cheap motherboard

[bob howdy]

I'm putting together a pc piece by piece and i am trying to get a cheap ATX motherboard/processor(both AMD). If you know any good places to get one at please tell me. I'm having trouble finding amd ones. :(

[kvk007]

get ECS K7S5A, it's very cheap, and stable and not bad for a cheap one. But i wouldn't recommend buying it if you wanna overclock your CPU

[elroy]

If you are satisfied with a board that has 200FSB then go to compgeeks and look here:
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=CT-7AJA2E
When checking out enter TECHBARGAINS in the coupon space for 10% off. This would make the price $30.20 + $6 shipping
This is a good board for Durons, excellent performance for a bargain price. But it will run 200FSB T-birds also.

[tricktx]

i would reccomend the ECS K7s5a using the 735SIS chipset. It a good solid Motherboard with a huge processor capacity from 800mhz upto 2GHZ. It has both DDR and SDR slots or ram.

Also it is bad for hardware overclocking but good for software overclocking as it is compatible with CPUFBB program that allows the FSB to run at 150MHZ rather than 133 so overclocking the cpu is still possible but not as good as other motherboard that hae an increment of 1MHZ.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

[kvk007]

bob howdy, i am using ECS k7s5a, and i overclocked my 1800+ (1533Mhz) to 1780Mhz or so. and works perfect, but sometimes it crashes, but that's once every week hehe.

[Baddog]

Having good luck with ECS K7s5a motherboards and XP1600's with pc2100 DDR . Got mine at micropro.com

Baddog

[ukulele]

PCCHIPS makes the same board. It's labeled as an M830LR. I just set one up several weeks ago and so far I am very pleased with it. It is definately the easiest board I ever setup. :)

[morpheus kain]

Yes I definitely recommend the S5A, it's an excellent board!

[tricktx]

wow i have somthing popular for once

[Stephen Soulsby]

OK, sorry to kick you SiSsie's here, but get an EPoX EP-8K7A. You can grab one for $62 including shipped. Quality that ECS will never meet. Excellent overclockability (for those that want to) and stability that is unmatched. For $62, why not get one? Supports PC2100 DDR-SDRAM, and up to Athlon XP 2200+ (will support higher speeds with a future BIOS). Board is extremely easy to set up and also has a POST debug LED. Here's a product link.

http://www.epox.com/html/english/products/motherboard/ep-8k7a.htm

Bought my most recent one (I have three systems with this board) at LegendMicro.com for $62 shipped. You have to tell them it's the PriceWatch price to get it for that.

Bunch of SiSsies you all are :)

[Stephen Soulsby]

Also, check out GoogleGear.com for CPUs. I buy only retail ones (three year warranty and comes with a CPU fan). They seem to have the best prices on retail CPUs at the moment.

[ukulele]

I have used Epox boards and they are good quality, but I got a nice case, motherboard and 450 watt PSU for $61 + shipping on E-Bay. There is plenty of them still on auction. The "sissy" board is in my opinion faster, cheaper, easier to setup, has better bios and is the most stable board I have yet to use. After all isn't that why we build our own computers anyway? Once you figure out that by the time you are ready for an upgrade, the architecture will have changed anyway, and you still need a new motherboard, then you are on your way to the fast and cheap lane. If you use your head you can build two for the price of one, sell one for the price of all the parts and the hardware is free. A year or two down the road you do it again. Who cares if it's cheap parts if it works? None of then will last forever. Think what you like but I have used this philosophy for many years, and made money on nearly every computer I ever built myself. Trust me on this, because I have seen it many times, folks who sink a small fortune into a new machine so they have the best and fastest on the block, end up in a couple of years with a dud and they have so much invested in it that they can't part with it, especially if they are still paying it off. On the other hand, if you are a gamer or o'clocker and the quest for a brief victory in the fast lane is your thing, then money is no object and this thread is a waste of bandwidth. I learned along time ago not to love anything that isn't warm and fuzzy. I use and abuse my computers like they were sandpaper in my wood shop, and just like sandpaper I want it cheap and it's got to work. :D

[Stephen Soulsby]

Really in the end you can get a good scope on what to look for. The only thing you can do after that is research reviews on the boards. I had thought about the ECS, but the better reviews the 8K7A got persuaded me to the 8K7A. As of right now, for the extra $7 you get a much better board. I am aware that SiS has made a good climb up the stability ladder in the last couple years, but the 735 has not been able to outmuscle the AMD-761, KT266A, or KT333. Lucky for SiS was VIAs disaster, the KT266. It was like being 20 years old and having your 10 year old sister kick your ***.

