PCCHIPS Replacement Contemplation

[BigBlue66]

Howdy Folks,

Hehe, got your attention, didn't I? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Yep, after over a year of trouble free operation from my M810LMR, I am chomping at the bit to tinker a wee bit. I have recently been adding older motherboards to my pile of spare parts, since you all seem to think that my PCCHIPS motherboard is a POS. I beg to differ.

Anyway, was wondering what you all thought of the following boards and/or if any of you actually have one, what do you think of it? Which one would you all consider worthwhile to install in my machine, just for tinkering's sake? However, whichever one I choose will stay in this machine for quite some time. Oh, and I suppose, I could ask which one is more stable, etc. I am not interested in overclocking. Could never see the point of that.

Soyo K7VTA Pro

MSI K7T Turbo2

Gigabyte GA-71XEH

Any opinions?

Both the Soyo and MSI support 200/266 FSB, whereas the Gigabyte only supports 200Mhz FSB. The Gigabyte is really for my granddaughter eventually. I only have 200Mhz FSB processors at the moment, but might get a couple of the 266Mhz later on when the prices come down. I kind of like this old technology for the simple fact that it does what I need it to do and is cheaper than the latest DDR wave.

I have been reading several reviews on the Soyo and MSI. In one review, the Soyo edged out the MSI by a few points on one of their tests. The Soyo also has a cooler fan on the Northbridge, which I thought was a nice addition. Cooling is not a problem though. Have plenty of that.

All the boards support up to 1.5Gb of SDRAM and all will support my current pile of spare Athlons and Durons. I think it's the MSI that I have plenty of room for advancement, even up to an Athlon XP flavor. But, that's not really an issue right now.

EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot to mention that both the Soyo and MSI are based on the KT133A chipset and the Gigabyte has the KT133E chipset. All boards support ATA100.

Thanks for any advice, opinions, observations, etc.

Have a great weekend.

Big Blue 66


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This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"From up on the roof top there came such a clamor, I ran to the window and threw up"
-- Tommy Smothers

[This message has been edited by BigBlue66 (edited 01-19-2002).]

[mjc]

Hey...BB, if you remember I was saying that their boards were ok if you didn't go into to heavy tweaking on them and basically ran them stock...and that they have been improving things like tech support, so I guess they have and that it has been a good board over all (most issues like quality control and support can be ironed out if the company is serious about remaining in business...hehe). No real recommendations of my own on any of the listed boards, though...and going by reviews/recommendations...MSI

But I know somewhere that could find that PCChips board a happy new home.... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[BigBlue66]

Hey MJC,

Actually, there isn't a lot of tweaking room on this board. There are no overclocking features and there's only one BIOS option for choosing DRAM speed between 100 or 133Mhz. Guess that's considered a tweak? Reckon that's the same thing as saying either FSB or FSB+33. Right? I think I have the latest BIOS, which is 4/25/01. There are options in the BIOS for either loading Optimal or Performance values. I haven't messed around with that, but maybe I should. Any idea what values are affected by these two settings, other than DRAM speed? The BIOS options are kind of light in features.

Anyhoo, I have upgraded considerably from when I first got the board. Am now running an Athlon 1.2GHz 200Mhz FSB, 1.0GB PC133, both the maximum she'll take. The only drawback to the board that I can see is only two PCI slots. I have them filled up with a USR Performance Pro modem and a Soundblaster PCI512. In the 4X AGP slot, I'm running a PNY Verto GeForce2 Ti 64mb DDR SDRAM. Also have a 30Gb 7200 ATA100 Western Digital harddrive, 52X CD-ROM and a Lite-on 16X10X40 CD-RW.

So, as you can see, this board will stand up to quality components. I had absolutely no problems with disabling any of the onboard stuff and no hiccups when upgrading.

If you're serious about that statement, MJC, send me an email. The one in my profile is for work but you can email me at home this weekend at:

jhart1st@aol.com

BTW, I was leaning toward the MSI myself. Only reason I would go for the Soyo is that spiffy fan on the Northbridge chip. Guess I'm still up in the air though, so would like more opinions please.

Cheers,

BB 66


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This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"From up on the roof top there came such a clamor, I ran to the window and threw up"
-- Tommy Smothers

[Hobit]

Hello BigBlue66,

I'm not clear as to whether you already own the Soyo, MSI and Gigabyte or are considering buying them. Nor, if you would consider other alternatives.
ie SiS735 (See below) based mobos which offer better performance and are available for less money.

