NEED HELP CHOOSING MOBO...

[GeminiZi]

I've read Tom's Hardware and after seeing the benchmark results, I was ready to purchase either the Gigabyte ga-7vrxp, ga-7vaxp, or the Asus a7v8x. I've also read the articles from Anandtech on these three boards and found that they also did well on the beachmarks. But when I read the results from Extremetech it totally made me confused about which board to get. Can anyone suggest what I should do? Should I just get either one of these three boards or maybe take a look at the other boards that Extremetech suggested?

 

[Vette73]

Well best thing to do is tell us what features you are looking for and what your budget is?

But I trust anandtechs reviews more than others.

 

[GeminiZi]

How come you trust anandtechs reviews more than any others? Honestly I don't know what board I really want. I'm planning on building an entire pc, and also keep a low budget as best as I can. Therefore I've decided to get an Athlon instead of an Intel. Basically I just want a good review on a board before buying it, because I don't want to go through a lot of trouble with it. I would say my range is no more than $150 for a motherboard.

 

[GeminiZi]

SOMEONE PLZ REPLY AND HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GeminiZi]

 

[moosey]

overall, asus is better than gigabyte. this is in terms of quality/relability/stability. if there is a performance diff, it won't be a huge one.

 

[Citadel]

My vote for the Gigabyte board. After having several ASUS boards I can honestly say that the Gigabyte 7VAXP is as good in performance but at a lower cost.

 

[Insane3D]

While not a KT400 board, don't overlook the KT333 based Epox 8K5A2+.

 

[GeminiZi]

I am even more confused now, one says go with Asus, the other says Gigabyte. What is the best kt400 and kt333 board out there?
Is newegg like the best place to buy the boards and cpu? It sounds like everyone here is from the west coast, does anyone know where I should purchase them since I am on the east coast?

PLEASE HELP..............

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Directron.com or Mwave.com

 

[jamminjeff]

the gigabyte GA-7vaxp good price many extra's on board.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: GeminiZi
I am even more confused now, one says go with Asus, the other says Gigabyte. What is the best kt400 and kt333 board out there?
Is newegg like the best place to buy the boards and cpu? It sounds like everyone here is from the west coast, does anyone know where I should purchase them since I am on the east coast?

PLEASE HELP..............

Newegg is great for East Coast deliveries too....CA residents tend to shy away from Newegg b/c they get charged tax. If you can get the free Fedex Express Saver shipping (which is avail. on most items like mobos, vid cards, cpus), you can order on a Wednesday around 3pm EST and have it at your door by Friday. Only 2 days.........very fast, and don't bother paying for the express packing service, Newegg is eggcellent (bad pun) about pulling your order from the warehouse that day.

Chiz

 

[GeminiZi]

I've always thought pricewatch.com was the best price to purchase mobo/cpu. Does anyone search for the cheapest price on pricewatch and just purchase from whatever company it's from?
So is anyone still gong to tell me what motherboard is the best for kt400 and kt333?
If I end up choosing Epox, which one should I choose from:
Epox 8K5A2
Epox 8K5A2+
Epox 8K5A3+

Thank You, I appreciate it.

Actually I would choose the 8K5A2+, does anyone have a review article on it? I've only read about the 8K3A2+ which said it was fast but it crashes.

 

[GeminiZi]

Do you guys buy your motherboards and cpu OEM or RETAIL?
I'm about to purchase the EPOX 8K5A2+ and found that it was $98 Retail at Newegg including free shipping.
At Mwave it was $96.30 without shipping, including ground shipping would be a total of $105. Does anyone know if this board is OEM or RETAIL at Mwave cause it didn't say at all?

Is it better to purchase the CPU OEM or RETAIL???

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[MainFramed]

Originally posted by: Hamburgerpimp
Directron.com or Mwave.com

 

[GeminiZi]

ANYONE ELSE???

 

[Necrolezbeast]

Go for retail on the mobo, and if you're not overclocking then go retail on the CPU..if you're overclocking go with OEM and use the extra money for a good hsf. I have had really good experience with the MSI kt3 Ultra2, never once experienced a problem after building 6 systems with this board.

 

[Beandog]

I am building another system now based on the KT333 since reading through the forums the KT400 boards seem to have some issues here and there to still be worked out. I was almost ready to buy the MSI KT3Ultra2 from Newegg, but now I am comparing this board to the Albatron KX400. Yea, I know who are they? I said that too till I read alot of reviews and articles about the company and some of their most recent products like there GF4 4200 cards and their leader is the Former CEO of Gigabyte. I am getting the Albatron GF4 4200 128MB card based on the reviews and overclocking that can be done with these cards. I am still undecided about the MB though, not sure whether I like the MSI KT3Ultra or the Albatron KX400, anyone have any sugeestions between these two boards?

I will be loading WinXPpro frsh install, 40gig Maxtor 133, AMD 1600xp overclocked some, Case is new Antec Plus 1080AMG with 430TRU PS, 512 Crucial 2100 DDR, Albatron 128MB GF4200P overclocked as well. I dont need Raid or Firewire, and I have a spare Linksys Lan card if MB doesn't integrate it. PS, no I dont plan on upgrading for at least a year, so I don't need AGP 8x etc. I will however prob upgrade the processor and memory to 2700 sometime next year.

 

[GeminiZi]

Can anyone tell me which board out of these 3 is the best?

MSI KT3 Ultra2
Epox 8K5A2+
Asus A7V8X

 

[blindspot]

It's hard to find someone who has all 3 mobos and was able to compare. However, you must buy a board based on your budget and needs. All of them are really good, based on reviews. I have both IWill XP333-R and MSI KT3 Ultra2. They're both great and have yet to crash once. Personally, I would recommend the MSI only because of some added features. But again, any board you get, you'll be fine.

 

[GeminiZi]

Any other opinions would be thankful.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: GeminiZi
Do you guys buy your motherboards and cpu OEM or RETAIL?
I'm about to purchase the EPOX 8K5A2+ and found that it was $98 Retail at Newegg including free shipping.
At Mwave it was $96.30 without shipping, including ground shipping would be a total of $105. Does anyone know if this board is OEM or RETAIL at Mwave cause it didn't say at all?

its Retail and 8k5a2+ for $89

Is it better to purchase the CPU OEM or RETAIL???

this is nice..Retail w/ 3 yr on it

Thanks for the help guys.

you are welcome

 

[Vescica]

After pricewatch, don't forget to go to resellerratings.com .

 

[GeminiZi]

how's the rating on www.tcwo.com? I've never heard of this company before, are they a dependable place to purchase the mobo and cpu? How do they do on their shipping committment?

I think I've finally made up my mind and going to purchase the retails for Epox 8K5A2+ and XP 2000+.

Do you guys know where and what kind of ram would go good with this? What video card would best suit me if I'm not a big major gamer and that my 15 inch lcd monitor has a maximum of 1024x768 resolution?

My friend is also about to upgrade his computer, will this board and cpu fit into his intel celeron case? Or does he has to get a new atx case?

Thank you for all the help guys, I really appreciate all the help that you guys r doing.

 

[GeminiZi]

Which is better? The Epox 8K5A2+ or the MSI KT3 Ultra2?
They are both $98 at NewEgg, which one should I get?