Help me find a new motherboard

[Psionicist]

I guess my question should be, with this board and my chip, along with about 512mb DDR 2100, should things be able to function properly? Remember, it's only a gig Athlon T-Bird...

I have around $200-250 to blow on getting things stablized... What would you do with my current configuaration?

Yeah, it will work just fine. Remember there ARE better boards out than the ASUS one, but you have made your choice regardless of what I have told you so I will not try to convince you any more.

If you encounter any problems with your board, there are is a good FAQ here: http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153101

 

[Eye Tyrant]

Psionicist-
I am a bit leary of Abit after this last board I bought from them didn't live up to the hype. I am not really eager to geek and tweak my system, I just want to get things on an even keel so to speak.

What are your thoughts on this set up?

ASUS A7N266-VM W/ COOLING FAN & AMD ATHLON XP 1700+; KINGSTON 512MB NON-ECC PC2100

Runs about $200

Or this for about $250

EPOX EP-8RDA BUNDLE W/ COOLING FAN & (AMD ATHLON XP 1700+; KINGSTON 512MB NON-ECC PC2700

 

[gariig]

Mind posting your total breakdown, maybe we can shave a few dollars off here and there. However, look for the Nforce2 boards. I think they lack the onboard video, but thats what your MX is for..err MX?! Sorry, I would also look into a Video card upgrade, I think Radeon 8500's might be a better video card and are fairly cheap. Back to the subject of Nforce boards, get the newest, might as well have the power to grow with it. The Epox 8rda is very good, the only difference between it and the 8rda+ is the 8rda+ has 5.1 (or 6 channel I forget) while the 8rda has 2.

Gariig, helping you build the better computer.

 

[Eye Tyrant]

The Asus board above is an Nforce board, has the onboard Nvidia GeForce 2 Graphic Core and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound as well... which helps not having to get a new card right away. It also has an integrated 10/100 LAN for easy High-Speed Internet connectivity. The AVN266 Asus board does have an AGP slot, so I can upgrade the video later... I am looking more now to getting a new CPU, motherboard, and RAM... I am not a super duper overclocking freak (as stated above) I just want to get something that will run some good games and leave a little room to improve.

I am still accepting all forms of advice though

P.S.
System Specs are posted above in the thread

 

[Ristamar]

Do you know what you are talking about, or have you just chosen one brand that "rocks" because the hardware scene is to big for you to monitor?

Jesus.

No reason to become snippy and condescending, chief. I don't follow hardware as much as I used to, but I'm not completely ignorant either. I was just adding another 'yay' vote to the Asus crowd, and didn't feel I needed to throw up suggestions and advice since plenty of people had already done as much.

The simple fact of that matter is that I've never had problems with my Asus boards, and they've always performed well. As long as Asus continues to offer quality motherboards at decent prices that perform in the top tier, I'll likely stick with them, unless I would happen to come across an excellent deal on another reliable board/brand. I'm sorry if that doesn't make me 1337 enough for the hardware crowd.... Jesus, indeed.

 

[Usurper]

I bought a K7S5A from ECS (Elitegroup). The board is passionately loved and hated fairly equally, but I've had no problems with mine (and it's not even a revision board). It's cheap. I saw one going for under 40 on pricewatch, and I think it was about 60 when I bought it a little over a year ago. I have a 1ghz athlon in it now, and the board can support up to an XP2600+. It has four memory slots: 2 for old SDRAM, and 2 for DDR (use either, but not both). To me, it's been a great transition board. I was able to upgrade my system for about 150 when I got the board and processor a year ago (using my old ram). I'll be able to double the processor speed and upgrade the ram to DDR for about the same amount in a couple months.

 

[gariig]

The Asus board above is an Nforce board, has the onboard Nvidia GeForce 2 Graphic Core and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound as well... which helps not having to get a new card right away. It also has an integrated 10/100 LAN for easy High-Speed Internet connectivity. The AVN266 Asus board does have an AGP slot, so I can upgrade the video later... I am looking more now to getting a new CPU, motherboard, and RAM... I am not a super duper overclocking freak (as stated above) I just want to get something that will run some good games and leave a little room to improve.

I am still accepting all forms of advice though

P.S.
System Specs are posted above in the thread

The Nforce2 boards have all of that and more! They have Firewirei and USB2.0 onboard support. They also have 5.1 support and onboard LAN. The big difference is the Nforce were subpar when they came out and were terrible performers. The Nforce2 boards are one of the top chipsets right now. Also, the Nforce2 has room for advancement with the newer 333 Athlons and DDR400(3200) bus speeds. If you buy an Nforce1 you are still going to have to upgrade the board again anyway. Also, your GF4MX runs better then the GF2(as they were also MX quality). My suggestion is the Nforce2 all the way.

Link to Nforce2 reviews
Gariig

 

[jdavis]

I posted this link above but I find that it probably is what people are wanting for reviews and comparisons, (go to mobo tools then to MOBOT tell it what features you are looking for and it will show a list of motherboards that you can compare). I have not used it in a while (since last fall) but it has tons of news reviews and comparisons dedicated to motherboards. (and links to other review sites)

http://www.motherboards.org/

 

[Eye Tyrant]

The Nforce2 boards have all of that and more! They have Firewirei and USB2.0 onboard support. They also have 5.1 support and onboard LAN. The big difference is the Nforce were subpar when they came out and were terrible performers. The Nforce2 boards are one of the top chipsets right now. Also, the Nforce2 has room for advancement with the newer 333 Athlons and DDR400(3200) bus speeds. If you buy an Nforce1 you are still going to have to upgrade the board again anyway. Also, your GF4MX runs better then the GF2(as they were also MX quality). My suggestion is the Nforce2 all the way.

Link to Nforce2 reviews
Gariig

Well the Asus site lists the chipset as NVIDIA nForce 220-D
NVIDIA IGP-64 and NVIDIA MCP-D.

Also, I only have a Geforce 2 MX right now, so I'm staying equal in that aspect as the board provides an Integrated GeForce 2
Graphics Processor Unit.

With the LAN and the sound it SEEMS to be a good buy for me. I can still upgrade the video later.

But... tell me what you would get with $300, and a broken Abit board.

 

[gariig]

What are you doing about games? Are you wanting to Play Unreal2 or are you still a Counter-Strike type person. I'm building a computer right now and looking at:

PC3200 256 MB for about 60

XP 2100+ for around $110 at NewEgg

Epox 8rda+ for 89 at newegg.com again

That would be your $300.

<EDIT>Oops, My math was off, that is your budget. However, the Geforce2 on the Nforce1 boards was a Geforce2 MX. I think you would get another 2-3 FPS by using your MX with the board.</EDIT>

If you have another $100 to go...Video card on a budget is hard, but a Chaintech Ti4200 can be had at newegg.com for 110 ..a little over budget, but you will have a descent computer. You *Might* need a Heatsink and Fan which would put you another 50 dollars over budget....

That's basically what I'm building, if you can spare the extra cash a Radeon 9500 Pro would serve you better then the Ti4200, but it is a good performer.

Gariig