Still can't decide on a Athlon MB...

[TheCrimster]

Ugh. So for my Athlon XP 1900+ and my Samsung PC2700 512 mb of memory, what will give me the best bang for my buck in a motherboard?

I'm still so confused.....

The Crimster

 

[Athlon4all]

What kind of on-board goodies do you want?

 

[Insane3D]

I'll throw in a vote for the Gigabyte GA-7VXRP. Great board, overclocks well, and is loaded with goodies. It comes with onboard Promise ATA133 RAID, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 4 USB 1.1 ports, and onboard LAN. I just threw a rig together with the this board and I've been very impressed with it. It even has some cool features like AGP voltage adjust, which seems to be a bit hard to find these days. I got the rev 1.1 @ Newegg for ~$120. I paired it up with 512mb Crucial PC2100, AIW Radeon 7500, and a 1800+ XP. I'm now running it at 150mhz FSB for a nice speed boost and a 1.73ghz XP 2100+ speed.

 

[TheCrimster]

Goodies? ummmm... Sort of a novice here, but I'll try.

* No RAID
* Support the RAM and processor above
* OCing capability is only slightly important
* I do not want onboard audio/video - unless it can be disabled easily without problem
* Works with the Geforce 4 ti 4200

That's about it, I think.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

[murphy55d]

How bout the EPoX 8K3A?

I personally had considered getting either the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU or the Soyo Dragon + KT333 board. Those are sorta higher end than what youre looking for though.

The EPoX might not be a bad choice. Heres a review:

8K3A

 

[Booster]

<< Goodies? ummmm... Sort of a novice here, but I'll try.

* No RAID
* Support the RAM and processor above
* OCing capability is only slightly important
* I do not want onboard audio/video - unless it can be disabled easily without problem
* Works with the Geforce 4 ti 4200

That's about it, I think.

Thanks for the replies, guys.
>>



Get the ECS K7S5A! It's so cheap it's given out almost for free. Like it was 50 bucks several months ago, you get the idea. SiS 735 speedy chipset, is on par with KT266A, 2 DDR and 2 SDR slots, a little OC features (FSB), excellent performance and stability. Supports all the AMD CPUs, will sport T-Bred support when it's out.

 

[TheCrimster]

Couple of questions on that board:

- UltraDMA-100+33 EIDE Controllers

It says 100+33. Is this normal? Every other board I've seen says 133.

- 6 (32-bit) PCI, 1 AGP: AGP supports 1x, 2x and 4x modes.

How important is the upcoming 8x AGP mode? Are there even any boards out there with it right now?

- Built-in AC97 Digital Audio (by ALC201A Realtek ): Dual full-duplex Direct Sound channels, FM synthesis for legacy compatibility, supports game and MIDI port. The 8K3A+ is offered with 6 Channel Sound, by Realtek ALC650.

Is this better than a Sound Blaster Live Value edition?


The Crimster

 

[murphy55d]

<<

<< Goodies? ummmm... Sort of a novice here, but I'll try.

* No RAID
* Support the RAM and processor above
* OCing capability is only slightly important
* I do not want onboard audio/video - unless it can be disabled easily without problem
* Works with the Geforce 4 ti 4200

That's about it, I think.

Thanks for the replies, guys.
>>



Get the ECS K7S5A! It's so cheap it's given out almost for free. Like it was 50 bucks several months ago, you get the idea. SiS 735 speedy chipset, is on par with KT266A, 2 DDR and 2 SDR slots, a little OC features (FSB), excellent performance and stability. Supports all the AMD CPUs, will sport T-Bred support when it's out. >>



Then his PC2700 is wasted since he doesnt plan on overclocking too much..

To max out that RAM potential, go with a KT333 board.

I wouldn't buy that ECS board unless you're running on a VERY VERY tight budget. The 8K3A is 96 bucks at NewEgg. There's 5 total KT333 boards at NewEgg for under 100 dollars. Any one of them will do you just fine.

 

[Insane3D]

"Couple of questions on that board:

- UltraDMA-100+33 EIDE Controllers

It says 100+33. Is this normal? Every other board I've seen says 133."

Yes, it uses the Via 8233A southbridge that has full support for ATA133.


"
- 6 (32-bit) PCI, 1 AGP: AGP supports 1x, 2x and 4x modes.

How important is the upcoming 8x AGP mode? Are there even any boards out there with it right now?"

AFAIK, there are no current motherboards that support the AGP 8X standard yet. And no, it's not terribly important just yet. The only AGP 8X video card out I know of is the GF4 Ti4600.

" Built-in AC97 Digital Audio (by ALC201A Realtek ): Dual full-duplex Direct Sound channels, FM synthesis for legacy compatibility, supports game and MIDI port. The 8K3A+ is offered with 6 Channel Sound, by Realtek ALC650.

Is this better than a Sound Blaster Live Value edition?"

No, this is a very cheap, onboard software sound that will not be as good as a dedicated SC like the SB Live. It's fine for stereo use, but for gaming or multiple speaker setups, you will do better with the SB Live.

 

[Athlon4all]

Ok, another vote for 8K3A