What motherboard for an Intel should I buy?

[gonzo5467]

I am building a new Intel PIII 933mhz+ system and want to know which motherboard is the best and why? Thanks.

 

[mastertech01]

There are too many boards which are great ones, you just need to decide what features you want. You also have to decide on fgpga or slot1. I think in the fcpga you are going to find the best results with a CUSL2 or if you want onboard raid the Abit SA6R is a great one.

 

[osage]

I would say save some money and get a Asus P3V4X and be very happy.
The 815 boards have a few features that the VIA board lacks, but for the most part they are still overpriced for the performance gain you get. A quality BX chipset board is also a good choice, and you can most likely get either one used and save a lot.
I am not saying that the 815 mobos are junk or anything, and I have only had first hand exp with 2 of them- cusl2,and msi 815e pro and I would not trade a P3V4X or a BXmaster for any of them .
They may be fine mobos in a while after they mature a bit.

As the the very wise Mastertech said decide what features are important to you then do your homework, don't be sucked in by hype and PR.

 

[airfoil]

Get an i815E or EP based board. The Asus CUSL2 (E) or CUSL2-C (EP) boards have the best reputation among all 815's.

Why? Because Asus is known to make the best mobo's in the world. For stablity, speed, overclockabilty, BIOS upgrades and extra features, these boards are simply the best. The -C is about $ 25 cheaper than the CUSL2, because it does not have integrated video (i752) and has 4 USB ports instead of 7, etc. Yhey can be bought on the net for about $ 100.

 

[Gos]

I am going through the same decision again. I purchased a P3V4X and have troubles booting-up. Tech support for Asus is lacking. I found information on 2 forums indicating that many others had the same problem requiring a modification. I am returning mine back to the reseller and probably will go with one of the Abit MBs.

 

[Wingznut]

I ran through the MSI 815E-PRO, Asus P3V4X, CUV4X, CUSL-2, and the Abit SE-6.

The CUSL-2 is what stayed in my system. The SE-6 sucked. The other three are good boards, just not as good as the CUSL-2.