a couple of months ago, however, and I'd probably recommend the Asus A7V133 right now. It's based on the VIA KT133A chipset and supports SDRAM, which is what you need. Anand puts it on par or above the MSI Socket-A motherboards out there in terms of stability, and yet the A7V133 is still one of the fastest boards out there in its class.

Here's Anand's latest review on the Asus A7V133

G|T