Help picking a motherboard for 3000+ Barton

[churcheo]

Hello,


My goal: Build a very fast computer and top gaming rig. I have chosen the Barton 3000+ CPU (please suggest another if you think otherwise) and now I need a motherboard. What I want is the top overall motherboard for this processor in terms of features, overclocking and performance. Thank you very much in advance.


-churcheo

 

[MkItGoFstr]

Depends on your needs. Lots of features? ASUS A7N8X Deluxe. Pure overclock? Abit Nf7 or there's an Albatron board that's getting alot of attention. I can't remember the name of it now.Also there's the Epox. Personally I'm an Asus fan and I use nothing but Asus. But these other boards are pretty good too.

If you don't need the features or don't want to spend the money for Asus go for the Abit or Epox. Both are tried and true!

Good luck w/ your build!

 

[MkItGoFstr]

Oh yeah I almost forgot! I recently built a machine for friend w/ an Aopen AK79d-400vn. Very Nice Board. Read some reviews if you can find them and decide whats best for you! I will look and see if i can find some for you.


Edit: Here are some reviews
Epox 8rda3+
Asus A7N8X deluxe
Aopen AK79d 400 max
Abit Nf7

There you go that should get you started! Hope I helped.

 

[serialb]

I just want to throw some words on the Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2.

The bottom line is... Stay away from it! Poor overclocking features and lack of soundstorm even though it utilizes the MCP-T.

On the flipside, it does have a ton of onboard features though. IDE/SATA RAID, SPDIF optical output... basically anything you can think of. Great board for those who don't plan to OC.

 

[zodder]

I highly recommend the A7N8X Deluxe. Very overclocking friendly and stable as a rock.

 

[Vette73]

I would go with a Abit NF7-S board with a Barton 2500+

I have this board and it work great. Also the Barton 2500+ will run at 3200+ on the Abit board easy and save some cash.

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
I would go with a Abit NF7-S board with a Barton 2500+

I have this board and it work great. Also the Barton 2500+ will run at 3200+ on the Abit board easy and save some cash.

or the plain old NF7...rock solid and very OCable if you don't need all the bells and whistles. and like someone above mentioned Albatron. i can't remember the board name either, but they do make a very good mobo. you should research them as well...

 

[estew33]

Originally posted by: serialb
I just want to throw some words on the Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2.

The bottom line is... Stay away from it! Poor overclocking features and lack of soundstorm even though it utilizes the MCP-T.

On the flipside, it does have a ton of onboard features though. IDE/SATA RAID, SPDIF optical output... basically anything you can think of. Great board for those who don't plan to OC.

Buyer Beware of Gigabyte's RMA Policy, don't believe what you read on their site, it's pure bull
It's just simply a horrible RMA policy
One should consider the company's RMA policy when they buy, never know when you'll need it
Ed

 

[churcheo]

Hello again,

Thank you all for your help - I decided on the Abit. Another question I have if you guys could help me on would be RAM. What should I get for this board: CORSAIR MEMORY XMS PC-3200C2 512MB, KINGSTON HyperX 512MB DDR434 PC3500, some kid of OCZ? Is 512 enough or should I get a gig? Any recommendations welcome and thank you in advance.

Take care,

-churcheo

 

[Sunny129]

if you have the money, get 1GB. as far as clock goes, it depends, are you going to OC? i'm not sure how low the multipliers go on those CPUs, but you might be able to run your 3000+ at stock 2.16GHz or OC it using a low multiplier and a high fsb. if a multiplier of 10 exists, then you can run the chip @ srock 2.16GHz w/ an fsb of 216mhz. your memory would then be at 433mhz, so maybe that would justify getting some low latency PC3500, like OCZ PC3500 Platinum, or Mushkin PC3500 level II. there are other PC3500 modules out there with low latencies, but none as low as these. if you're not going to OC the fsb in any way, then you'll be fine with some quality PC3200.

 

[DahDee]

Good grief,y'all; the name of that kick-a** Albatron motherboard? The KX18D Pro II !!!

The Albatron is a fantastic motherboard; you owe it to yourself to read some of the linked reviews and comments!!!