MB Suggestion for a Duron 600

[deerslayer]

I want to set up a computer to keep my mp3's and other files on. I have a Duron 600 processor, and i was looking at getting the ECS k7s5a but from what i've read it has a lot of problems. I don't need raid and SDRAM is fine. Could anyone give me some suggestions?

Thanks

 

[AA0]

there are a lot to choose from. Question is do you want to upgrade later? 600 is very slow for a moderm computer, and DDR is a complete waste at that speed. Get a KT133A chipset board, gigabyte one isn't bad. Epox and Iwill made good ones too, the KK266, or was it the KA266?

 

[amdskip]

ECS k7s5a, j/k

hahhahahhahha, sup there bro!

 

[deerslayer]

i wont be upgrading this particular computer, it's just going to run mp3's through my surround sound and possibly play some music videos if i ever get a video card with TV out. i might use it to keep my PS2 saves on it, i think i saw something you can hook up to your computer and use it as a big memory card other than that i wont do much, maybe some internet surfing.

thanks for the suggestion, also i'm not looking to spend a lot on this motherboard

 

[CraigRT]

MSI K7T Turbo is a good choice or better yet, Limited Edition

mine runs absolutely rock stable and it's a great low priced mobo .. I recommend this board for a budget system like you are looking for.

 

[AA0]

Do not get that MSI board, it is garbage. There have been massive failure issues with it, the K7Ts were the worst.

Just check out the KT133A round up from this site, find the best price and get one of the boards I said before.

 

[CraigRT]

<< Do not get that MSI board, it is garbage. >>



Pure lies.
It's a fabulous mobo.. I ran mine in my system for 6-7 months at 150 FSB all day long 24/7 without ever a hiccup. it's the best mobo i have ever owned to date. MSI makes some of the best AMD mobos IMO and other people's O too.

 

[Rickten]

get an Abit Kt7. I've been running on it since it came out and I've never had a problem.

 

[AA0]

If you knew anything about the K7T boards, you'd know that they had a massive failure rate, many boards were failing before they were a year old. That is one of the worst models to recommend.

 

[deerslayer]

I plan to leave this computer running most of the time. I would like something that is stable that i wont have a lot of issues with. Which would be the most stable for it's price here? I really don't want to spend more than $85 on a motherboard, and if i can find one used that is an option too.


MSI K7T Turbo2 $73 @ newegg.com <-----leaning towards that one
Abit Kt7a $86 @ newegg.com
Iwill kk266+ $100 @ newegg.com
ECS k7s5a $52.00 @newegg.com


Gigabyte Board (model number?)
Epox Board (model number?)

I don't really want to spend 100 on the Iwill mobo, and i've heard that the ecs mobo is pretty finicky. Are there any major issues with the MSI mobo i should know about? I know that AA0 thinks they are garbage, but why is that? Can someone give me some reasons or known problems with the board? Would the Abit board be better. Thanks for all of your opinions.

 

[demarc]

Newegg has the Abit KT7A in the Refurb section for $ 49.00

They warantee their refurb boards for 30 days. I find most boards go DOA before that. Check out their Refurb Warrantee.

 

[AA0]

EPoX EP-8KTA3 $65
Gigabyte GA-7ZXR (2.2) I don't see on newegg

I don't like that particular MSI board for a very very good reason. Many people, along with anandtech servers, bought these boards, and found that they just died on them. Anandtech servers started dropping, so they had to replace all of them. Do yourself a favor and don't buy MSI.

I've used the gigabyte board myself, pretty good.

 

[optimistic]

ECS K7SEM ~$50

SIS730s
200/266 fsb support
2 dimm for pc133/pc100
1APG(4x) / 2 pci / amr /cnr

INTEGRATED Video / Sound / LAN *this is a file server- so integrated everything is the best way to go.

IMO best board that ECS makes. And I've tried K75SA & K7VZA. Stable, responsive & will take generic memory fine.

Sound sounds suprisingly good! Good clean crips highs, and full bass. Beats out my Creative CT5880 onboard on this Gigabyte 8SRX motherboard. Comparable to my SB Live Value PCI sound card. Video is also good, CS is playable with onboard video, although I don't recommend it. Also sports DVD accelerated video for smooth playback...and I tried it and it IS smooth, looks nice too -like any other video card. Can't go wrong with this one.

 

[osage]

I think the ECS K7S5A would be a good choice for the Duron 600. The few 600-650 Durons I've used would all run at 133mhz, this will give you a nice boost to 800. You can use sdram, or ddr ram on this board, an it is a fast chipset

If you watch the for sale/trade forum you can grab a K7S5A cheap. .

 

[AA0]

Most of the ECS boards are in the for sale forums because they gave no ends of problems to their users. I'd take the MSI L7T boards over ECS, at least the MSI ones will last you a year. Being cheap on your motherboard purchase is a more costly thing in the end.

