Poll: Best DDR Motherboard Contest

[nkormanik]

According to AMD's web site, these are the 'certified' motherboard choices for DDR memory:

1 -- Asus A7M266

2 -- Biostar M7MIA

3 -- EPoX EP-8K7A

4 -- FIC AD11

5 -- Gigabyte GA-7DX

6 -- Microstar (MSI) MS-6341


Are they all about equal?? Any one stand out above the rest for a high-end desktop?? Where can we buy one today??

Please give your opinion.

Thanks,
Nicholas

 

[Insane3D]

Personally, I think the 8K7A is the best choice for a DDR setup...but the rest of those boards are nice too. They all should perform failry close to each other..

You can get the 8K7A for $135 shipped here..

 

[Bannor]

ASUS, after two bad IWILL KA266, the asus was amazing. I picked mine up at the local store. Little pricey though

 

[Noriaki]

The Asus has no multiplier adjustments, I doubt the Gigabyte or Biostar do either, not sure about the FIC.

I have a K7 Master and love it, but at this time I would definately recommend the Epox 8K7A as the board to get.

 

[Duvie]

Epox EP-8K7A!!!! appears to be the first to come out with bios update to support palominos...

Also doesn't seemed to be plagued by problems like the Iwills, and is oc friendly unlike the asus (which is overpriced compared to the epox), and Biostar (that I know of)...

 

[jagr10]

Has anyone had any probs with the EPOX EP-8K7A Motherboard? In other words, how many crashes in a week would you get.

What sound cards and video cards are you running with this board?
Which ram can I use?

Also, I was looking at Anandtech's price guide and noticed this top of the line DDR Ram: "PC2400 DDR CAS 2 - 256MB"

Will that work in the Epox?

 

[formulav8]

I have the Epox board and haven't had a crash yet that wasn't my fault.



Jason

 

[buck]

<< I have the Epox board and haven't had a crash yet that wasn't my fault.



Jason >>


Yep, same for me.
Matt

 

[Noriaki]

Search for the Epox board...there are tons of threads all full of positive feedback on this board.

 

[CurtOien]

I like my Epox.
No problems at all.

 

[bluemax]

Okay... if I can't get an EPOX, what would be my next best choice? With DDR equal to the price of Pc-133 I might as well go for it! (Yes, that means abandoning my plan for a microATX setup.) I found a nice lil' tower that will accept a full ATX board, so I think DDR would be better in the long run.

Any of these have imbedded video?

 

[DARRIN]

If you are wanting onboard video I don't think any of these boards have it. The boards coming out with the Nvidia chipset (Nforce) in a couple months will have onboard video.

 

[celeritas]

Does anyone else with an 8K7A also have a Netgear NIC in the PC? I've read about a few people (myself included) who found that the system won't reboot properly. I swapped the Netgear for a 3COM and now it's fine. Also, how many people have noticed that their 8K7A's are very sensitive to heat? I experience random errors/lockups whenever the CPU temp goes over 116F or so. Most other boards wouldn't have a problem with this temp... Has anyone tried WPCRSET/WPCREDIT to decrease temps? Did it work?

BTW, I found a new BIOS for the 8K7A that has a nifty little GUI on startup.

8k7a1606.exe.

 

[LordQria]

I didnt realize the Epox board had the correct power configuration for the new palominos. Most of the boards that are supposed to support it have 6 power regulators while the Epox only has 4. I have liked all my previous Epox board and will definitely buy from them again if the new core will drop right in w/o much fuss.

 

[celeritas]

I spoke too soon. I read that a v1607 BIOS can be found here. Warning: I have no idea if this is a legit BIOS; I can't find it on Epox's web or ftp sites. If someone tries this, let the rest of us know if it's OK -- if you can. <EG>

 

[bluemax]

Okay, screw onboard video... I'll keep my eyes peeled for a cheap video card to throw on for now. Needless to say, I'm watching this thread VERY carefully!! I'm going to buy one of these boards for sure... depending on features, quality, price and availability in Canada.

 

[eLiu]

the Asus A7A266 has multiplier jumpers...

BUUT...it's Ali Magik...*barf* hehe

id say Epox...im getting one myself soon for my new comp

-eric

 

[splice]

The most recent &quot;non beta&quot; BIOS you can get on EpoX's website here Adds Palomino/Athlon 4 support.

New for this version:
Updated CPU ratio table for new Athlon CPU.
Removed EPA logo.
Upgraded HighPoint 370A bios (EP-8K7A+ only).
Added a new BIOS item to tune up system performance (&quot;Normal&quot; to set as default).
Upgraded AMD CPU string table.
Upgraded CPU instruction SSED.
Added PhoneixNet support.

 

[bluemax]

I'm really starting to get sold on that EPoX board.... I hope it's not terribly expensive - That ASUS A7M266 costs 50% more than a moderate MSI board! :Q

 

[bluemax]

No further updates?? :Q Anyone bought one of the above boards yet?

 

[nortexoid]

the Epox board is probably the best - offering overclocking features, good layout, etc...

the FIC board is probably the best bang for the buck...no oc'ing options other than fsb, like the others listed, but it can be had for lik 75 bucks...

 

[goul]

what about the GA-7DXR ?

Ive heard excellent things about it

 

[bluemax]

<< the FIC board is probably the best bang for the buck...no oc'ing options other than fsb, like the others listed, but it can be had for lik 75 bucks... >>


A DDR mobo for $75US?!?!?!?!?! :Q:Q:Q
Man! Tell me where I can get one of them! Hope I can find one in Canada...

 

[nortexoid]

used to be on pricewatch for 78 bucks...can only find it for 109 cheapest now...weird.

 

[TimeKeeper]

It might be really hard to tell which one is the best, unless you actually test all the DDR boards.

I am always a EpoX fan, but I tried to be open minded this time......little review of my own w/ FIC AD11.