Motherboard shopping

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Tek7@Work

Tek7@Work

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Alrighty, here's the deal: I need a new motherboard. I'm going to try to get the same model (Giga-byte 7VAX), but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to buy one. I need to plan ahead since my PC is down until I get the mobo replaced, so I'm asking all you techie guru people to lend a hand.

I need a motherboard that is/has/will:

- ATX form factor
- Six (6) USB ports
- Two (2) COM (serial) ports
- Integrated audio
- Support PC2700/PC3200 (DDR333/DDR400) RAM
- Support the AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (Socket A, 266 or 333MHz FSB)

And for the "not necessary but STRONGLY preferred" list:

- Integrated audio
- Integrated LAN (10/100Mbps minimum)

Here are the specs of my old motherboard, for a point of reference.

I would normally shop this out m'self without asking for help, but I have one day to write a six-page paper for Greek Myth and Tragedy and two days to write an eight-page research paper for Cultures and Values.
 
I forgot to add: The motherboard must be as inexpensive as possible (without being poo). I'm a married college student, after all. @_@
 
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131468

for teh win.
62 dollars, relatively cheap compared to high-end mobos.

- ATX form factor
Form factor: ATX
- Six (6) USB ports
2 onboard, 4 rear panel
- Two (2) COM (serial) ports
eh.. only 1. This is all i could find i don't think motherboard these days have 2 com ports..
- Integrated audio
Realtek 6 channel
- Support PC2700/PC3200 (DDR333/DDR400) RAM
DDR 400 support
- Support the AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (Socket A, 266 or 333MHz FSB)
Socket A support, up to 400 FSB :)
- Integrated LAN (10/100Mbps minimum)
10/100Mbps Realtek onboard lan.

If you really need 2 serial ports (i don't know why o_O??) then I'll look for another when I get home. (@ school)
 
Hm. The ASUS A7N8X-X is a strong contender, but still a bit pricey for my budget.

On a side note, I think I'm going to have to give up one of my serial port devices. ;_; I use one port for my DexDrive (which allows me to read and write to Playstation 1 memory cards) and one for a connection to my UPS (uninterruptible power supply). The UPS software automatically shuts down the PC when the juice in the UPS is about to give out. It's not critical to have two COM ports, but it sure would be nice.

So far, buying a replacement mobo off ebay looks like my best bet--if only because of cost.
 
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128281
Found a gigabyte one this time, 48 dollars. Probably cheapest i could find maybe. this one actually has 2 serial ports. meeting all ur demands.

edit: demands list

- ATX form factor
Form factor: ATX
- Six (6) USB ports
4 onboard, 4 rear panel
- Two (2) COM (serial) ports
2 com ports
- Integrated audio
Realtek 6 channel
- Support PC2700/PC3200 (DDR333/DDR400) RAM
DDR 400 support
- Support the AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (Socket A, 266 or 333MHz FSB)
Socket A support, up to 400/333 FSB
- Integrated LAN (10/100Mbps minimum)
10/100Mbps Realtek onboard lan.

don't worry about me doing this while at school. cuz Compsci is really boring, plus I'm not doing anything since i've finished all the programs due this semester. I'd rather be helping u then be stuck playing mine sweeper.. :x
 
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Okay. I'm leaning toward the GIGABYTE GA-7VT600P-RZ. Fifty bucks still hurts (a lot) right now, but I think it's the best and least expensive I can find for my needs.

EDIT: I'm also considering the ECS KT-600.

Thoughts? Suggestions for other boards?
 
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Asus/Abit/Gigabyte are proly the best way. I'm more of an Asus fan, but from my friends' opinion, Abit/gigabyte are still high quality plus reliable, though i believe abit's are especially pricy :/
 
hescominsoon said:
I am sure we could find horror stories about any board. ECS as a whole are very stable and well made.
Click to expand...
don't bring my nightmare back please :x edited my post btw. it wasn't that mobo. Aparently my friend had some heat vent issues.

edit: just a side note Tek7, If you have a spare computer that are compatible with whatever parts you're keeping, test it out. From reading other threads it could have done some damage to other components.

bells about to ring, gotta go :) I hope you find a good choice of motherboard Tek. HSC is a better tech guru compared to me anyway :P
 
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*bump* Might anyone have a minute to check out the GIGABYTE GA-7VT600P-RZ and share their opinion? Eh? So far, I'm lovin' the board and its EIGHT USB PORTS, w00t!

