Here are my specs AMD XP2000 1536mb of ram PC2100 DDR SDRAM (3 512mb slots) Needs to have 200/266mhz fsb or higher Have at least 5 PCI slots One 4x AGP pro slot. I dont know too much about chip sets and cache. What would be a good ATX mobo for this set up. I previous was thinking about going with a SOYO FIRE DRAGON PLUS but i dont know about it. I'm kind of confused. I plan on having a sound blaster plantinum live drive for sound. So the mobo doesnt need to have any special sound things. i have yet to start building the actual pc. But as soon as i find a good mobo i'll be set. Thanks
any of the current crop of via k266a boards would be right nifty for it. ive only personally worked with the abit kr7a , but theres lots of others out there. SiS 745 would work too, like the ecs k7s6a. nice and stable from what i hear, but not a lot of oc'n potential.
I agree, the Abit KR7a has rave reviews a lot of peoples favorite. I have heard good things about Soyo Dragon as well. I am going to get the IWill XP333R. Gunna see if I can push that DDR PC2700 memory, also has the new ATA133 IDE controller sweet! The only thing about it is I am not sure if I am going to like the on board audio, it claimes 5.1/6 channel but I have been disappointed with onboard audio in the past.
you should easily be able to push the memory cause mine had 1/5 and 1/6th pci dividers + ocing options in the bios. I slapped my PC2100 ram @ PC2500 (150/300DDR) with a 1/5 multi and it ran fine straight from 133/266DDR without easing it up! Didnt use the on board audio, but you get an extra bracket with it - and if u buy the additional options on it you get optical in/out + spdif too
are you or are you not using the mobo audio? I know you get the expansion slot connections with the raid or option with the non-raid board... is it any good even with the expansion slot?
IMO a KR7(a) would be your best bet. Abit make good boards, you just have to watch out for problems with Creative soundcards, but a KR7 and a SB Live/Audigy Platinum will run fine on it - I had to go out and buy one to fix my sound While I am here... My PC2100 Crucial is running at 166fsb right now - just testing for stability for a few weeks -- god I love XP Best thing thats come out of Micro$haft for a looooong while IMO.
Why don't you go out and read the reviews yourself? I don't really like to take other peoples word for it personally. I also like the Abit KR7 board. Don't forget about the Shuttle AK35GTR, it has lots of nice features at a good price. You also might want to take a look at the MSI K7T266A Pro 2 RU and the Soltek Purple Ray KT266A board, they both look really cool. I have had experience with the MSI board and was very pleased with it from a stock perspective.
I dont plan on using on board audio with the mobo. I wanted to know what you guys would suggest and since theres alot giveing me the same suggestion. I think its a safe bet. majority rules.
The KR7A only uses DDR. It really sucks that DDR prices inflated so much. I remember when I built my first DDR rig the ram cost about $100 for 256MB. Then when I built my second, it only cost $29 for the exact same stick of ram. Now it is almost back up to the original prices again.
i prefer the asus cause of the award bios and its marginally faster in all benches published from online hardware sites. And no i havent used the sound on my ol' iwill
So whats the best board that will also run standard pc100 pc-133 mem? I currently have (2) celeron 500's on a Abit BP6. Best board I have ever had....
the only mobo ive worked with that does 144 pin and 184 pin is the ecs k7s5a. im not claimng that its the only one out there, just the only one ive worked with ... really good, cheap board (can be found on pricewatch.com for 45$) with onboard lan, crap sound,and 2 sdram and 2 ddr sdram slots ... board total is 1GB of one or the other.
i like the stability of the Soltek boards if price is a prob (obviously not), i have a MSI KT266 Pro and its a beaut -- v. stable, especially with XP
