need some help on selecting a motherboard

[NocturnalPS]

Well not right away or anything, but sime time in the next few months.

As of right now i just have one question.
I want to stick with the AMD brand type chips.
What would be a better brand of motherboard, Abit or SOYO? I haven’t decided on what model to get but I just wanted to get an overall picture of who has a better reputation having stable boards and great tech support and such.

 

[Tom M]

Abit or Asus, Soyo is a low end board (despite their best claims or features) that I would never go back to (I had one.)
Right now I've got an Abit and am thrilled with it. Check out Asus too though, as they have some amazing features built into their boards. (Updating your Bios directly inside Windows was my favorite perk on my last Asus board.)

 

[NocturnalPS]

Originally posted by Tom M
Abit or Asus, Soyo is a low end board (despite their best claims or features) that I would never go back to (I had one.)
Right now I've got an Abit and am thrilled with it. Check out Asus too though, as they have some amazing features built into their boards. (Updating your Bios directly inside Windows was my favorite perk on my last Asus board.)

Asus.... i need to read up on that board. Sounds nice. Abit most likey be my choice. But theres still alot of time before i build another comp. I just finished this one a few weeks ago.

 

[Solid Fro]

I have an ASUS A7V266-E and I'm impress with all of the features on it. I originally wanted an Abit, but the ASUS won me over.

A suggestion: I would wait if I was going to build an Athlon system. Those AMD 64-bit Clawhammers are coming soon and they're supposed to blow everything Intel has away.

 

[risingson77]

I have a Soyo K7ADA. I'm happy with it. The only trouble I've had is a conflict between the onboard audio and my SB Live. I resolved that a long time ago. In case you're wondering, yes, the onboard audio blows. Big time.

I have heard that Soyos are more prone to failures - you might do OK, you might not. ASUS is generally regarded as one of the best MBs available. I will probably have one in my next PC.

Did you have any other objections to your Soyo Tom? I'm just wondering...

 

[risingson77]

I also had an AOpen board on my last PC. I think it's the same as Abit - not sure.

While checking their site for info, I found this.

 

[NocturnalPS]

Originally posted by Viper Zero
I have an ASUS A7V266-E and I'm impress with all of the features on it. I originally wanted an Abit, but the ASUS won me over.

A suggestion: I would wait if I was going to build an Athlon system. Those AMD 64-bit Clawhammers are coming soon and they're supposed to blow everything Intel has away.

Yeah ive hard of them bad boys. Its code name was the Hammer or clawhammer. The name is going to end up to be AMD 64 or something like that. But who knows when they will release that. Every time i hear that its comming out the date get pushed back. Anyways if that AMD is out by the time i start to build my new comp then sure ill look in to them. Just might buy that chip and what ever mobo supports it.

 

[MistaY]

Well, personally I would go for A-bit, asus or Gigabyte. The last mobo I bought was a Gigabyte and I haven't had any problems with it. All I have to say is stay away from those horrible PC chips motherboards (you probably already know that) worst motherboards ever those.

If I ever bother to getting around to building a decent PC I will probably buy asus, or maybe even Intel, but intel are pretty expensive.

 

[Shannon]

My dad has one of the latest AMD chips and he has a Soltek (?) board. It says on the box 'AMD Recommended Motherboard' and he got his built by a computer repair/periphal seller/builder person.

 

[risingson77]

Originally posted by MistaY
Well, personally I would go for A-bit, asus or Gigabyte. The last mobo I bought was a Gigabyte and I haven't had any problems with it. All I have to say is stay away from those horrible PC chips motherboards (you probably already know that) worst motherboards ever those.

If I ever bother to getting around to building a decent PC I will probably buy asus, or maybe even Intel, but intel are pretty expensive.

PC chips motherboards? Who makes those?

 

[MistaY]

http://www.pcchips.com.tw/

These are like the cheapest motherboards you can buy in the UK. Some people have given me a PC to build and they have bought these motherboards, the majority of the stuff is onboard and made by sis.

 

[NocturnalPS]

I dont know.... might just go ahead and get a Abit. My friend has 3 abit boards all run hella good.

 

[Tom M]

Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever get a cheap motherboard.
A good motherboard provides kernal stability (even when having IRQ or other difficulties), it adds to or detracts from a systems performance(a good mobo will add a few hundred more to your 3d mark scores), and a good one allows for more freedom in upgrading down the line.

 

[risingson77]

Well, the ol' Soyo probably isn't that good. There was a time before I figured out that the SB Live and the onboard audio were clashing the machine wouldn't even start. The board wasn't very stable with the T-bird 1.4 (the CPU that originally came with the board ). It runs just peachy with the XP 1900+, however.

[threadjack] Does anyone here know of a good, QUIET 350-400w PSU? The fan in my current one is waaaaaay too noisy.[/threadjack]

 

[Solid Fro]

Antec PSUs are very quiet. I have an Antec True Power 430 watts running right now, it has a low hum sound.

Don't get a cheap PSU either, just like motherboards. You get what you pay for.

 

[risingson77]

Antec seems like a pretty good product for the money. I have one of their CPU coolers - if the PSU fan is as quiet as that, I'm sold!

The current PSU is a MaxPower (whoever that is). The fan must be 50+ db.

 

[frestkd]

Here are some links to help people make a good choice when buying computer hardware.


http://www.anandtech.com/
http://www.pricewatch.com/
http://www.tomshardware.com/
http://www.techwarelabs.com/
http://www.icrontic.com/
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/

Kristof Frestedt
frestkd@yahoo.com