toms roundup of kt266a and nForce boards

[charlotte49er]

I know Tom's articly was concerned only with performance and features in their article but this warrants mentioning...In Tom's roundup they say some of the lower performing boards are disappointing when compared to the competition. But keep in mind the pricing structure. For example, they describe the Shuttle board as "lackluster" but this board sells for $40 bucks less than the Soyo! Is the performance of this board THAT much of a difference?

 

[Bovinicus]

Nope, and it's more like $70 cheaper. I would rather save my $70 and love 1-3% performance. Also, with a little tweaking, I bet the performance of the two could be equalized. I'm about to buy the AK31A because it is the best bargain I can find. The K7S5A sounds interesting too, but I have heard of far too many problems with it. Not just three people coming in and flaming it. I also am not sure wether or not I am going to overclock, but I would like the option to be there for future use.

 

[charlotte49er]

Well I'm not a Shuttle groupie or anything like that but $80 bucks just seemed like a steal when compared to the other boards. Even without OC'ing will you really notice a difference in performance. What is an extra millisecond anyway? Sure, it doesn't have some of the "on board" stuff the more expensive boards have but when is the last time you didn't see a LAN card, etc. that was free or $5 bucks after rebate? Again, there are other boards that fit into this category but Shuttle is what I am familiar with.

 

[68GTX]

<< Is the performance of this board THAT much of a difference? >>

No, the performance of that board is fine. Tomshardware really loves to sensationalize. They also said this...

<< Again, both nForce boards have pummeled their KT266A challengers. >>

on this page. So I would take their reviews with a grain of salt.