Best AMD mobos with integrated Video and Sound ?

[Informant X]

What are some good chipsets to look for that have integrated Video and Sound. A AMD setup. Also i'm not sure if i'm going DDR or SDR so if you could tell me some good chipsets for both, that would be cool.

 

[mztykal]

MSI KM133A is a great STABLE board.

 

[Sandor]

I've had good luck with the following two boards: PC-CHIPS M810MLR and the ECS K7SEM. Both are pretty much the same, except the specs for the ECS says it can only handle 200FSB CPU. These were for budget systems, so I'm not sure what you're looking for (they go for about $60-$70, and they have built in ethernet card and are usually bundled with an AMR modem. They also have an AGP slot, if needbe for later). Oh yeah- these use PC-133 SDRAM.

 

[Informant X]

How stable/easy to setup was that ECS board?

 

[salman327]

s

 

[Sandor]

Both the ECS and PC-CHIPS board were easy to set up. They come with a disk that contains drivers for everything on it (video, audio, IDE, etc.). Except for the AMR modem, they're were no cards to add. I built the syustem for my friend's father in June, and he said he's had no problems with it, so I take that to mean its stable.

 

[sad]

MSI's Nforce board. The K7N420 PRO is $152@Newegg

 

[LucJoe]

i've been looking at that msi board at newegg. how is it? How is the video/sound quality? I'm looking at putting it into a value system, is it a good board?

 

[VTrider]

<< How stable/easy to setup was that ECS board? >>



Hey Informant X: I've built 4 systems around the K7SEM within the last 5 months. I can honestly say that haven't experienced 1 problem with any of the machines since. Setup/installation was easy, you can almost do it blindfolded (wouldn't recommend it though )
I highly recommend this board all the time to people who are looking for a good, stable, inexpensive Socket-A mainboard. I don't know where Sandor is getting his/her info on it ony runs at 200FSB, all 4 of the one's I built are running 1.0 and 1.2 (266FSB) athlons. I think I know now, the default
for this chipset sets the CPU FSB at 100FSB (default) instead of 133FSB, so if your running a 266FSB chip, you have to manually go into the BIOS and set it to 133FSB in order for it to recognize the chip and set it's speed.
I've seen posts where this board runs 1.4 and higher Athlons, ECS even updated their description and added that it runs 'most' of the newer AMD chips, I doubt you will ever see a post on this or any other board saying that the K7SEM is not compatible with my new Athlon though.

BTW: the chipset is the SIS 730S, I've noticed that it's pretty much overlooked by many here (probably because it's an economical integrated chipset), but I'm telling ya, if you want
to put together a relatively inexpensive machine (K7SEM can be had for $60.00) that's stable (from my experience) and easy to work with then definately check it out.
Your probably going to hear a lot of people telling ya to just get a ECS K7S5A instead and add a cheap video card. Faster chipset, SDR or DDR, ect. - but do a search on K7S5A on these forums and get ready to be even more confused. I've never owned a K7S5A, and probably will never - seems like its a hit or miss thing w/this board. I've been building for years and I just can't take a chance when it comes to reliability when building for friends. I get enough tech questions as is.
Well, there are other good chipsets available that fit your needs, this is just my .02cents on a couple of them, good luck!

-VTrider

 

[Sandor]

VTrider- The specs I found said the ECS "suppoted a majority of the 133MHz CPUs." If I remember right, the system I set up with the ECS mobo had a 1.2 T-bird 266. I just wasn't sure what "majority" implied, and didn't want to give bad advice. But if you're 4 for 4, it seems a safe bet.

