newbie needs motherboard help

[Pabby]

I am looking in to building myself a new pc for the first time. I have been looking for a stable but good performance wise board but there is just so much choice out there. So i was wondering if someone with a bit more experience could recommend a good board and chipset for me.

I am lookin for the following things in my board

Socket A
support for athlon 2400+ (2GHz) and possibly a little higher for upgrades
266 MHz FSB
At least DDR333 support and possibly DDR400
upgradable to 2 or 3GB RAM
4 USB sockets
USB 2.0
AGP 8x
5 or more PCI slots

Any other features would be fine too. If i missed any other vital info then let me know.

 

[bgeh]

i'd recommend a ABIT NF7-S, ASUS A7N8X Deluxe or a EPOX 8RDA+
all 3 boards are good, only that asus is the most priciest and feature laden while the abit is the mid-priced one and the Epox is the cheapest but not lacking in quality

 

[kalex2]

I just put in the ASUS A7N8X and love it! Not a single problem running it at all....currently running an AMD XP 2100+ @2700+ without a single problem!

 

[zodder]

I'm a very happy Epox 8RDA+ owner and highly recommend it. Can't beat the price/performance IMO. Epox makes outstanding mobos.

 

[AtomicDude512]

Originally posted by: Pabby
I am looking in to building myself a new pc for the first time. I have been looking for a stable but good performance wise board but there is just so much choice out there. So i was wondering if someone with a bit more experience could recommend a good board and chipset for me.

I am lookin for the following things in my board

Socket A
support for athlon 2400+ (2GHz) and possibly a little higher for upgrades
266 MHz FSB
At least DDR333 support and possibly DDR400
upgradable to 2 or 3GB RAM
4 USB sockets
USB 2.0
AGP 8x
5 or more PCI slots

Any other features would be fine too. If i missed any other vital info then let me know.

You ruled out everything except for the KT400 and nForce2, of which the nForce2 is better in every way. Try the Epox board Zodder has, it is very solid.