ASUS DISCONTINUES A7M266

[CARDR]

Guys,

Shitty news today. I ordered my A&M266 from TC Computers, and it was on a 2 week backorder. They e-mailed me today with this message:



Dear TC Computers Customer,

Due to instabilities inherent in the AMD 760 chipset, Asus has decided to discontinue the A7M266 motherboard, rather than ship an immature motherboard.

Asus will be releasing a new motherboard, the A7A266, which will incorporate the ALI MAGiK-1 chipset, and offer support for both SDRAM and DDR memory. The expected lead-time for shipment of this motherboard is 4 to 6 weeks.

TC Computers does have an in-stock alternate: the Iwill KA266. This motherboard incorporates the ALI MAGiK-1 chipset, supports Athlon 266MHz FSB processors and DDR memory.

Please reply to this email with one of the following four options.

That you would like to switch to the Iwill KA266 motherboard.
Stick with ASUS and waiting for the A7A266 motherboard to be released by ASUS.
That you would like to go with another manufactures motherboard to replace the A7M266.
Or that you would like to cancel your order at this time.
Sincerely,

Glen Xan Trudeau
TC Computers


I don't know much about the ALI MAGiK-1 chipset, so don't know much about the new board coming. I did ask this guy if he knows, or could ask if they plan to put the dip switches on or to be able to adjust the multiplier in the BIOS. I'll let you all know when I get a response!

So, any recomindations for a DDR/266/AMD MB? I'm upgrading from a p150, so I do want to go with the DDR. Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks
:|

 

[Zipperhead]

i am glad i got mine when i did,i here great things about this m.b.

 

[phantom505]

Can anyone else confirm this?

Chris Tom at AmdZone will be calling Asus today. If you really want to know the truth I would advise you to check with his page later.

Seems like TC Computers has out right lied to you.

 

[Dulanic]

I won't jump to any solid conclusions, but the A7M266 is still up on the Asus webpage.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I don't think DDR's worth it. If you read about the KT133A article here, you'll see that a T-Bird with a 133 FSB and standard PC-133 RAM can really be a DDR Killer. I would suggest you to get the Abit KT7A(-RAID).

 

[AndyHui]

I would prefer the ASUS A7V266 (VIA Chipset) over the A7A266, although it hasn't been released yet.

 

[Regalk]

hahaha = that's Asus for ya. One minute its there next its gone (similar to Bioses). Now why did I get an A7V. Slap.

 

[Yozza]

Well, lots of places are still selling it.
I wouldnt trust TC Computers. Perhaps they have such a long queue of orders for the A7M266, that they had no alternative but to make up some crap story.
Maybe they knew they werent gonna get that much stock to fulfil orders...

Dunno...

The thing is, all of the reviews I have seen say how stable it is. There was a hitch at 266MHz FSB with earlier revisions, but rev 1.04 fixed this, and the board is rock solid.

I was actually gonna order an A7M266, but I thought I would wait for a few reviews [Anandtech, Tomshardware?], and comparisons with the VIA KT266 chipset.
hmm...

Yoz

 

[Geocross]

Pretty sure its just a rumor, check this out Discontinued? Doesn't matter really to me though, becasue the Iwill KA266 is the best non via DDR Board available. But I'm waiting for the KT266's too

 

[DrunkenAznBoy]

A7M266 is not discontinued. Please refer to these sites for mroe 411

www.gotapex.com
http://www.gamersdepot.com/
http://www.amdzone.com/#1

 

[senior guy]

IF you prefer going DDR over KT133A, then IMHO you should wait another month for the arrival of the VIA KT266 chipset boards!

 

[broadwayblue]

yeah, i've been waiting for the asus a7v266 seen here:

asus a7v266

here's some info on it:

x-bit labs


should be out by the end of march.

 

[Zipperhead]

it seems as though this is not true,just a rumor

 

[Noriaki]

KT133A vs ALi Magik1 vs AMD760

Ugh...ALi Magik1 replacing AMD760 is a poor trade....

I'll wait for the A7V266 KT266 board.

 

[senior guy]

Ditto!!!

 

[Yozza]

Well, I think Anand had an earlier revision of the chipset.

Now, the IWil KA266 is just as fast, if not faster then the AMD760. Several reviews confirm this.

Here is a comparison between the Gigabyte 7DX and the IWill KA266. The IWill easily wins out.

Yoz

 

[jimmygates]

Hopefully this is not so or else Asus will have no AMD DDR board to compete against other companies



I called all my suppliers regarding this board and none of them can give me a PO Date on them (That's a bad thing...means no more are coming). Maybe this rumor can be true?






-Jimbo

 

[Noriaki]

Will the A7A266 have 3 168pin DIMMs (SDR) and 2 184pin DIMMs (DDR) like the A7V266?

I used an ALi chipset in my old Socket7 board and I actually liked it better than Via...

 

[senior guy]

Now I'm certain I'll wait for the KT266 boards. Check this out!

http://www.planet3dnow.de/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Mainboards&action=display&num=3850

 

[broadwayblue]

hope they get released soon!