Trudging through the pile of motherboards for Barton 2500+

[eqmassa]

I?ve decided to go with a Barton core 2500+ AMD processor for my gaming rig and am now trying to decide on a motherboard. I?m definitely going with the NForce2 chipset, most likely the 400mhz ?Ultra? version. MSI?s K7N2L, Epox?s 8RDA+/3+, Gigabyte?s and Abit?s boards, Asus?s popular A7N8X in its several incarnations, and even some boards by Chaintech and DFI all seem to be contenders.

I simply don?t need a gigantic array of features like multiple raid or firewire support. What I need are reliability and speed. It is imperative above all else that my system runs very fast, with extremely few problems, for a long time. I wouldn?t mind onboard sound if it was really good, comparable to a TBSC. From what I?ve read?

http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030214/nforce2-13.html
http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20021111/nforce2-17.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030721/index.html

As for speed:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030523/nforce2_11boards-15.html

The tested boards are all very similar in performance, so reliability/stability is again the key issue. There aren?t any benchmarks for that, and TH gives the crown to Gigabyte and DFI. There is a big features table included, but honestly, most of it is Greek to me. I?ve also searched these forums and others, but there?s not much clarity in most of the posts. Everyone just seems to like the motherboard they own because they own it. Anandtech forums have some nice information threads, though.

 

[pspada]

Boy, I love those nforce2-17 motherboards.....:disgust:

 

[saber800]

I was in the same spot you are in now a month ago. I decided to get the MSI K7N2-L for my AMD 2500+ Barton over at Newegg.com. It was on sale at the time (I don't think its on sale now). I was looking for a good motherboard with a good price/performance ratio and the MSI board fit the bill. Its been working great so far. No problems at all. I installed everything and it came up fine.

Many people recommend the ABit or DFI but they were just a bit too expensive for me. I just depends on how much money you have. Just read the reviews before you buy the board (Anand, Toms, etc).

One note: I've heard the Biostar nForce2 board isn't all that great even though its really cheap. Prob stay away from that board.

 

[eqmassa]

I'm leaving the house and don't have time to track down the actual link, but one of the links I posted above (THG) shows the MSI board you mentioned as having a lower video clock speed, which is important to a gamer like me. Ultimately, long-term reliability, upgradeability, and stability are most important -- this is my first fully solo build and I don't want to have too many unforeseen problems.

 

[saber800]

Originally posted by: eqmassa
I'm leaving the house and don't have time to track down the actual link, but one of the links I posted above (THG) shows the MSI board you mentioned as having a lower video clock speed, which is important to a gamer like me. Ultimately, long-term reliability, upgradeability, and stability are most important -- this is my first fully solo build and I don't want to have too many unforeseen problems.

If you're using a video card like a GeForce4/ATI Radeon/etc., it doesn't matter about mobo video clock speed. If you're going to use the onboard video, then yes it will matter. The MSI K7N7-L has not onboard video; the K7N2-G does. So if you're going to use onboard video, make sure you select the right mobo. Not all nForce2 mobos have onboard video.

 

[eqmassa]

Thanks for the info, I'll be mindful of that from now on. I now have it down to 4 options:

Asus A7N8X Deluxe V 2.0 (THG says it has a better layout than Chaintech or Leadtek, GamePC said its amazing, but heard bad things about BIOS): $125

Abit NF7-S (purportedly set up to avoid tangles in wires, well set-up, 6 usb ports, very OCable):$116

Epox RDA3+ (heard lots of good): $110

Soltek SL-75FRN2-L (see Epox): $85

Honestly, I'm leaning towards the Soltek or Abit. This is my first solo build, so I don't want any undue complications, especially involving the BIOS. I've also heard something about... gah, I've forgotten the term, but it involves using multiple sticks of RAM (i.e. 2 256s instead of 1 512) to attain higher performance, and that certain boards support this.

 

[Lonyo]

I'm in the same set as you, I have the options of cut down versions of the boards you list (the non -S version of the ABit, the non + EPoX etc), and personally I think I'm going for the ABit NF7, because I have an ABit at the moment, and because I think they have the best voltage/multiplier options.

 

[t4t3r]

abit nf7 or nf7-s. the nf7-s has extra features like certified soundstorm and raid i think. otherwise they are identical. mine has been great.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

FOR $114.95 2nd day shipping for the NF7-S from googlegear or 116$ shipped from Newegg is the best value going considering the features. If you just want a basic no frills board the FRN2-L is sweet and hits some impressive FSB speeds similar to the Abit.

 

[KGB]

AOpen!

When it comes to reliability, they're hard to beat.
This MB is currently $71 ($81 - $10 MIR) from Newegg.