AMD people...come on in...

[toshiba3020]

I have stayed away from AMDs for a while, but its time to upgrade(before the cash is taken away), and I want a cheap upgrade, so I am going to get an athlon xp(something pretty fast but at a fair price, Ill figure that out later, because you have a focked up naming system). I was wondering what chipset I should get on a motherboard. I was looking at either KT266a or KT333. Is this what I should be looking for in a new motherboard that will run a 1.5-2.0ghz processor, with ddr ram, that will be ugpradeable? If those two arent any good, what should I get, and if they are right, what is the difference between the two?

Thanks
Garrett

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

The beautiful thing about AMD motherboads is that they are so ungodly cheap

They are pratically disposable

Buy a KT333, and swap it out for an nForce2 in a few months.

 

[GraveJoKer]

I agree with DevilsAdvocate
you can probably buy a KT333 mobo for as low as 70-80 $$ ... and nforce2 is going to be a kicka$$ mobo for people who want everything under one roof.

for processor the best bet would to get XP1800+ - XP2100+ ... don't get XP2200 I 'll say. when Hammer releases, go ahead and upgrade everything

 

[DainB]

I say go for an nForce 1(Abit NV7 133R) and upgrade to an nForce 2 when it comes out. nForce 1 may not be the fastest solution but you get free high quality built in sound with the mobo and a raid controller for about $75 total. If you got a KT333 solution you'd have to pick up a seperate sound card which would pretty much be a waste if you upgraded to an nForce 2 down the road. Either way, go nForce.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

yeah... but the KT333 is soooooooo much cheaper right now than the nForce. I love the nForce too , but I think it is a better fit for this guy's short term purpose.

 

[Soulkeeper]

the kt333 kills the nforce
and the kt400 will kill the nforce2
so blaaaa

 

[Boonesmi]

another vote for the kt333 based motherboards

i love my epox 8k3a+... so fast, so stable

 

[Vette73]

Look at the Shuttle AK35GT2R. It has Kt333 chipset, Highpoint Raid, and a 5.1 C-Media sound card. Cost less than $99 at Newegg.com

 

[drewdogg808]

if you really want a good, cheap mb..check out the abit kr7raid for only $59, and there's a 10% discount coupon at Compgeeks
it's based on the kt266a chipset. there's not too much performance difference between the kt333 and kt266a, but the kt333 does have more new features. (usb 2.0, etc..)

edit: wanted to mention...the kr7raid won anand's kt266a roundup: check it out

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
the kt333 kills the nforce and the kt400 will kill the nforce2 so blaaaa

I agree


Ausm

 

[nemo160]

if you need raid get the epox 8k3a+(kt333 chipset)..around $100 from newegg + the onboard diagnostic leds
if you don't need raid the regular 8k3a was $67 last i knew
fast and stable...excellent boards