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  • mainboard upgrade confusion!!!

    I am going to upgrade my mainboard and proc from the current Abit Bx / P3-650@866

    I am interested in stability and some OC potential
    at a high benifit/cost ratio.

    I assume that my best bet is now an AMD XP 1700-2000 or so
    but what mainboard?

    I have a separate raid controler (Promise TX2).

    I was thinking about an MSI SIS745 based board.
    What about the KT333 chip set?
    Other chip sets?

    FAR too many choices!

    TIA
    chuck
    Chuck
    秋音的爸爸

  • #2
    You know what most here will say?

    MSI 745 Ultra or (slightly cheaper, but no o/c options) ECS 745 board...

    Or if you want to splash out, an nforce 2 solution may be OK...

    Gnep
    DM says: Crunch with Matrox Users@ClimatePrediction.net

    Comment


    • #3
      Rule out the KT333

      SiS all the way baby.

      Best SiS at the moment: MSI 745 Ultra.

      Best SiS to come...hmm, MSI 748? Stay tuned if you want a 748, the competition might hot up.

      Edit: 3 minutes, 3 posts, 3 mentions of MSI 745 - could only be MURC
      Meet Jasmine.
      flickr.com/photos/pace3000

      Comment


      • #4
        nForce2 is the way to go.

        Comment


        • #5
          But there have been some posts that make it sound like the MSI 745 ultra might give the old "what bios and drivers work for me?" question.

          I've been using BX boards for a long time because I got so sick of that stuff with VIA boards I had had.

          chuck
          Chuck
          秋音的爸爸

          Comment


          • #6
            Epox 8RDA+
            Let us return to the moon, to stay!!!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Novdid
              nForce2 is the way to go.
              Hadn't thought of that.
              I had assumed that they all had onboard graphics. (which I consider an excusion)

              Upsides?
              Downsides?

              chuck
              Chuck
              秋音的爸爸

              Comment


              • #8
                All of the main manufacturers which IMO are MSI, Asus and Epox offer nforce2 boards without onboard graphics. It's up to you what features you need and what manufacturer you prefer though.

                One of the better ones have already been suggested, the Epox 8RDA+.

                Upsides: Bloody fast, all the basic features you may need, not VIA.
                Downsides: nvidia

                Comment


                • #9
                  The NForce2 IGP available yet. At present, all NForce2 boards lack integrated video....
                  Let us return to the moon, to stay!!!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    cj: Just wait til MSI releases their SIS 746/963 chipset based MB.

                    (should be very shortly)

                    No on the ECS.. many compatability problems
                    "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss

                    "Always do good. It will gratify some and astonish the rest." ~Mark Twain

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                    • #11
                      No on the ECS.. many compatability problems
                      No complains here.

                      But the nForce2 does seem a hell of a chipset, even if you forget all the integrated stuff - even so the audio is top notch.
                      It´s amazing how the XP performance keeps going up as new chipsets get released. And it showed how cheesy VIA is, milking the same cow since the KT266A.

                      Asus and Epox nForce2 boards seem to be very good, with Epox leading on value for money.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        yeah... Pace!
                        Meet Jasmine.
                        flickr.com/photos/pace3000

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Seems like Epox has a SIS746FX board as well....
                          Let us return to the moon, to stay!!!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I am wondering the exact same thing.. and im GOING to buy a Nforce2 mb.. now its just a battle against Epox / Asus. The thing is that i CAN get a Asus Deluxe ~150e [normally 200e here]. Or then i could get a Epox + for 130-140e.

                            Epox is the ONLY firm that would NOT state if their PCI/AGP lock actually works.

                            The way i see it now:

                            Epox:
                            + Nice voltages
                            + latest BETA bios allows 250Mhz FSB.
                            - No SATA
                            - No digital audio out.
                            - Epox wont confirm PCI/AGP lock

                            Asus:
                            + SATA RAID
                            + 2x LAN
                            + Dolby Digital decoder
                            + S/PDIF out
                            + Firewire
                            + PCI/AGP confirmed by ASUS.
                            - 1.85V CPU / 2.8 DDR Voltages
                            - 211 MAX FSB [ new BIOS ? ]

                            Talked to people who HAVE Epox and one of them said that harddisk corruption does happen in 210-220 FSB [ maybe the PCI lock doesnt work after 200 FSB ].

                            Well [H]ardOCP got the Asus running 211 SYNC so you can o'c it too [ reviews samples might be bit different, but still ].

                            Since i can get a good deal on the Asus, im guessing ill get that... add some GOOD mem and AMD XP 2400+ and im a happy camper.

                            Pe-Te

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by PeTe
                              ...Epox is the ONLY firm that would NOT state if their PCI/AGP lock actually works....
                              I don't even know what that means.
                              This is the reason I started the thread.

                              chuck
                              Chuck
                              秋音的爸爸

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