mobo, chipsets and other suggestions for athlons...

[psabi]

Lots of info I want to inquire about so i am hoping Athlon/Duron users will pick up this post...

Looking to build an Athlon/Duron setup. I know hands down the Athlon (SocketA of course) is better but to keep within budget I may have to go with a Duron so I can opt for a better mobo. Now my questions:

1) What are the chances of me getting a good socket A Athlon motherboard for $100 USD (not including shipping)? Although I browsed pricewatch and found many listings at a $100 or lower , somehow "house brand", "generic" and "PC Chips" weren't instilling confidence. Haven't had any fun researching drivers for older PC chips stuff...

2) My goal in this system is to use my existing 2 sticks of 128MB PC-133 decent quality RAM. Does the AMD 760 chipset support both PC-133 SDRAM and DDR? With PC-133, I can shoot for a 266FSB Athlon, right?

3) I want to urgently avoid anything intergrated/onboard items like sound, modem, etc. I've been haunted by too many bad mobo of the past with onboard stuff that did not want to die... PCI here I come - so with nothing onboard I'm looking to need 4-5 PCI slots. One ISA slot would be nice for nostalgia...

4) What with the riser "stuff"? Do the majority of the sock a board come with the risers? Anyone out there love or hate the risers?

5) Memory - 3 slots would be great but if you love your mobo and it has 2 - please share.

I have a 300 watt PC Power and Cooling "turbo" PS - should run my current set up fine with my 5400RPM HD and so forth. I also have some HQ fans, and an ideal newer case for this setup.

I know this post is really directed to experienced socket A people but any input is appreciated (LIKE ANY MOBO BRANDS OR CHIPSETS I SHOULD DEFINITELY AVOID)

Final note - assume that processor will be a 1ghz or 1.2 Athlon

[diurnal]

Go to tcwo.com and youll find the best motherboard for athlon and or duron processers.The best is asus but abit to me is my favorite.to find a abit get the kt7e on newegg.com, it costs 105 shipping included. This mobo has all the features you ask for in your post.Msi are great boards too,if you have the extra cash go one of the msi boards.But overall i think,in my experience,Abits are the best. Try to stay away from fic and biostar(althought some biostars worked fine for me).I really dont like biostars and fics because i have alot of troubles building them but maybe other users did not have these troubles.If you have the extra cash I would go ddr, if you do get the msi board because you can tweak more on these boards than the asus.The sites i posted are ausome sites and they have splendid tech support. Id stay away from pricewatch.com because you have no idea who are selling these products and youll probably get ripped off in the long run with these sites. See ya

[Randy_tx]

Just remember when you are buying that mobo.......you have to choose one direction or the other: Either DDR memory supported board or SDRAM supported board......NO such thing as a "combo" arrangement. So if I read you correctly, you need to stick with a mobo that will handle PC133 SDRAM.

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Will XP save Me ?

[ranchdog]

psabi Glad to see ya stopped back in again. Ask six different guys the same question you posted and you'll get six different favorites when it comes to Mboards. The Mboard market has really been flooded to the max. Like yourself I remained a K6II-III fan longer than necessary. The Socket A systems were way ahead of me when I finally switched. A board that is stable is the key. And a board that doesn't drive you crazy trying to get it set up to run. I'm using MSI, Asus, and Abit presently and there are things I like/dislike about each one. MSI is as stable as they come. And easy to set up. Cheaper than the "big-guns" that are mainly overclocker's boards. Asus and Abit are both quality. Asus uses dip-switches, Abit uses Soft Menu. All three need the latest BIOS available if a guy is going to use the latest periphials. By the way Abit has IRQ issues that causes problems. (Sound Blaster for one) Asus has a new board out with the Ali Magic chipset that supports SDRAM and DDR. Either/or, controlled by a dip-switch. Asus A7A266. The AMD 760 is a DDR chipset. Yes, the PC133 memory goes along with a 266fsb AMD CPU. The riser you referred to must be the CNR riser. Communication network. Only takes up space as far as I'm concerned. Could be another PCI slot there instead. Tell ya what, drop me an e-mail when you get a chance. Luck.

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......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
...... Kickin' A Rock....

[iisbob]

For my 2 cents worth i'd send you to either Epox, Gigabyte, ASUS, or ABIT-as i've used , am using , one or another of these boards and all have their foilbles. But they are all goods boards. I've also used ( and have one running right now ) PC Chips, they can be a litle cranky-but they're not as bad as people may tell you, they've come a long way. My personal favs would have to be Epox and Giga; i'm using a Giga GA-7dx in my gaming system now-and pricewatch is a reputable site-they don't sell anything, they just point you towards dealers who have the product-you can check with BBB on a dealer there if you're not sure of their integrity.

Don't forget eBay, you can find excellant deals there if you pay attention and know what it is you're looking for.

Best of luck with your new system. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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iisbob
"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." --Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

[ranchdog]

www.resellerratings.com can help a bunch if in doubt about who to deal with when it comes to mail-order PC products and equipment. True there are some to shy away from. There are something like 2K vendors listed at thier site. Peace.

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......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
...... Kickin' A Rock....