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what are some decent socket A mobos?

I

imported_Reck

Golden Member
What are some good socket A mobos? That don't suffer from bad caps and will hopefully last years. I need something to be used with an athlon 2600-3000xp. One that can display my cpu temps correctly. I've heard that the athlon 2600-2800 can't do temp reading at all. Is this true?
 
Abit NF7-S is a favorite around here. Not the cheapest, but it has SoundStorm audio, Firewire, and an ATX12V connector.
 
I do not need onboard audio or video. Oh and yea how exactly do I know what motherboards will fit my case? I've never really completely built a system before just done basic stuff.
 
Originally posted by: Reck
I do not need onboard audio or video. Oh and yea how exactly do I know what motherboards will fit my case? I've never really completely built a system before just done basic stuff.
Click to expand...
I made a computer-building guide aimed at first-timers who know that computers are made from parts: http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/index.html I think it's got about 115 photos now 😕

The Shuttle AN35N Ultra is a more budget-oriented nForce2 motherboard with a good reputation. It has basic onboard audio (you can always disable onboard audio, though), no Firewire.

If you can give some info about your case, I can try to verify whether it's standard ATX. A standard ATX case would have seven card slots on the rear and a rectangular area where the ports peek out, like in this picture, and a standard ATX power supply (as opposed to a proprietary one like you might find in some Dells, for example).
 
Usually (if not always) you can (and are supposed to) take the I/O shield on your case out and replace it with the one that comes with your mobo. The I/O shield connector configuration is not dictated by any particular specification.

I can recommend the Shuttle AN35N Ultra from personal experience. Can't really go wrong with an Asus A7N8X series or Abit NF7/AN7 series (except for the NF7-S2; not to be confused with the NF7-S v2) either. There are also numerous cheap boards that also work.
 
Yeah, what he said 🙂 The I/O shield pops out and you just pop in the one that comes with your mobo.
 
Whew that's a relief. I was about to say "what's the point in form factor if the ports aren't all compatible".

So:
Abit NF7-S

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-166&depa=0

Asus A7N8X

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.a...frcode=0&DEPA=0&bop=and&InnerManu=1315

What are the differences between all the versions?



Shuttle AN35N Ultra

So which one of those would be best all around for me? As I said I need a system tha can read temps acurately. I'll probably be pairing it with pc2700 ram as I'm on an extreme budget. I may want to overclock a bit later though. BTW on a side note, how good are the stock coolers for the athlon xp? What temps can I expect? And I have no need for ATA, my hard drive uses IDE.

edit:ts3433 do you mean I should avoid the NF7-S v2?

Edit again: been looking around and it seems like there are too many quality prolems with the shuttle. Isn't there anything cheaper than those boards that meets my criteria?

 
No, the NF7-S v2 is a very good board. The NF7-S2 is not--no multiplier adjustment (no mobiles), among other things, but aside from that it's a pretty good no-frills board. You might as well go for PC3200 RAM, by the way, since it's all about the same price now.

The stock coolers will keep your chip cool enough at stock speeds (obvious), but they're supposed to be quite loud, so I'd consider a Speeze/Masscool WhisperRock (bigger fan than the stock). Should be about $10-15.

Quality problems with that Shuttle board? 😕 Mine's worked very well--no problems so far, though I don't check temps right now since my chip isn't really overclocked (and I have a copper cooler). Do you need the accurate temps for a project or something? I wouldn't know what boards read it most accurately.

You can also try that Chaintech.
 
Ok one really stupid last question. My cd rom/hard drive are both IDE. The ABIT NF7-S and the Asus A7V8X both seem to not use IDE.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-468&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-166&depa=1

I have no clue what "Ultra DMA" is either. Sorry for all the retarded questions, I just don't wanna leave any stone unturned. It would suck to buy something that won't work.

edit: and so yes any pc2100/2700/3200 ram will be compatible right?
 
Uh, hello....

A7N8X-X
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 133 up to 4 Devices

NF7-S V2
IDE: 2x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices

UltraDMA 133 = ATA 133
DMA = Direct Memory Access
ATA = IDE (for the general sense; IIRC ATA refers to the standard, IDE to the electronics)

Tell me that isn't IDE. Your drives will work fine.


Of course any RAM that's listed will work...
 
While I was running socket a I had two abit nf7-s v2 boards and they're great. I would not recommend any other board especially if you've got an unlocked barton chip.
 
Originally posted by: Reck
Ok one really stupid last question. My cd rom/hard drive are both IDE. The ABIT NF7-S and the Asus A7V8X both seem to not use IDE.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-468&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-166&depa=1

I have no clue what "Ultra DMA" is either. Sorry for all the retarded questions, I just don't wanna leave any stone unturned. It would suck to buy something that won't work.

edit: and so yes any pc2100/2700/3200 ram will be compatible right?
Click to expand...

It has 2 IDE, it will work fine with 4 devices - you don't have to use the SATA if you don't want 🙂

 
I've had great luck with the A7N8X boards. Better overclockers than most people think, too. Abit mentioned many times here is fantastic, too.
 
Please, nobody, get anal: I would stay away from ASUS.

MassCool fans are loud, but they push a lot of air. So that's something to consider. And the Shuttle small form factor systems (SFF) tend to run hot, so consider that as well.
 
Originally posted by: charles555
And the Shuttle small form factor systems (SFF) tend to run hot, so consider that as well.
Click to expand...

?

We're not talking about Shuttle SFFs. They make some budget-oriented regular ATX motherboards.
 
Originally posted by: ts3433
We're not talking about Shuttle SFFs. They make some budget-oriented regular ATX motherboards.
Click to expand...
Several times over the past few months, I've run a Price-Grabber search and found more than one seller offering A35N's for $53-55 or so, and their Via KT600 MB for the higher $40's. At least twice, I saw the Shuttle NF2 MB prices that low also. Yesterday, I found no one offering the A35N for less than $69 shipped. In comparable (I think it's fairly comparable) quality, it seems the MSI is a current price leader.

😉


 
OK, I am not up on Shuttle's offerings.


Stay away from Asus because they release some VERY buggy products. Take a look at all the SATA problems and their lack of support/fixes for it with new BIOS updates in their Flagship model A8N. And I have an old TV tuner card that screws up colors. I have never heard anything great about their product. Also, their A8N doesn't overclock well at all.
 
I had good succes with Soltek offering. I used them mainly for my Socket A built and I have yet to have one failing.
 
Originally posted by: Kiwi
Originally posted by: ts3433
We're not talking about Shuttle SFFs. They make some budget-oriented regular ATX motherboards.
Click to expand...
Several times over the past few months, I've run a Price-Grabber search and found more than one seller offering A35N's for $53-55 or so, and their Via KT600 MB for the higher $40's. At least twice, I saw the Shuttle NF2 MB prices that low also. Yesterday, I found no one offering the A35N for less than $69 shipped. In comparable (I think it's fairly comparable) quality, it seems the MSI is a current price leader.

😉
Click to expand...

I'd think so too... I'm just speaking from my personal experience with my AN35N Ultra, and the only other recommendations that popped into my mind were the A7N8X and NF7 series. The MSI K7N Delta or whatever it is should be good too.
 
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