 

[Shudder]

AA0.. I wish I knew all that when I bought my MSI board (probably close to when they first came out and a Duron 650 was the second fastest one you could buy..)

I just figured I was unlucky.. Hell it's been my only MB to ever die on me. Any chance MSI would replace it? I don't have the original receipt since I bought it over a year ago.. Hmm

Went with the Epox 8kt3a though, and it's running awesome.

 

[deerslayer]

I'm not really looking at the ECS board anymore. I've heard very few good things about it and a whole lot of problems with it. Is the MSI board similar to the ECS board problem wise? I haven't heard much about this board.

It seems like there's bad experiences and good experiences with every board that has been suggested.

While i seem to have your attention, i have a question about the Iwill kk266-R mobo i have right now running a 1ghz tbird. I have had some problems with very high voltages. I had to set my VCORE very low to get it to come down. My voltages are:
Vcore ~ 1.75 (was 1.88 set at 1.75)
3.3 ~ 3.49
5 ~ 5.1 - 5.2
12v ~ 12.6 - 12.7

I'm assuming there is something wrong with the voltage regulators, but i don't know. I plan to RMA it and get a new one. What do you guys think? I can't figure out anything else unless i have a bad power supply. The power supply is a stock supply that came with my Enlight 7237. I believe it is 300w. LMK what you guys think about this and what mobo i should get. Thanks for the opinions.

 

[AA0]

The MSI boards, I've heard MSI will take them back. I've also heard they won't. I don't know the warranty on them, so I'm not sure if you can force them or not. You might have to fight to get them to accept it.

As for voltage problems, 1.88 seems really high. I doubt its the psu, more like the board. Asus usually puts their voltages up to keep stability, but I lower mine down to keep the temps low. If you can't lower it down and fix it, and aren't having heat problems, I'd leave it as it is. But try to lower it to 1.7 or 1.65, Iwill should allow for that. I doubt they will accept an RMA for that, they'll just tell you to reduce the voltage.

 

[CraigRT]

<< If you knew anything about the K7T boards, you'd know that they had a massive failure rate >>



If YOU knew anything about the K7T boards, you'd realize the problem doesn't affect the Turbo Limited... I had the board in my main system for many months and it was so far the best mobo i have ever owned besting 3 Asus boards which are purely overrated and overpriced. While they do have some good boards, at somewhat normal price, they are still too much money for an equal to other brands product.

MSI is a great company, excellent mobos... my friend traded in his GA-7VTXE for an MSI K7T266Pro2-RU and is not looking back. and I haven't looked back to Asus after using my MSI product too..

I still recommend the K7T Turbo Limited. - it rocks.

 

[AA0]

The Turbo limited is virtually identical to the normal K7Ts, you actually paid more for a bios upgrade. Many people with K7Ts just flashed the Turbo bios and got all the performance boosts.

And yes, they do still fail. I have friends who bought a board without asking me, they now have 1 dead K7T Turbo

 

[Iron Woode]

Is AA0 on crack?

He is constantly bashing one make or another. I have the K7T Turbo board for well over a year with no problems what so ever. Its a great board. If you must use a KT133a board you can't go wrong with the MSI.

If the ECS bothers you, you can try the PC Chips or the Amptron version. My supplier's failure rate of the PC Chips version is almost zero.

 

[joe4324]

K7S5A all the way man, its $52 on price watch, has great performance (near kt266A) SDR "and" DDR support, Built in Sound and Lan, I mean come on... the beauty of this board is its so cheap so you dont mind throwing it in a old crappy system. but in a year you could pull it back out. slap some DDR on it, new proc and a Geforce3 (wich should cost $70 at the time or less) and have yourself a bitchen fast system compared to how much you paid for it. that is still good for games. you cant do that nearly as well with a 133A board, or somthing similar. and I quite honestly dont see why you would put a more performance minded board with this chip in the first place.

 

[CraigRT]

<< Is AA0 on crack? >>



I was wondering the same thing...



<< If you must use a KT133a board you can't go wrong with the MSI. >>



by golly i think you are right!! :Q

 

[AA0]

those MSI boards have known problems, its not me.

As for ECS, we all know about their problems. Cheap boards are cheap for a reason. Do you really think you can get something for nothing? If you do, you are foolish.

I recommend epox, gigabyte, Iwill, Aopen, Asus, Abit, FIC, DFI all as very good boards, certain ones aren't for some people of course. ECS, chaintech I won't let anyone touch. Shuttle, MSI, are ones that are ok sometimes, but you have to be careful, they make a lot of crummy boards.

 

[deerslayer]

*flips a coin*

ECS it is. I've blown 50 bucks on stupider things before and with the budget i'm on it looks better every day. I don't need a high performance board for the tasks this computer will be used for. If it dies, and i get something else, you can all PM me and say "i told you so".

If anyone else knows somethin better for under 60 bucks, lmk.