Motherboard to get?

[GhostTX]

To aid in my research ... or better... a good place to start:

I'm going to build be a new PC and would like to get y'alls thoughts on a good motherboard.

I'm looking to go AMD Athlon XP.

Thanks.

[Tbird]

at this time;

DDR400 support
Nforce2 chip onboard
something with 333 FSB support
possibly one with Serial-ata onboard

well that`s what i would look for if i had to buy 1 right now, (if i had the money :()

this is the one i want :square: link (http://www.chaintech.com.tw/eng/products/SOCKA/7NJS.asp)

[FallenSoloSLS]

You should also look for integrated USB2 support.

If you want to save $$ you might want to consider one that has integrated audio, modem and ethernet.

However, I'm sure that you're smart enough to know that you don't want a MoBo w/ integrated graphics. Or if you find one that has the speed and other accessories you want, you will know how to disable the on board graphics through it's BIOS and enable the AGP slot.

BTW, look for AGP 8X compatability so that you might upgrade your vid card in the future.

[GhostTX]

Ya...oogy on anything integrated.

I read somewhere that there's talk of a new graphic standard...something that might just replace the AGP 8x outright before 8x becomes a standard (the next step..ISA->VESA->PCI-> AGP->XXX...)

I should clarify though... I was looking for brands/models. I know the features I want/need. (thanks, Tbird)

[madmerchant]

ECS K7S5A

Supports DDR/SDRAM (up to 1GB)
Support for 200/266 FSB (Up to XP2800)
5 PCI
4x AGP
Onboard Sound (If so required)

It's cheap too. Great mobo.

[Tbird]

-new graphics standard?

Geforce FX is going te be AGP 8x .... nuff said :D

[Mac_Bug]

the next step..ISA->VESA->PCI-> AGP->XXX

Where the hell did you get this relationship? There must be incest going on

[IcecreamLtDan]

I recommend you stay away from the k7s5a. I've had 2 of them now and they were both crap. Know of several other people who've had them and had nothing but problems. Just got an epox 8k5a2 and am very very happy with it.

[Ash]

Right now I'm running of a Shuttle AK32 (although the AK35 is probably the most recent version)

I have had no problems with it

It supports Athlon XP 200/266 mhz FSB cards
4x AGP
5 or 6 PCI, depending on version
Onboard sound

fairly inexpensive as well

the AK32 supports DDR and SDR (as opposed to the 35 which is a DDR only mobo)

as for the GeForce FX being AGP 8x only, most likely it will be like the Radeon 9700 Pro, which supports AGP 8x but runs fine on 4x

[Lone]

Best advice I can think of is, research, research, research.
It depends on what you want, need and can aford.

I agree with TBird about the nForce chipsets mobo's. I have the Asus A7N 266 mobo (first nForce chipset) and it is stable and fast. When the nForce chipset first came out it had some bugs, as do most new hardware. But these were minor and fixed with bios updates. If you don't have a sound card or don't want to buy one the nforce intergrated sound is very good. If you do alot of sound editing or recording I would recomend an add in sound card to fit your needs.

IMO, I would recomend an nForce 2 mobo. I'm planning on building a new rig this February with the nForce 2 mobo like the one TBird supplied the link to. But, that's just me. Research and make your own decisions.

reviews
http://www.tomshardware.com

hardware forums
http://www.amdmb.com
http://www.anandtech.com/index.html
http://www.asusboards.com/
http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/
http://www.nvmax.com/

[Lone]

The AGP bus is far from being outdated or changed any time soon. Graphics bottlenecks are still the GPU and graphics memory bus. But this doesn't mean that there not working on a new AGP standard.

As for new PCI standards the PCI-SIG members have approved the new PCI Express standard this summer. But it will be awhile before mobo makers start implementing the technology. Probly 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2003.
This is from Maximum PC Sept. 2002 issue page 42 article "Life in the FAST LANE" The motherboard buses of tommorrow, explained today...