The Most Stable System Configuration?

[goofy2000]

I see there are some stability issues even with the well-known brands of MOBO. What are the main factor of the instability of the system?
My list would be.. MOBO+CPU+VC+SC+HDD+OS
What would be the most stable system configuration that I can have with Athlon/Duron?

 

[BurnItDwn]

probably most stable would be ASUS board ... but i have heard good things about the new Microstar board ....

I've built 3 systems with Kt7s in them ... and i love abit .... but they do have a pretty high RMA rate ... and their not known to be THE most stable of boards.


Probably any kt133 ASUS board would grant you very very much stability ...

 

[sciencewhiz]

most stable, least configurable: brand-name system (Dell, Gateway)

for motherboards: ASUS CUSL2 for PIII or MSI pro2 for AMD

Other things that cause instability: poor Power Supply, cheap ram, any software that is made by microsoft.


Edit: Changed OEM to brand-name. I have never had any trouble with a Dell or Gateway system. I have had trouble with custom-built systems, even when using the best parts availible.

 

[Modus]

OEM systems are *not* stable. In fact, their mix of hardware is no better than your average clone, and usually worse because most of the parts, including the motherboard, have no name brand and are difficult to support after the fact.

As for the most stable system configuration, look no further than AnandTech's own favorite for their forum servers. An updated version of their setup would be:

- AMD Thunderbird xxxx
- Microstar K7T-Pro2A (so stable it crashed an unprecedented zero times during their 24 hour torture test)
- Name brand PC133 2-2-2 memory (try Micron, Mushkin, Hyundai, Corsair, or best yet, TinyBGA)
- Any nVidia GeForce2 based card for best driver support under any OS
- Any AMD aproved power supply

Modus

 

[slpaulson]

My old gateway sure wasn't worthy of the "most stable".
Might of had something to do with the fact that they had the older .35 pentuim2 300 in there without a fan on the heatsink.
What is it that oem's have against putting fans on their damn heatsinks? My friends micron doesn't have a fan on it either.

 

[xtreme2k]

I must say if you wana talk about the most 'STABLE' system
I must bring up the Inte BX-based boards. They might not be the fastest but they are certainly most stable.
Eg,
Asus P2(3)B/F (many BX boards are actually very very stable)
Intel P3/750/800/100 coppermine cpu
Wellknow PC133 222 memory, perferbly Micron, Corsair, etc...
Wellknow nvidia Geforce GTS cards, CL,ASUS, etc
Sound Blaster Live! series
IBM 75GXP?


Talk about Athlon/Duron systems
MSI K7T Pro2 is certainly most stable

OS - Win2000 or Linux for sure

 

[wonder mike]

er bx boards are the fastest and most stable boards out there. with a few years to mature how can it not be.

 

[Modus]

wonder mike,

How can you get more stable than zero (0) crashes in a 24 hour torture test, as achieved by the Microstar K7T-Pro2? Even BX boards are hard pressed to match that. And lesser KT133 boards like the ASUS A7V and Abit KT7 still pull out top marks for stability, crashing only two or three times accroding to AnandTech's tests.

The Intel BX chipset is not so deserving of the venerable legacy people give it. . .

Modus

 

[Dufusyte]

For max stability on an Athlon system:

- Microstar MB
- 3dfx VC (while they last)
- Mushkin RAM ("Athlon approved" type)
- 300 Watt or greater Athlon approved PS
- Linux OS (heh)
- SoundCard? dunno. For best sound get a Vortex2 chip though. A3D rules!
- IBM HDD
- Plextor CDRW

For max stabiility get a desktop case, since they tip over less than tower cases.

And most important, if stability is the main issue, do not over-clock.

 

[lsd]

Anything that doesn't have VIA chipsets

 

[Dulanic]

For what you listed here is what I would recommend.
MB=MSI K7T Pro2A
CPU=AMD T-Bird Socket A
VC=Up to you but a GeForce or Raedon will do well
SC=SB Live (Version is up to you)
HD=Maxtor DiamondMax Plus45 or the IBM
OS=If you want great stability.... Win2K