I need a new AMD board

I've just found out that the reason my computer's kapput is because the motherboard basically self-destructed. This obviously means I need to buy one.

What I'm looking for:

- Windows '98 comptible
- Supports AMD Athlon XP processors (I currently have a 1800+, but want at least 2400+, and preferrably up to 3000+ so I can upgrade in the near future)
- AGP 8x
- Allows a maximum of at least 2gb of DDR266 (but 3gb would be nice)
- At least 3 PCI slots
- Not essential, but at least IDE 133MB/Sek and FSB 333MHz would be good


I don't care about in-built graphics, sound, LAN, etc. In fact, one without these would be prefferable, because it would bring the price down (yes, I need something cheap - under £80 / $50 ;) )

At the moment the ASRock 746 FX, Microstar 746 F and Elitegroup L7VTA look the most attractive, but what do you guys think?

pricewatch.com Good stuff for cheap.

Thanks, but I'm not looking forward to places to get good prices, I'm looking for motherboard recommendations.

Besides, I'm not American ;)

You want scan and Dabs 2 fine UK suppliers of everything.

Buy Soyo or Soltek, low price, nice drivers, great features.

Soltek:

http://www.soltek-usa.com/

Soyo:

http://www.soyousa.com/

Never buy Soyo.

Dude whatever! I have 2 soyo machines that are badasses. Never had a problem. But for every success story there's always some bad ones too, so... Like Nightmare asked it's only a suggestion.

Mine was a suggestion too.

I bought an nForce board over the weekend. As soon as I get the damn system working, I'll tell you how it comes out. I can't tell you what the model is right now, but I will when I get the chance.

Thanks guys, I'm after recommedations for specific models, not the names of companies who make the boards. I already know who all the companies who make AMD motherboards are, what I want to know is which the most suitable of all the ones these companies make :)

IMJack said:

I bought an nForce board over the weekend. As soon as I get the damn system working, I'll tell you how it comes out. I can't tell you what the model is right now, but I will when I get the chance.

I hear good things about nForce. Hmmmm do thay have one of those gforce2 baced mother boards?

nForce2 or KT400A is definitely the way to go for an AMD board. Any Nforce2 or KT400A board is going to have all of the features you requested. Soltek is my manufacturer of choice, but Abit and Asustek are both good. I'm rather partial to Tyan, as well, but they're not much on the enthusiast side of things, instead building boards for stability.

Wow, it's like the hardware-illiterate forum, the funniest comments was on the soyo boards and the other company. Sorry but those are the most craptastic boards out there. Listen, I've been building systems for nearly 5 years now, part hobby, part job. Best thing you can do right now is do what I'm doing in a few months when I got the money. Get the Epox 8rda+ but when you order it, make sure it has the A1 northbridge stepping, if they can't guarantee that, don't get it. Also, order an XP 2100+ t-bred B AIUHB, you can overclock it from the stock 1.73 to 2.3-2.5 ghz, essentially, faster then a 3.06 for gaming, by far. Use the SLK-900 heatsink and a Vantec Tornado 80 or 92 mm fan. Very cheap solution, VERY popular, and will spank a 3.06. Even the new 800 mhz will have a hard time even trying to keep up. It might cost you $300-350 american TOTAL for everything, compared to a 3.06 that would cost you nearly 500 just for the chip. Make sure the board has the A1 northbridge stepping and the 2100+ is the t-bred b AIUHB, you won't regret it.

I really should have said before (and I've now edited my original post), but I'm on a budget. I can't afford anything more than £80 ($50). The three I've already listed range from £53 - £68. NForce 2 indeed seems to be the best, but unfortunately they seem to be a lot more expensive than their VIA / SiS equivalents.

NiGHTMARE said:

I really should have said before (and I've now edited my original post), but I'm on a budget. I can't afford anything more than £80 ($50). The three I've already listed range from £53 - £68. NForce 2 indeed seems to be the best, but unfortunately they seem to be a lot more expensive than their VIA / SiS equivalents.

Uh... £80 != $50

zarcyb said:

Uh... £80 != $50

Oops, I was thinking that £1.60 = $1.00, but it's the other way around. Make that $128 :)

Stay away from the ASUS A7S333. When it works it's fantastic, but I've had TWO defective boards sent to me and I don't consider it worth the risk again.

Stay away from the SiS chipsets in general. I used to like them, but they're rather poor these days, it seems. Sorry Isle. :P

Alientank...you rather sound like me, two years ago. This guy isn't going to overclock; he just wants a nice, stable (and naturally, preferably fast) system.

