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What's the best motherboard for a *VALUE* Duron system?

murphy55d

murphy55d

Lifer
Any thoughts? Trying to get a price for a friend of mine on a system, want to know what you guys think would be the best motherboard route for a Duron.

Also what sort of memory would I go with?
 
PC Chips M841LR. It's similar to K7S5A, except it uses SiS 740, which has On-Board video that in a DDR configuration, supposedly comes very close to GF2MX200 speeds, and i've seen it for around $65. It also has Sound, LAN, Modem, has both DDR and SDR slots in case you want to use SDRAM and is a mATX board. Truthfully, I'm thinking of picking one up just for the heck of it, someone's gotta compare it's on-board video to a MX400.
 
Well I don't have any old PC133 memory and neither does he(doesn't have a computer now..just one of those Compaq Internet Appliance things) so whatever I'd use would be whatever I bought.

What's the best memory config with a Duron? Can I use PC2100 with it?

I would rather not go with PC Chips, couple of my friends had some bad experiences, so I'm going to avoid that route. I originally was going to use an EPoX 8K7A since mine has worked so well for me, and I'd be familiar with it.

Let's pretend for a second someone was going to give you one of these boards for free, would you go with the ECS or the above mentioned 8K7A?
 
i won't...(change my vote)

while the PCChips board seems a steal at that price - and while the SIS 740 is a good chipset, you have to be weary about PCChips' support.

ECS comes out w/ regular BIOS updates when new proc speeds, issues, etc., come out - PCChips...don't count on it...

try navigating their site for a few minutes without getting a headache...also, try finding sh1t on there (without getting a headache).

also, does that board support DDR or no? - anyway, either way - u can't lose (unless you want some sort of support...then stay away from PCChips)
 
ECS...on board LAN, SOLID northbridge & SOUTHBRIDGE...no VIA issues, etc.

plus since u mentioned value, the board does support both SDR and DDR (i.e. pc2100)...it's also got a black PCB...cool if u're some sort of nerd 😛

performs good too...i've built 3 systems around the K7S5A...
 
So ya think the ECS + 256MB PC2100 + Duron 1.0 ghz would work out alright? I've already got everything else priced..this was my only potential sticking point, wasn't sure which board and what memory config to go with.
 
If it was for me, I'd take the ECS K7S5A (and have 3 times for different builds). Be sure that the first thing you do is upgrade to the latest official BIOS when you get the board.
 


<< What's the best memory config with a Duron? Can I use PC2100 with it? >>

You can use DDR with a Duron. If you're going to need to be buying RAM, then go for DDR.

<< I would rather not go with PC Chips, couple of my friends had some bad experiences, so I'm going to avoid that route. I originally was going to use an EPoX 8K7A since mine has worked so well for me, and I'd be familiar with it. >>

That's fine. That is definately an issue for some (the PC Chips support issue), they do make Good boards IMO, but it's your choice. Truthfully, I frankely would rather not comment on K7S5A. I am not certain on it's stability, but then 8K7A uses the infamous VIA 686B south bridge which I really can't recommend in any case. So I won't comment on K7S5A.
 
A friend of mine recently purchased an ECS K7S5A with 1.2GHz Morgan Duron at Fry's for $109+tx. Seems like a solid deal.🙂
 
I built an office system with an ECS K7S5A and a 950 Duron retail box ($89 for the combo at Outpost - don't know if they are still available). The build was simple and the computer is rock solid with my old Kingmax PC150 sdram. I use that machine as a small office server at work -- not a single hang or crash for the several weeks I've had it.
 
ECS K7S5A.

No VIA headaches. Rock solid SiS core logic. PC133 or PC2100, support for all XPs, on-board audio/lan... now as little as $50 brand spanking new. There's nothing close to it price/performance-wise.

Coupled with a 1GHz (perhaps a 1.2GHz, if the price is right) Duron, you've got a smokin' gun. Fry's has the K7S5A w/ a 1GHz Duron for a measly $119 this weekend. Pretty hard to complain... 😀
 
I was going to say the Epox 8KHA+ at first and I still would. But after setting up a ECS K7S5A with a 1.2ghz Duron ($99 at Fry's) for a friend tonight, I would be insane not to reccomend that board to people. Can't beat it for the price.
 
Another vote for the ecs and 1.2 duron deal! Even if you cant get it at frys, the price is still pretty close fron online retailers.
 
Another vote for the ECS K7S5A. I've built a few systems using that mobo and various Duron cpu's. In fact, I have one with a 1GHz Duron and a 256MB stick of PC-133 RAM that I'll box up later today for a Monday morning delivery. I wrapped up a 24-hour run with CPU Burn-in v1.01 and it's solid as a rock.
 
I agree with the K7S5A movement. Mine is very stable.

theres another ECS board, that i havent had experience with, the K7SEM has the SiS 730S chipset and onboard LAN/sound/video,
it goes for about the same price as the K7S5A too.

oh, just looked at the site, and it only supports SDR, and its MicroATX (not sure if thats good or bad for you

ECS K7SEM
 
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