Whats the best stable, bugfree socket A mobo out there?

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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Don't really care about latest features, but it MUST be stable, trouble free and bug free. Willing to use the older 100 mhz only/KT133 (non a) chipset if need be. Very slight preference for newer technology, EG 133 bus, DDR, but NOT at the sacrifice of stability and bug free operation.
 

urameatball

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2001
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well, microstar has a reputation for having the most stable motherboards.
I know they've earned my TOTAL respect.

but EPOX is pretty good too
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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I would have to say frequenting these boards the last 6 months the board I heard the most positive things about and rarely saw a post seeking help or saying a negative word was for EPOX boards...

That's why I exclusively use them in systems I build...Yeah they had issue with the sblive along with many ither mobos that used the southbridge 686b of via, but they were the first to put a fix out for their customers...And once again they appear to be the first getting a bios upgrade for their ddr 8K7A board to support the latest palomino chip...

Microstar is good but they have had some blunders with some new releases...same w/ Iwill.

Asus is pretty solid as well...not as oc friendly inlatest mobos...

Abit...if you get the board to power up at startup consider yourself lucky...had very high rma rate and rash of problems here on the boards about 3 months ago...
 

TunaBoo

Diamond Member
May 6, 2001
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Epox8k7a wont give ya troubles if you know how to download 4 in 1's, as most AMD bashers cannot.
 

splice

Golden Member
Jun 6, 2001
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True...

All the drivers needed are on the Epox website. Plus their tech support is top-notch. Emails are answered in 24hrs or less (most of the time less).
 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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Wow, never realized that epox was a player in this arena



<< Epox8k7a wont give ya troubles if you know how to download 4 in 1's, as most AMD bashers cannot. >>



If I can get those horrendous super socket 7 systems to work, you can be damn sure I know how to install 4 in 1's ;);)
 

cvlegion

Senior member
Jan 5, 2001
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Yeah, I have made two systems with the Epox 8K7A mobo and I have to say that it is the most stable of any AMD boards I have ever used. It is rock solid. It is good news because I have used all of the via chipsets and even the AMD 750 and they all were POS but the KT133A is showing signs of being a very mature chipset.
 

Super6

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
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If you've got a bunch of PC133 SDRAM laying around then I recommend the Iwill KK266. Stable as a rock with great O/C'ing potential. I've built four systems with this MB with zero problems...all the reviews back me up.

Super6
 

DeViSoR

Senior member
Jun 2, 2000
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My vote is for msi k7t-trubo r, running my system 24/7. Using it for (learning) lightwave, image editing, divx, mp3, html, ftp and gaming.

Review
 

Gstanfor

Banned
Oct 19, 1999
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It depends on whether or not you intend to overclock.

If you are not going to overclock, then the MSI K7T Turbo is the board you want. If you want older tech, then the original MSI K7T Pro is the board to beat.

I build all the computers I currently sell around the K7T Turbo. It is as trouble free as a mainboard is possible to get.

Greg
 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
15,581
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No overclocking is intended, this is a computer I promised to build for my bro. Hopefully, this will be a computer that will last him for the 4 years or so of college.

 

IcemanJer

Diamond Member
Mar 9, 2001
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Then maybe he's not gonna be needing the rock solid stability of Epox.. I mean, just college use.. how abusive can that be to the system..?
 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
15,581
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<< Then maybe he's not gonna be needing the rock solid stability of Epox.. I mean, just college use.. how abusive can that be to the system..? >>



Well, I definitely want the system to be rock solid, he's a CS major so I don't want the computer to crash on him while he's compiling that project he's been working on for the last few weeks.

But overclocking isn't needed at all.
 

LXi

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
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The MSI K7 family of motherboars are probably closest to the best stability there is. The K7T Turbo is extremely stable, in fact, it's also a good FSB overclocker, it aint that good with multipliers though. If you need a DDR, try the MSI K7 Master, it's a good performer, with everything jumperless(multipliers included), unlike the DIPSwtiches on the Epox.
 

X14

Senior member
Aug 17, 2000
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I just put in a 8K7A last night and my AXIA(B) 1ghz TB is running rock stable at 1400 (10x140) at default voltage. I'm sure I can get more but I want to stay at default voltage.

When I had a KT7A, I could only get 1333 (10x133) at 1.85v and that wasn't w/ 100% stability. Not to mention if I just tried to raise the FSB by 1mhz, the computer wouldn't even post. The KT7A was not to my liking so I sold it and went back to my KT7 that was very stable, until I got the 8K7A yesterday.

