Need suggestions on Motherboard.

[OpalFrost98GT]

Im looking to build a few systems, and I would like your opinions on a reliable, stable, inexpensive mobo for an xp cpu. I've been eyeballing the ECS K7S5A, and the MSI K7 Turbo2. I have also been looking at a few BIOSTAR boards...are they any good? I had one a few years ago that popped some caps in the middle of the night...been leary ever since...
Basically I'm looking for the most stable, reliable...Highest bang for buck board in the 50 -75 dollar range.

TIA

 

[tenoc]

Depends on your psu. If you have a quality one of 300W or better, I've had good
results with the K7S5A.

The MSI is likely to be more forgiving of a poorer psu.

I'm also assuming there is no o/cing involved. The ECS will only go to 138 fsb with reliability.

 

[o1die]

I had pretty good luck with the ak31a. Newegg has a refurbished one for only $45 shipped.

 

[Athlon4all]

K7S5A or AK31A, but like somebody mentioned, with K7S5A, you must have a high quality PS, if you don't then stay away from it.

 

[Peter]

You don't need "high" quality, just "adequate". Many of those "300 Watts" power supplies are actually quite wimpy on the 5V+3.3V combined output allowance. Mine here is rated "300 Watts" in big bold letters but the fine print says "only 110 Watts on 5V+3.3V combined" ...

I wouldn't dare run a really fast CPU on that one ... my Duron 600 doesn't mind though

regards, Peter

 

[Athlon4all]

Peter, can you explain this a bit further about ECS/PC CHips Boards and Power Supplys? You're saying that for the fastest XP CPU's (and I assume P4's as well) you need to look at the ps and make sure it can provide 2 things:

1. 25 amperes on the 5V
2. 110w (?) on the 5V+3.3V total?

I just would like to know thanks!!!

 

[Stevem627]

I have had good luck with the Shuttle AK12A boards. Not fancy but solid boards if you want to use SDRAM. You might also take a look at the Soltek SL-75KAV since it has a two year warranty --nice. If you want to use DDR RAM then there are several nice boards from MSI, Epox, and MSI.

 

[OpalFrost98GT]

Thanks for the replies! I want to use DDR and was looking at the Dane Elec on newegg.com. Anyone use that brand before?

Thanks

 

[Peter]

A4A, no, for a fast Athlon, as well as for P4 boards that do not have the extra 12V connector,
the PSU should NOT have that ridiculous limitation on the 5+3.3 combination. Mine does, but I'm
only running a Duron 600.

This is true for any maker's boards ... yet some of the really expensive boards pile up so much
redundancy in large capacitors and such that you won't notice at first - until the continuously
overstressed PSU gives up a few weeks or months later. With the ECS/PC-Chips boards, which
are designed to be cost effective, you'll notice PSU inadequacy right on the spot, because these
expect properly regulated voltages.

regards, Peter

 

[Mark0999]

MSI builds some quality boards. If you do not want a DDR setup, then the MSI K7T Turbo2 would be my pick. Otherwise, with DDR ram, I like the Shuttle AK35GT.

 

[Athlon4all]

Ok, so what then are the estimated prefered specs for the PS then? That's really what I'm interested in I guess.

 

[Peter]

For a fast Athlon, you want at least 25 amps on the +5V rail (125 watts alone), more if you have
many mass storage drives, and ample headroom from there on the 5+3.3 combined total.
3.3V load mostly comes from AGP and PCI cards. Sum up what you have, and then shop for something
that can handle it.

This is true for any system setup, no matter who made the board.

btw, Stevem627, Shuttle AK12A is a rebadge job of ECS K7VZA v3 ... pretty old architecture. SDRAM
only, chipset interconnected through the main PCI bus. Read: Not much PCI bandwidth left if you have
fast harddisks, no upgrade path on RAM bandwidth.

regards, Peter

 

[skipp786]

NEED HELP IN SELECTING THE RIGHT MOTHERBOARD.

Have choices; Wanna know which one among this is a good motherboard. I am gonna put in a P4 1.6 CPU. I am trying not to spend as much just want a decent system. ASUS P4S333, ECS P4S5A, DFI-NT70SC (GETTING A GOOD DEAL) but expensive because of i850 chipset and RDRAM, OR EPOX EP4SDA+ (GREAT DEAL BECAUSE BUILD ON LAN AND RAID).