The fan on the Soyo is cool but as you are not intested in overclocking seems irrevelent. As for ATA 100 support, or for that matter ATA 133 support, sounds nice but as you no doubt know neither is realized.

ANANTECH AUG 21, 2000 SiS Chip Review
Final Words:
This updated roundup was long overdue, but it has actually arrived with great timing. We are on the verge of seeing NVIDIA’s nForce debut as a Socket-A platform; and courtesy of increased performance pressure by SiS, VIA will be bringing a new revision of their KT266 chipset to market as well. While the usual recommendation, “wait if you can” holds true here more than ever, there are some out there that are in the middle of upgrading and need an answer now.
With DDR SDRAM so very cheap and the platforms very affordable and mature as well, it only makes sense for you to pursue a DDR solution for your Socket-A system. The KT133A chipset has served us well, but at this point there’s very little reason to choose it over the competition. The SiS 735 works fine as a SDR chipset but then again, there are very few reasons to stick with SDR at this point.
For the most part, the three major DDR chipsets perform within a few percentage points of each other. You can’t really go wrong with any of them. But obviously that’s not the answer you’re looking for. There are a few cases, especially in very stressful circumstances, that the SiS 735 truly flexes its muscle.
We are still investigating exactly what SiS did to give the 735 such dominating performance, but it’s definitely very low-level architectural enhancements that make the 735 the solution it is today.
The real beauty of the 735 isn’t its performance, especially since you’ll find it quite difficult to notice a performance difference (in most cases) between it and the 760/KT266. No, the real beauty of the 735 is its price. The ECS board we used in this review retails for less than $80. We have seen it places for as low as $65 plus shipping. This makes the board and the platform the perfect companion for the very low cost Duron and Athlon processors. For less than $200 you can easily upgrade your system to a Duron on a SiS 735 board with DDR SDRAM courtesy of the very aggressive pricing from AMD, SiS and DDR SDRAM manufacturers such as Crucial.
Even if nForce is about to hit the streets, with a $65 motherboard it’s not too difficult to ditch it after a few months and not feel too guilty.

Regards,

Hobit

HONEST, I DON'T OWN ANY SIS STOCK.

[Hobit]

BigBlue66

SORRY 'BOUT THE DOUBLE POST!

HOBBIT

[BigBlue66]

Already own the boards. Read original post.

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"From up on the roof top there came such a clamor, I ran to the window and threw up"
-- Tommy Smothers

[iisbob]

Hey blue, you've heard me mention before how well i think of my ECS K7S5A board ( the same SIS735 chipset that Hobit seems stuck on http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif ), but i've also used ( and still am using one in a work system ) a PCCHIps M807, and quite honestly-except for the fact it's also reached it's upgrade limit's-i've not had a single serious issue with this PCCHip's board, or any of the other ones i've used. Though they can occasionally throw you a curve ball, but no more so than say ASUS or MSI. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Personally i don't care for MSI-i've seen some serious BIOS issues on them before-so i generally stay away from them. Gigabyte is IMHO one of the best boards, next to Epox, you can own.

As for Soyo, never owned one-but i have seen various complaints on them in different forum's; mostly OCing ones.

I would suggest just going with the Gigabyte, i've always liked them, and have had good service out of the three differnt ones i've used.

Have to throw in here of course that { like the Hobit } i highly recommend the K7S5A board. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif



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iisbob

CPU= 5mhz
Memory= 16 K
Storage=10.2MB's
Video=Onboard S3 4K
Modem=14.4 baud
Sound=ISA Yamaha 8bit
Mouse=2 button MS
Monitor=ACER 12.5"
OS= WIN 3.1

My ultimate gaming system :)

[Hobit]

Already own the boards. Read original post

Gosh darn BigBlue66 I missed the "I have recently been adding older motherboards to my pile of spare parts," of your original post. I should be so lucky - they don't seem that old. Although, I thonk (also think) that the K7T Turbo 2 is the only one of the three with 266FSB. Perhaps in the interest of "tinkering's sake" you should install each for a month and see which you like better or would you not consider it worthwhile. As for stability it is far more likely that systems crash due to software or conflicts with peripherals than motherboards.

I agree with you there is virtue in the tried and true (aka "KISS" keep-it simple-stupid) and it is not entirely rational to have more system than meets your needs. Notwithstanding, for me part of what you call "tinkering" is pushing the edge - at least a little.

Hobit
-------------------------------
iisbob

If you should happen to look-in. Its to too expensive, but if you're into pushing the limits look at the Leadtek 7350KDA SIS735 Socket A Mobo.