 

[Athlon4all]

I'm on a ECS K7VMA right now (KM133), and there have been 2 issues that are consistant: 1. My Hard drive refuses to run at ATA/100. 2. I have seen some weird things with running my memory at PC133 speeds. Otherwise though it's great, easy to setup (especially considering it was a first time DIY), and I'd highly recommend it, the only quirk is that it has no 266fsb support, so but, for a bit more, you can get MSi's KM133A board and it should be soild. I would though consider looking into nForce. It is only for DDR, but it has some of the best video and sound you can find on a mobo. GF2MX graphics, better than SB Audigy sound, plus an NIC to boost. It is a tad expensive ($160 for MSi's nForce solution, the K7N420 Pro, and $200 for Asus' A7N266-E), bbut depending on the user, it may be worth it. There's nothing wrong with KM133(A), but if u're user could use better graphics, go nForce.

These 2 and SiS 730S are the only integrated chipsets for the Athlon. I would take a SiS 730S board over a KM133(A) if you do not care a lick about 3D Video performance, BUT, if u do care somewhat about video performance, and nForce is too epensive, then I'd take a KM133A board over 730S. 730S has better 2D, and is better for 2D situations (which is what it's and KM133(A) is intended for), but for a bit better 3D performance, take KM133(A)(look here for 730S vs KM133 video benchys). nForce is a great solution, and I'd recommend it if u have the cash.

 

[AGodspeed]

The best DDR motherboard with great integrated video and sound is definitely most any nForce board.

I'd suggest the MSI K7N420 board from Newegg. It's only $162 shipped. That's a very good deal considering the fact that you would be paying way more money and spending more time setting up a similar system that required external video and sound cards. Plus, it takes only one driver installation to get this board running. I know, I just got this sucker.

 

[sandorski]

Yup, another vote for Nforce. Just use WinXP or Win2k though.

 

[Informant X]

Cool, really great info...And the Nforce is way outta the price range

 

[eplebnista]

Another vote for the ECS K7SEM.

My $.02,
eplebnista

 

[Sestar]

They are the same mobo no?(pcchips is just a subdivision of ECS)

 

[VTrider]

<< They are the same mobo no?(pcchips is just a subdivision of ECS) >>



I believe that PC-Chips is a subdivision of ECS. Believe me, I use to go out of my way (and still do) trying to talk people out of buying a PC-Chips motherboard. It took a lot for me just to get that first ECS board, because it is related somehow to PC-CHIPS.
So far so good, I haven't had any problems with reliability with the ECS boards, hopefully this trend will continue.

The PC-CHIPS M810MLR and the ECS K7SEM are prety much basically the same board. I've seen this question a million times and seen a million answers, like the M810MLR is the OEM version of the K7SEM, etc., etc.,etc.
They do however use different BIOSs I believe, I think the M810MLR probably can be bought for a little cheaper and if I'm not mistaken I couldn't of sworn it came with onboard modem as well as the onboard LAN (K7SEM does not come with onboard modem). I could
be wrong about the onboard modem w/M810MLR though maybe somebody here can clear this up?

If I had a choice, I would still stick to the K7SEM - my first hunch is that the reliability/quality might be a little bit better.

-VTrider

 

[JonnyDuke]

Nobody recommending the ECS K7S5A???

It even has both SDR and DDR slots on board!

He was practically specifiying it to the letter. And at about $50, quite a deal.

 

[Ryan]

If I were you, I would just save some money to buy the NForce. It will beat the snot out of other integrated solutions. It's the only integrated solution I would buy.

 

[thraxes]

Save for Nforce 420D... I would if I were you

 

[AGodspeed]

Informant X, if you can't afford a $162 nForce board, I'd wait another month. Supposedly a 6th mobo maker is going to be producing an nForce board (besides ASUS, MSI, Abit, Gigabyte, and Mitac) that will be budget priced. A guy I know in the retail channel is saying it'll be around $115. That's a hell of a deal for a 420-D nForce board.

 

[Sandor]

VTrider- there is no on-board modem on the 810, but it comes bundled with an AMR modem (and drivers).

JonnyDuke- the ECS K7S5A doesn't have on-board video, which was one of the criteria (though I heard it was a very good board).