Need a good AMD mobo for 50 bucks

[LesPaul]

What's the best chipset/mobo for an Athlon for like 50 bucks or less.. I'm looking @ a 40-50 dollar 1700+ to go with it. This computer would be for my grandparents.. the only thing they use it for is email and internet basically. Right now they have a K6-2 500 MHz CPU with 64 MB of memory.. pretty crappy, even for thier limited use. I want to upgrade thier entire system for them, for around 200 or less. I'm pretty sure I can spend 150 max on the CPU/mobo/PC2100 valueRAM, and use the remaining 50 bucks to get a cheapy gfx card (like a 20 dollar gf2mx or the like) and a slightly bigger harddrive (like a 10-20 GB drive).

Any ideas?

 

[cdrakejr]

Check out the icjogger post for the ECS K7S5A:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1123211

I built a system for a junior hi student using this board, does just fine for him for school.

 

[tenoc]

At the risk of repeating myself, link.

 

[Vette73]

Why not get a nForce2 IGP board. It will have the Video, sound, and ethernet.

Look at the Shuttle MN31N Very cheap and will support future CPU's (you never know)

 

[pspada]

Good is a relative term. Decent is the best you'll get for under $50, and I too vote for the ECS K7S5A Pro.

Um, and "Look at the Shuttle MN31N Very cheap and will support future CPU's (you never know)", does not necessarily follow. Any new AMD chip past the XP line will require a new mobo. But the 333fsb and 4000fsb Athlon XP chips will not work properly on the K7S5A, if that's what was meant - but I would not call them future CPUs.

 

[natopotato]

if you're ok with integrated video the biostar km266 board is under $60, the biostar km400 comes in just over $60, and the ASUS nforce 220D board is currently about $65. I'd recommend going for one of those and save some money on the vid card that would go to waste.

 

[Danzilla]

I was at Fry's thinking of picking up one of their ECS MB / Athlon combos. The head guy there actually told me that the MB it not designed for high-end use. He said if you want to use it for things like high-end games, 3D shooters and such, the MB over-heats and reboots. It's intended as a more basic system with simpler games and internet use.
Now, I don't think he was an expert engineer or anything and was just basing his statements on experience with the MB's problems and returns. Still, it makes you wonder...

D.

 

[Bonesdad]

Might also consider Biostar M7VIG Pro...verra similar to K7S5A, but with IGP (if you care). IMO, Biostar is more reliable than the ECS (having owned both)

 

[pspada]

Speaking to the "head guy" at Fry's is roughly equalivant to speaking to the brightest monkey at the zoo for your computing needs. Decent board without any bells and whistles, ~=$50. Don't get me wrong, I'd never put one in my own machine, but I have got one in a guest machine.

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: Danzilla
I was at Fry's thinking of picking up one of their ECS MB / Athlon combos. The head guy there actually told me that the MB it not designed for high-end use. He said if you want to use it for things like high-end games, 3D shooters and such, the MB over-heats and reboots. It's intended as a more basic system with simpler games and internet use.
Now, I don't think he was an expert engineer or anything and was just basing his statements on experience with the MB's problems and returns. Still, it makes you wonder...

D.

Doesnt make we wonder...the guy is a boob.

 

[tenoc]

He said if you want to use it for things like high-end games, 3D shooters and such, the MB over-heats and reboots.

Well, at least now you know the limits of that twit's knowledge.

I've used one for almost two years running UT, UT2003, Unreal 2, Max, IL2, etc. No overheats or reboots.

Now, my latest MB is an NForce2, but still.....

 

[touchmyichi]

You shouldn't be spending 50 bucks on a mobo. Putting out 20-30 more dollars will get you a really nice nforce 2 board, you could also try getting one of them off newegg refurbished for around 50. KT400 boards are also in the 50-70 dollar range, so you might want to check that out.

 

[novice]

How about this:
SHUTTLE AK38N BUNDLE W/ COOLING FAN & (AMD XP 1800+(266Mhz); KINGSTON 256MB DDR333; NO TESTING) $140.74 $140.74 plus shipping. It is a KT333 chipset motherboard and a 1.53 Ghz Athlon XP cpu with decent quality Kingston PC-2700 valueram. Should be close to your $150 price shipped. I have no personal experience with the Shuttle AK38N, but my 2 MSI KT3 Ultra 2 boards are working very nicely with XP1700+ cpu's running at 2 Ghz (XP2400 level). Both use the same KT333 chipset. Should be a huge improvement over their old system.
Another option thru newegg.com would be
BIOSTAR M7VKQ PRO MICRO ATX SiS 740 - RETAIL $53
AMD Duron 1.3GHz Socket A PGA Processor retail box $42
KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM $47
for a total of $142 which includes onboard video, audio and LAN and includes shipping. It would also be much better than their old system and even gets you in under $150 including video.