Back to the present: I'm already aggravated by the slooowness of my Windows 98 box. I'm used to a 2GHz proc with 768MB RAM; it's a hard step down to a 667MHz Compaq with 64MB RAM. >_<

So, the sooner I find and order a replacement motherboard, the better...
 
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hescominsoon said:
looks good. I assume you have a video card already?
Click to expand...
Yessir, a six-generations-old GeForce3 Ti450. Woo woo.

In other news ... I'll likely be sending in my motherboard for RMA. My motherboard is still in warranty and I have a hard time justifying $50 for a new mobo when I can get a replacement for the cost of shipping.

Still, there's other shtuff a-brewin', so I'm not ruling out the purchase of a new motherboard yet.
 
Well, the PC rebuild was not quite successful. It's possible that Giga-byte shipped me a bad replacement motherboard, so I my have to start shopping again.

I'll be calling Crucial to send me another replacement stick of 512MB RAM today. If I get the RAM and it still shows as 256MB (see this thread for details), then that would point to a bad motherboard. If it is bad, then I'm just going to order a new board from Newegg, THEN RMA the Giga-byte board. I've already been without a primary PC for a month (read: no gaming for Tek) and I'm trying not to freak out about this whole mess.
 
Tek7 said:
Might anyone have a minute to check out the GIGABYTE GA-7VT600P-RZ and share their opinion? Eh? So far, I'm lovin' the board and its EIGHT USB PORTS, w00t!
Click to expand...
Even though Giga-byte may have sent me a bad replacement board (we'll find out tomorrow when I install the 512MB stick of RAM), I'm still leaning toward purchasing the GIGABYTE GA-7VT600P-RZ.

Any other suggestions before I make the decision? I need to know by tomorrow morning which motherboard I'll purchase if I need to buy a new one.
 
I found technical specs for the VIA KT600, but could not find a similar sheet of specs for the nForce Ultra400. This page is as close as I got.

Can anyone find and post a link to a page with the full technical specs for the nForce2 Ultra400 chipset? I'd like to make a side-by-side comparison of the two so I can determine whether or not I can justify $10 extra.
 
According to the last page of the SharkyExtreme review, the performance gain using the nForce2 Ultra400 is not very significant.

The overall application and game benchmark results are about where we imagined, and with only a 400 MHz front-side bus, even the top-end Athlon XP 3200+ can't really make use of the dual-channel DDR400 architecture of the nForce2 Ultra 400. The synchronous 400 MHz FSB and memory bus speeds of the KT600 allow it to match up quite well in overall performance, but the extra memory bandwidth of the nForce2 Ultra 400 can pay off in slightly higher scores. In terms of real-world performance, we give the MSI K7N Delta-ILSR a slight edge, but the AOpen AK77-600 Max is right on its tail and in many cases the boards finish in a dead heat.
Click to expand...
And to be honest, I still don't see any significant differences between the two chipsets. :( I know I'm a bit slow in digging through specifications, but I just can't see why the nForce2 Ultra400 is so much better than the VIA KT600.
 
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Looks like it's time for me to purchase a new motherboard. I was on my primary PC today when I heard a loud popping noise. I immediately shut down my computer, unhooked all the cables, opened up the case, and found that one motherboard capacitor had popped and another was bulging. The capacitor that popped had oozed a bit of liquid. When I swabbed the motherboard with a Q-tip, there was an orange liquid (from the popped capacitor) on the Q-tip.

So, that being said, do the previous motherboard recommendations stand? Or are there better (and cheaper) motherboards now available on the market? Cash is tight and I'm having to forego my Christmas present this year to replace my motherboard, so I need to keep it cheap.
 
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