My original recommendation still stands. Here in the US, you can find A Soltek SL-75FRN-L for under $100, and it's extremely fast. You aren't going to find any boards with 333FSB support for under $50, but if you're looking under $130 or so, you should be able to swing it pretty easily. Just look at low-end KT400[a] and Nforce2 boards.

Katarhyne said:

Stay away from the SiS chipsets in general. I used to like them, but they're rather poor these days, it seems.

Ya SiS has turned into carp.

Rotting Corpse said:

Ya SiS has turned into carp.

I hate carp.

Kat, I didn't know his pricerange, that was just what I would suggest.

Katarhyne said:

This guy isn't going to overclock; he just wants a nice, stable (and naturally, preferably fast) system.

Don't forget cheap! :)

Here in the US, you can find A Soltek SL-75FRN-L for under $100, and it's extremely fast.

I'll have to look into this one. Thanks :)

You aren't going to find any boards with 333FSB support for under $50, but if you're looking under $130 or so, you should be able to swing it pretty easily. Just look at low-end KT400[a] and Nforce2 boards.

Heh thanks. As you may have seen, I made a slight conversion error ;) What do you think of the Elitegroup L7VTA that I mentioned? It's a KT400, FSB 333, IDE 133, AGP 8X and 5x PCI, and I can get it for £68.66 (just under $110).

ECS (elitegroup computer systems) makes good motherboards, usually. I believe deadnail has an ECS motherboard. I had great luck with their K7S5A, which is based on the SiS735 chipset. Unfortunately, it has reliability and stability problems, which I never experienced. I haven't any experience with that individual board, but a KT400 is a KT400 is a KT400, for the most part. I'm sure it will be satisfactory.

Katarhyne said:

ECS (elitegroup computer systems) makes good motherboards, usually. I believe deadnail has an ECS motherboard. I had great luck with their K7S5A, which is based on the SiS735 chipset. Unfortunately, it has reliability and stability problems, which I never experienced. I haven't any experience with that individual board, but a KT400 is a KT400 is a KT400, for the most part. I'm sure it will be satisfactory.

Kat, this is exactly why people want you here.

I was initally quite suprised at how cheap a decent motherboard is. My first port of call was the buyer's guide in a magazine I read, which has three categories - 'best buy', 'mid-range' and 'best budget'.

While they're usually spot on with their recommendations, their AMD motherboards are sadly lacking - the 'budget' board they have listed is £84.00... and what's worst, the 'mid-range' board they mention is only 50p more expensive!

Heh, next time I try to build a computer, it'll probably be cheaper to fly Kat up to Dallas and pay her to do it for me than try to do it myself. :P

Ok, i have a AMD XP 2400+ processor, 512mb of ddr2700 ram. My board is an EPoX 8K9A2 model, and it has an 8x agp slot on it, and ATA 133. Its got max of 3gb ram, and can support 3200 type ram. the board maxes out on a 2600+ processor, and the board itself has all the bios options needed for a good ol' overclocking! if this board isnt your thing, then the 8RDA is similar to this one, but it has the nforce2 chipset. the chipset is kt400 on my 8k9a2. i do believe that the nforce 2 chipset is better than the kt400, but i am not sure.

Alientank said:

Listen, I've been building systems for nearly 5 years now, part hobby, part job.

10 years, and currenlty employed as an administrator at a small business, many workstations. Never tired an Epox board but have heard good results from them. I think my next computer (AMD) will be Soltek, and unless I see proof that they're 'craptastic' I'll purchase based on their high ratings on the internet and great feedback from users, a little more substantial then what some guy thinks on dw forums. The nforce2 chipset sure is tempting.

AMD
A Malfunctioning Disaster
Heheh :)

dude even the el-cheap-o boards support most of that. as for 333mhz bus i am not sure. all i have seen is the 266 for the AMD boards, but 333 sounds right for some reason so i may have seen some. get one with more than 3 PCI slots, i would go with no less than 5. also i reecomend avioding on board junk, i have had bad experinces with onboard items

a board like that should cost around $70, more or less depending were u live and how you buy. got a board with similar specs, except it is 266FSB and it has 5 PCI slots. i payed about $80. if you want to go all out i would get a dual CPU board, but you would either need win200 or linux for that, an extra CPU and an extra $100.

Okay, the board I bought the other day was an MSI brand K7M2. Ran me about $120 at Fry's. Supports the 333mhz bus and all that stuff.