recommendation sought: cheap celermine motherboard w/ sound

[zeroidea]

Hey all. One of my neighbors was talking about going to CDW and MicroCenter to look for a new sub-$500 computer. I mentioned that I could probably put together a better/faster/cheaper system if she'd pay for the parts. (what with the deals posted here and elsewhere..)

I'm certainly thinking that it should be based on a celermine 533 or 566 which would probably be overclocked. There are plenty of coupon deals out there for the RAM, harddrive and other components, but I was wondering if I could get some suggestions for the motherboard? Is there a current equivalent to what the Abit BH6 was when I put my 450A together?

Basically I'd like to keep it under $100, and if it has onboard sound that'd be great. People always rag on onboard sound, but the onboard creative chips I've heard are far better than any cheap soundcards out there.

the system is to replace an Acer Pentium-75 To be used for websurfing and such.

if there are any specific deals out there I'd appreciate hearing of them.

Thanks.

 

[Ulysses]

See:

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.html?i=1269

 

[zeroidea]

I should have mentioned that none of the current integrated video chipsets are desirable as they sacrifice the AGP slot for very poor video performance. Future expandability is one of the advantages of building from scratch. And there's a very good selection of quality budget video cards nowadays.

Sorry. I had intended to list that as one of my needs. but thanks for the reply (I had already read that article).

Anyone else?

 

[Peter]

If it is to go into a BAT housing, the selections are few ...

PC-Chips makes the cheapest one, M727MR - socket-370, 66 or 100 MHz, ALi chipset, coppermine capable. Onboard C-Media 8738 PCI 4.1-channel sound plus softmodem. AGP 2x slot. The chipset is sort of old, however. If you'll fit a Celeron (66 MHz bus), noone will notice, and the price can't be beaten.

Another one, M765VMRT, uses VIA's much more recent Apollo 133 chipset, same sound chip, same other features.

Their ECS subsidiary has a wider selection of mATX and ATX boards built around VIA 133 and 133A chipsets, all with said onboard sound/modem chip.

http://www.pcchips.com.tw/product.html
http://www.ecs.com.tw

(And if you can sit still for a few weeks, you'll be able to buy boards with the new VIA KM133 chipset - this one has integrated S3 Savage-4 graphics _and_ support for an AGP 4x slot. Much like the i815, only with much better integrated graphics and for a lower price.)

Regards, Peter

 

[Pennstate]

I'll sell you a MSI 6309 (apollo pro 133a) MB with onboard sound for $80 shipped. I will throw in a 3Com 10/100 NIC.

Great board. Jumperless, voltage tweaks.

 

[IceStorm]

The Abit SL6, if it is anything like the SE6, would be a good choice "right now". AGP slot and AC97 audio codec. If you're not doing heavy duty work with it, it's an option. About $130 on PriceWatch.

I use the SE6. Nice board, but I don't use the onboard sound, and the only time I use the video is when the board's not in the case (testing).

Just my $0.02