[BigBlue66]

Thanks for the opinions Hobit and youisbob. I am quite certain that both the MSI and the Soyo can run at either 200/266Mhz, and I'm quite certain that the Gigabyte will only run at 200Mhz.

I, too, was getting to like the Gigabyte and its options, however, I wanted to save a reliable board for the granddaughter's machine, as she lives 100 miles away, so Grandpa can't just stop in to fix her machine. Ya know? Hmmm, guess that kind of says something about my opinion of Gigabyte.

So, there is really only two choices left. Still open for more opinions. As I said in original post, I just want to tinker with the parts that I have already. My PC133 and Duron/Athlon processors are doing me just fine right now. I realize that technology is moving way faster than I am, but hey, that's always been the case. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Kinda stuck in the old school.

I just want opinions on the Soyo and MSI right now. They are brand new boards that will use the parts I have now, so would like to make use of one of them. I really don't have to, because the old 810 is still chugging along nicely, but need something fun to do. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Anybody else? Thanks guys for the comments so far.

Cheers,

BB 66

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"From up on the roof top there came such a clamor, I ran to the window and threw up"
-- Tommy Smothers

[BigBlue66]

Hobit and iisbob

I found this kind of interesting. hehe
http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=450497a7f0e2ed566c79f09fd5d0ea13&threadid=95725

BB 66

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"From up on the roof top there came such a clamor, I ran to the window and threw up"
-- Tommy Smothers

[Hobit]

Hey BigBlue66,

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif Boy-o-boy talk about eating your cake and having it too PCCHIPS has (are you ready) not one but two SIS735 motherboards: the M830RL ATX and M831RL Micro-ATX. The M830RL is avilable for $68 plus shipping - you'll no doubt agree a small price to pay for a genuine PCCHIPS board. Heck, put an AthlonXP on it, and you might like it so much that you keep it and give your granddaughter the 1.7GHz P4.

Happy days,

Hobit

[iisbob]

interesting-but in no way would i consider this a fear. I've been using the K7S5A board since it was first intro'd, and besides minor issues that plague most all new board designs i've seen no serious problems at all. Certianly not this severe. This could have happened to any manufacturer, i once had an MSI board that the Slot for my PII was improperly machined and the SECC wouldn't fit! I sent it back and the dealer gave me a replacement-but that was a wierd experiance.


In the rush sometimes for products, demand overwhelms supplies and some faulty merchandise get's thru-this happens to everyone, no company is immune.

I wish you the best of luck in your decision.




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iisbob

CPU= 5mhz
Memory= 16 K
Storage=10.2MB's
Video=Onboard S3 4K
Modem=14.4 baud
Sound=ISA Yamaha 8bit
Mouse=2 button MS
Monitor=ACER 12.5"
OS= WIN 3.1

My ultimate gaming system :)

[Hobit]

Lo BB66,

RE:"The K7S5A literally "melted down". When I pulled the computer apart, the solder connections had just melted and flowed all over the place ....."

Thanks for the RE: Wow I've never heard of a board doing this - have you? You've far more experience. Hope you'll see the humor in my last missive I just couln't resist as I was totally surprised when I ran across it.

Regards,

Hobit

[BigBlue66]

Originally posted by Hobit:
You've far more experience.


Hehe, Hobit, I seriously doubt that. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif But, thanks. However, you come across as the one who's been around the PC block. Not only are your posts technical in all the right places, but well written as well. Glad to have your expertise on the forum.

Me? I'm just a lowly bean counter who likes to dabble in the PC world. This forum has been the key instigator in my desire to further my tinkering abilities (Already tinker quite a bit on classic cars) on computers. I came here wanting answers to a problem I was having and the next thing you know, thanks in large part to Ranchdog, I got the building/tinkering fever and haven't looked back.

I am still at a crossroads with this decision. I think I may follow your sound advice, Hobit and use both the Soyo and MSI boards for awhile, then make up my mind which one I like the best. Now, which one do I choose to install first? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/confused.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

LOL

Cheers,

Big Blue 66

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"From up on the roof top there came such a clamor, I ran to the window and threw up"
-- Tommy Smothers

[Hobit]

BB66

RE: Now, which one do I choose to install first?

Beats me!

Too bad ya can't have a master and slave motherboard set-up like you do with hard drives. Now there's a project for a tinkerer like yourself.

Regards,

hobit (WHY DID i EVER CAPITALIZE THE h?)