 

[uunitdwestnd]

a7n266-c
or
K7ama from ECS

I have both and they both work great, except the k7ama is not that stable in windows xp.


My Rigs

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: uunitdwestnd
a7n266-c
or
K7ama from ECS

I have both and they both work great, except the k7ama is not that stable in windows xp.

"not stable in windows" is not what I mean when I say the words "work great" :disgust:

 

[LesPaul]

sup guys, thanks for the input.. i actually forgot about this post after i started going and doing some of my own research.. Biostar is probably the brand i'm gonna go with.. they've got some nice all-integrated boards for pretty cheap - 60 bucks.

 

[Remedy]

Check this out here. I used it with SDRAM and DDR(not at the sametime) and it was pretty reliable. It also has good 2D, FWIW.

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: LesPaul
sup guys, thanks for the input.. i actually forgot about this post after i started going and doing some of my own research.. Biostar is probably the brand i'm gonna go with.. they've got some nice all-integrated boards for pretty cheap - 60 bucks.

Good choice...set my wife's parents up with M7VIG Pro and they are ecstatic...they may actually learn to like me!!!

 

[nemesismk2]

Get a cheap ECS K7S5A, the pc willn't used for anything demanding so you don't need anything more powerful. You could also probably get away with only buying cheap sdr memory and the pc will still run pretty well.

 

[beatle]

I picked up a Biostar M7VIG PRO for $56 shipped from Newegg last week. It does a decent job for my backup server, but I only scored 500 or so in 3dmark01! I'm using a 1700+ and 512 megs of PC2100. Not an issue for Grandma and Grandpa, unless they like gibs. :evil:

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: pspada
Speaking to the "head guy" at Fry's is roughly equalivant to speaking to the brightest monkey at the zoo for your computing needs. Decent board without any bells and whistles, ~=$50. Don't get me wrong, I'd never put one in my own machine, but I have got one in a guest machine.

Hey! That will be enough with the insults about simian intelligence!

 

[LesPaul]

Does that Biostar M7VIG PRO, have an integrated dial-up modem in it? I didn't see it on any of the specs, but wanted to make sure before i buy one (they don't have broadband).

Another question.. The case/PSU i'm looking at getting for them, is the Antec SLK1600 from newegg.. its 45.00 + shipping. This board (micro-atx) will fit in this case with no probs right? If this isn't a very good case/psu choice for this board, please recommend something else in the same price range/quality.

Edit: actually, I'm thinking I'm going to go with the Antec SLK2600AMB instead.. from the reviews its a much better case and for only like 5 bucks more. Any probs with this case and the biostar micro-atx mobo i'm getting?

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: pspada
Speaking to the "head guy" at Fry's is roughly equalivant to speaking to the brightest monkey at the zoo for your computing needs. Decent board without any bells and whistles, ~=$50. Don't get me wrong, I'd never put one in my own machine, but I have got one in a guest machine.

Hey! That will be enough with the insults about simian intelligence!

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that a monkey is only as smart as a Fry's drone - they are much farther up the ladder, whereas the Fry's guy is at the same level as paramecium. Now don't you fling excrement at me!

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: LesPaul
Does that Biostar M7VIG PRO, have an integrated dial-up modem in it? I didn't see it on any of the specs, but wanted to make sure before i buy one (they don't have broadband).

Another question.. The case/PSU i'm looking at getting for them, is the Antec SLK1600 from newegg.. its 45.00 + shipping. This board (micro-atx) will fit in this case with no probs right? If this isn't a very good case/psu choice for this board, please recommend something else in the same price range/quality.

Edit: actually, I'm thinking I'm going to go with the Antec SLK2600AMB instead.. from the reviews its a much better case and for only like 5 bucks more. Any probs with this case and the biostar micro-atx mobo i'm getting?

Nope, no integrated modem...but you can get modems for cheap!! Got integrated sound, video, lan, USB etc. And no, no prob with this mobo fitting into a standard case. I recommend it actually, leaves u room to upgrade if that ever becomes necc.

 

[Spike]

here is an additional vote for the ECS K7S5A. I still use mine and have played pretty much every new game out. I did just order a Abit NF7-S, but this board has been wonderfully stable for me and has caused me no problems. well, the IDE is a bit slow for supposed ata 100 (I am always lacking a bit in the sandra scores) but it hasn't really affected me much

-spike