best mobo right now for an XP
 

what is the best mobo right now for an athlon XP.
i am looking for the most features
obviously the fastest
something that overclocks decent

i would prefer to have raid too... but not to actually run raid.. just to have more than 4 ide devices

abit AT7
epox kt333

AT7 isn't readily available yet I don't think. I'm ordering the Epox 8K3A, the one Brad mentioned. It has gotten good reviews. I'll let ya know!
-Kev

it's on sale in japan (just like everything else)

the AT7 should be available in less than a week....

but with the kt333... is that just support for faster ram... but pointless being that the FSB is still 133? (unless overclocked)

sorry bout the lame questions... but i cant find alot of info about it

KT333 is basically an updated kt266a in all respects. It is a bit speedier and overclocks better. Also, it supports all the correct divisors and stuff if you o/c to the 166 mhz FSB (and probably 200). It supports asynch I think, but it is kinda shitty.
-Kev

I have the EPoX 8KHA+ which I got refurbed from New Egg. It is a very solid motherboard, and runs great. Given my positive experience with the 8KHA+ I would have to reccomend the EPoX 8K3A.

epox might be pretty good.. i dunno bout ditchin "legacy" with the abit... my UPS hooks up with serial and i have never heard of a USB UPS... hope my serial to usb converter works =)
also USB keyboards are limited in selection.. and i dont feel like getting a new printer that i only use to print homework.. (sure i could do printer sharing off an older box)



what about MSI? anyone have good comments about those?
abit and epox seem to be the most recommended where ever i go.

stay away from MSI boards, seriously they suck. Ask Una or ck42 about them. Half the time they ship faulty boards, and when they do work they are poorly designed, and tend to be very buggy. For example MSI still uses a 2 phase VRM for the Vcore power solution which is just a joke these days. Sure the Ferrari Red PCB is sweet looking, but it's not worth the potential hassle the board as a whole will present. I can only recomend the EPoX to you at this time.

MSIs used to be really good, but they have been concentrating more on the OEM market now so their boards more or less blow for guys like us.
-Kev

well that would explain why people only recommend epox or abit...

maybe after seeing a review on the AT7 i will get it.. if not then itll be EPox

I use EPoX 8KHA+ but I don't like it at all, it sucks (only 133@170MHz) and it has 1.85V max Vcore.

You should wait and buy 8K3A (just thinking 2.2 max Vcore makes me cry).

yeah, msi have gone downhill recently. Abit and Epox are quite a bit infront most other people right now

I don't have any experience about MSI, but quality is something that EPoX, mummhh, didn't have with 8KHA+. Yah, it was a cheap and nice mobo but there was some serious problems with those. At one hardware store here in Finland, They had over 1/10 broken. The problem was in the mem slots and mobo complaned about C1 in diagnostics. I had two of those babys ;) but now there's a working mobo inside my Chieftec

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba...age/nat71.html

YUM... its either that or the epox

not that i havent done a volt mod before... but what is the max vcore on this board? ive been tryin to get all the info i can about this thing.. but its very limited

I have a "refurb" EPoX that someone returned. It required me to flash the latest BIOS to "fix" it. Also all you need to do is solder a resistor to 2 points on the IC that regulates Vcore to get above 1.85. Just so you know my "cheap" board with Crucial "cheap" RAM was able to get to DDR333 rock solid. I don't see how you can say this board sucks, it has been one of the best boards I have used in a long long time.

I don't know how you can flash a motherboard that even POST? Do you? There is that reboot problem that needs a bios flash.

I know that "solder a resistor to IC" mod but I'm no good at soldering (I know how to but don't have so good equipment for doing IC soldering). And I don't need more Vcore at the moment. When I move to LN2 (now having just dry ice background) I'm going to buy a better mobo.

the 8K3A+ does 2.2vcore without mod... so i really doubt i will need any vmod =)




XP333-R (Iwill)
ive seen some good reviews on that... how does it stack up the the 8K3A+?


also samsung looks like it has the most OCable pc2700.. anyone think different?

the xp333 is slower per mhz than the kt266a and kt333, but it does have a 1/6 pci divider

8k3a allows for better voltage controls! it also has legacy for those of us with regular old ps2 keyboards.
-Zoson

* Dodges the tomatoes sure to head this way *
 

Either the Epox 8K3A+ or the ASUS A7V333. You'll pay a little more for the ASUS, but they have fewer quality control issues. Hop over to AmdForums for insight into either board. They both OC well and both have more than enough range on the Vcore side of things without modification.

From my own experiences with the two vendors and discussions with people I know with the boards, I would tend more towards the ASUS.

Regarding the "legacy free" line of newer m/bs...
PUKE!!!! Brings to mind something about freezing over ;)

As far as the Raid issue - you could always get a RAID free board and put in a low end raid PCI card (thus saving money over the long haul since you can put the card in your next m/b). The PCI cards in general tend to handle higher FSBs more willingly.

the a7v333 has the power connector a long way from the cpu and mosfets though, which is the only fault with it. apart from that it is a really great board

well i ended up with the 8k3a+

but the dividers arent exactly what i was thinking...
the dividers seem to be auto, and only kick in when at 166fsb =/

sure you care, 1/6 at 200 is much more important than 1/5, I mean hell, I'd be happy with a 1/3 and 1/6 divider, not as if I'd be running at anything in the middle

I love my MSI K7T pro2-A sure its MSI but I've had nothing but good come from MSI in the past.

-ugly