As for the BIOS, EPoX is famous for their easy to set up BIOS. Along with that is their reputation for top of the line quality at a reasonable price. Just look at ANY comparison test (comparing it to other AMD-761, SiS 735, and VIA KT266 motherboards) and I guaruntee that if the 8K7A isn't at the top, it's probably second place. The KT266A does outperform the AMD-761, but only by little. But the stability has to go to the AMD-761. EPoX has a KT266A board (EP-8KHA+) and a KT333 board (EP-8K3A). Both of those boards are also rated at the top of the list. I will admit that I am a loyal EPoX customer, but EPoX earned that place with me. As long as they continue to make superior motherboards, I will be a customer for a long time to come.

In my opinion, pay the extra $7 and get the better board. Really though I recommend you take all the information from this entire thread and research it. Let us know what you end up with.

[crapyking]

nix the k7S5A!!Go to newegg.com & get the leadtek mobo w/ the kt266A chipset.It takes sdr & ddr ram.Rock solid.Even better yet get the Shuttle Kt266A mobo.Don't mess w/ budget chipsets.I've had a bunch & the kt166A or kt 266a chipsets are very good.:)

[ukulele]

In my opinion, pay the extra $7 and get the better board

Apparently you didn't read my last post. What this thread is about is a cheap motherboard. Let me quote myself this time.

I got a nice case, motherboard and 450 watt PSU for $61 + shipping on E-Bay. There is plenty of them still on auction. ;)

P.S. This is brand new with a 1 year warrenty and the board was properly installed.

[Stephen Soulsby]

I was trying to help this nice guy. There are two kinds of "cheap". You can get CHEAP parts, or you can look really hard and get great parts for cheap. Doesn't matter what warranty you get sometimes. You get what you pay for. Many times people just buy a warranted piece of s***. It comes down to bean counters, and people that just shop smart. Post a link to the auction that had what you bought. I'm very curious to see what kind of CHEAP parts these are.

[ukulele]

Go HERE (http://www.ezbpc.com) to check it out. Note that the system I bought was advertised as having a 330 watt PSU. The actual unit shipped had a PowWin 450 watt dual cpu capable PSU installed in it. The case is sturdy and well fitted, and can accomidate up to 12 fans. Both side panels slide on snug so you don't need the screws on the back. Drives are a snap to install as they can be slid in from the front with the face plate on or off and the mounting screws are easily accessable from both sides. I have a $125 rack mount case that is also like new and built like a tank, but I decided to use this one instead. Mounting rails on a drive is a hassle, especially if your swapping them to a case without racks for testing purposes. Some folks like me try to avoid complexities. Personally, I like the KISS method. By the way this cheap **** computer has been running nearly 24/7 rock solid stable now for 3 weeks on Win98SE. First time I ever seen that happen. :D :D

[ukulele]

HERE (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038947071) is a link to the identical product on Ebay. :)

[bob howdy]

I got the ct-7aja2/aja2e chaintech motherboard for $50 and got a 1 Ghz AMD Duron processor for $35. this is a very upgradeable mboard and i'm very happy about it! :D

the stores were Target USA (http://www.target-sale.com) and TCWO (http://www.tcwo.com)

[cheapster]

So how did your chaintech board and Duron work out? Kind of curious, since I also have one on the way. Any issues with vcore adustment in the BIOS? Saw a post on a different forum that claimed the vcore was supposed to be adjustable, but wasn't!?:confused:
Let us know!

[shybull]

Shuttle AK31A, not the latest chipset but very good for the money.
6PCI slots,supports up to AMD 2000, onboard sound, jumberless, up to 4gb DDR, up to 6 usb all for $59. Works great for me.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=22&manufactory=1465&DEPA=1

[bob howdy]

The setup worked out ok but don't get a Duron if you're planning on playing games. In Diablo II it always will freeze up after 15 to 20 minutes of playing. I have a very nice hard drive--80 GB, 8 MB cache, 7200 RPM--that I got at a local store for $120. That was a very good deal seeing that other stores had them for $180 or more. I also have a Liteon 40x12x40 CDRW drive but I still haven't bought a DVD drive. Sorry I didn't get around to posting sooner, I forgot about this site and was busy with school and getting my brother's computers together. :t