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a99barnsey
08-01-2002, 01:59 PM
I'm a first time builder looking to drop about 300 on a new mobo, processor, and ram. I'm thinking that I'll go with a AMD ATHLON XP 2000+. I figure i'll have up to about 120 to spend on a good motherboard. I'm looking for good features such as 333 ddr ram, plenty slots and such, if there is onboard sound i want it to be quality. Please let me know if you know which boards are really good quality for an xp 2000 in the 120 dollar price range.
BipolarBill
08-01-2002, 02:49 PM
MSI KT3 Ultra2

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=341&MODEL=MS-6380E

EPoX EP-8K3A+

http://www.epox.com/html/english/products/motherboard/ep-8k3a+.htm

EPoX EP-8K5A2+

http://www.epox.com/html/english/products/motherboard/ep-8k5a2+.htm

Notice that the EPoX has 6 PCI slots and LAN. The MSI and EP-8K5A2+ both have USB 2.0.

These are the two most popular Athlon solutions here at SysOpt.
AllGamer
08-01-2002, 03:04 PM
I like Asus and Abit

and if i were you i'll try to get the newest possible. as long as it's affortable that is.
a99barnsey
08-01-2002, 03:18 PM
Thanks. I think I'll go with the MSI.
a99barnsey
08-01-2002, 03:20 PM
Any suggestions for specific boards Gamer?
a99barnsey
08-01-2002, 03:30 PM
At first I was thinking i would go with an Abit, Asus, or Gigabyte. I read about problems with the Gig's and radeon 8500 though, so i sort of ruled them out. I am starting to like that MSI kt3 ultra2. I've read a couple reviews it and the only major complaint about it seems to be that there is no built in lan, but I happen to have an extra card anyway. The 90 dollar price is nice too. If asus or abit have anything comparable, please let me know.
BipolarBill
08-01-2002, 03:36 PM
Only $90! I got ripped! The Ultra ARU set me back $120! Grrrr....:mad:

This is a bit old, but it may help.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1636
BipolarBill
08-01-2002, 03:40 PM
Originally posted by BipolarBill
Only $90! I got ripped! The Ultra ARU set me back $120! Grrrr....:mad: Oh...I got RAID. Nevermind! :t
a99barnsey
08-01-2002, 03:44 PM
how easy is raid to set up, and is it worth it? I just got a 40 gig western digital drive at 7200 rpm. only 50 bones. Could I rig up a raid configuration with another 7200 40 gig?
BipolarBill
08-01-2002, 03:57 PM
It's not terribly easy or hard to set up, but you must pay attention. It's about 50% faster that a single drive. The biggest pitfall is the slow RAID BIOS - it takes about 15 seconds to detect the array on each boot.
a99barnsey
08-01-2002, 04:00 PM
sweet. I'll probably wait a bit though to put in the second drive for the RAID. I don't think i'll have any complaints about the speed of my system when i get it built. Going from a 450 PIII with a slow *** 8 gig hd and a TNT 2 to a Athlon XP 2000+, radeon 8500, 40 gig 7200.
pandaz3
08-01-2002, 07:31 PM
I did not know how much help the folks in this forum really offer. I wish I had consulted them when I built mine. I bought a Gigabyte GA-7DXR when they were new and it's been okay, but I have had a glitch or two that could avoided had I paid attention to SysOpt folk.
pandaz3
08-01-2002, 07:44 PM
Gigabyte just released a 400 DDR board, 6 PCI slots, 3 Firewire, 6 USB 2.0, and AGP8x support. I'm on their bandwagon again for a day or two.