What Mobo Should I Buy?

[andrewperon04]

I bought a Soyo SY-KT600 PLUS on sunday, only to find i had a defective board (See my other post, SY-KT600), luckily for me, i had bought a replacement plan and got full credit back for it, which is good considering it was a $100.00 Board! I need some (KIND) advice on which new mobo i should buy (I am on a $160 budget), and i also need some PC2100 DDRAM or anything over a 2100 rating. Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[MustISO]

which CPU are you using?

 

[andrewperon04]

OOPS! sorry i forgot to tell you i need a socket A (Athlon/Duron) mobo
sorry!

 

[Fern]

Have a look at the (Abit) NF7-S v.2 (be careful, there's one called the NF7-S2 that's not the same!). Prolly a little less than $100.

or a Shuttle AN35N-Ultra. It doesn't have the Soundstorm (onboard digital audio) or SATA/Raid that the NF7-S offers. But it's about $55 at newegg.com

For ram, I suggest Corsair Value Select PC3200 (Cas. 2.5). Prolly around $90 for a stick of 512MB

 

[deadken]

You say that you "got full credit back for it", I hope that we are talking a full refund, and not store credit.

I would agree with the Shuttle AN35N Ultra board that "Fern" recommended. I would change the memory over to 2X256MB Patriot PC3200 2,3,2,6 Latency, for under $100 also @ Newegg.com.

With that board and Memory, you should be in GREAT shape, and you will have PLENTY of upgrade room.

I have a AN35N Ultra, and I am using the onboard sound, I find it to be fine. The board is solid and stable, and has nice Overclocking features (if you ever want to later on). You will be able to move up to a 333FSB or a 400FSB CPU for a reasonable investment later on (I think that the AMD 3200+ CPU are around $120 now). The specs on that memory are great, and the reviews seem to be very good so far.

Good Luck, and be sure to let us know what you get, and how you like it!

 

[Excelsior]

I just got this board, and love it.
Only $60 shipped, leaving you $100 for memory.

Not only is it inexpensive, but it is stable, fast, and very tweakable.