I'm sold on EPoX, don't think I'll be buying another Abit board again unless they improve the quality control dramatically.
 

spanner

Senior member
Jun 11, 2001
464
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MSI has a reputation in their mobos are rock solid till they completely die!!! I know of about 5 MSI boards dieing between 3 of my friends within less then a year of use.
 

visceral

Member
Feb 24, 2001
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rofl! thats the first i've heard of it. Anymore a detailed description rather than &quot;they just died&quot; ?
 

formulav8

Diamond Member
Sep 18, 2000
7,004
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<< The MSI K7 family of motherboars are probably closest to the best stability there is. The K7T Turbo is extremely stable, in fact, it's also a good FSB overclocker, it aint that good with multipliers though. If you need a DDR, try the MSI K7 Master, it's a good performer, with everything jumperless(multipliers included), unlike the DIPSwtiches on the Epox. >>



LXI? What is it with you and that MSI crap. The Epox owns the Msi K7 Master in every way. I owned both so I have the experience to compare both. Sure the Epox has jumpers, but the jumpers are usually more reliable then in bios in most cases. The Msi only has fsb option up to 150mhz not even in 1mhz-increments. The Epox has fsb settings up to 250mhz in 1mhz-increments. How many Msi boards have you seen at 200mhz fsb? I've already seen a couple Epox boards that high. The Msi doesn't even have DDR voltage settings. The Epox also performs better then the MSi at all bus speeds. The Epox is also much more stable then the Msi K7 Master I had. The Epox is already &quot;Officially&quot; supporting the new Palomino's. Especially with the Epox costing less then the Msi is makes the Msi look even worse. My $.02


Jason
 

urameatball

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2001
2,770
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<<

<< The MSI K7 family of motherboars are probably closest to the best stability there is. The K7T Turbo is extremely stable, in fact, it's also a good FSB overclocker, it aint that good with multipliers though. If you need a DDR, try the MSI K7 Master, it's a good performer, with everything jumperless(multipliers included), unlike the DIPSwtiches on the Epox. >>



LXI? What is it with you and that MSI crap. The Epox owns the Msi K7 Master in every way. I owned both so I have the experience to compare both. Sure the Epox has jumpers, but the jumpers are usually more reliable then in bios in most cases. The Msi only has fsb option up to 150mhz not even in 1mhz-increments. The Epox has fsb settings up to 250mhz in 1mhz-increments. How many Msi boards have you seen at 200mhz fsb? I've already seen a couple Epox boards that high. The Msi doesn't even have DDR voltage settings. The Epox also performs better then the MSi at all bus speeds. The Epox is also much more stable then the Msi K7 Master I had. The Epox is already &quot;Officially&quot; supporting the new Palomino's. Especially with the Epox costing less then the Msi is makes the Msi look even worse. My $.02


Jason
>>



I think the other guy was mentioning about stability and not how well a motherboard overclocks.
 

Doomguy

Platinum Member
May 28, 2000
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Epox 8k7a. Best motherboard i've ever owned. Mobo's I've owned are abit bx6-2 and bp6, asus p3v4x, msi k7t266 pro and now the epox 8k7a.
 

bigpig

Member
Dec 22, 2000
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Did you read the June 13 VIA KT133 round up here? &quot; Furthermore, the board was very stable as well, tying with the ASUS A7V133 for the top spot by not crashing a single time in 48 hours of our stress tests. Even at FSB speeds of 162MHz, the board was able to maintain the same level of stability&quot; Refering to the IWILL KK266, which is the best board i've had my paws on yet.
 

TheCrusher

Junior Member
Jun 4, 2001
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Anand's front page has a link to a KT133A motherboard roundup. The conclusion is that the Asus A7V133 and the IWill KK266 are the most stable Athlon boards available.Anand's Results
 

madfeetch

Member
Dec 11, 2000
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Why don't you just go here and decide for yourself! I would go with the Iwill KK266! It's one hell of a board and I got it for $99 plus shipping off of pricewatch. Overclock the FSB in 1mhz increments!
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Thats all nice and good, but people are recommending the epox 8K7A which is ddr mobo and not included in that review....It is not a kt133a board, just to get that in...

If you want a stable board with ddr memory advancements plus the ability to upgrade in the future to the palomino if need be this board is a winnner...maybe no oc now cause it is more then enough, but who can say it still might be no in the future...

IMO..ASUS are rock solid as well, but for the extra 20-30 bucks premium for an asus you are just as good getting epox and throw the 20-30 in the vid card or higher proc.