New AMD motherboard. Suggestions?

[tantone]

I've got an XP2100 Tbred and am looking at buying a new motherboard soon. I've been reading a lot of good things about the nForce2 chipset but need the motherboard to do a few things.

1. Must accept my current XP2100 Tbred through XP3000+ (is this even possible?)
2. Must accept both 4x and 8x AGP
3. Must be an ATX form-factor

Other than that, built-in 5.1 sound and built-in 10/100 NIC would be nice, and seems to come pretty standard now it seems.

Cost isn't really an issue as long as it meets my requirements.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[BipolarBill]

First tell me why you must have AGP 8x.

[deadkenny]

Something based on the nForce2 or the new SiS746FX chipset should fit the bill.

[tantone]

1. As to why 8x AGP, I'm thinking about purchasing a Radeon 9700 Pro. 8x is faster than 4x, no?

2. As to the nForce chipset, any specific brands/models in mind?

[BipolarBill]

Originally posted by tantone
8x is faster than 4x, no?Not really.

Asus, Epox and MSI have the best nForce2 boards. You should do some research yourself instead of buying what "we" say.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1759

http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/20021111/index.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/20030214/index.html

[tantone]

I've been looking at the reviews. So far I like the Asus A7N8X.

However, reading reviews isn't the same as getting the feedback from those here who might have experience with the board. It's the little stuff that can drive you mad, like some of the nVidia NIC vs 3com NIC differences. And it's those kind of nitpicky things that seem to come out the most in forums.

[BipolarBill]

I haven't heard any beefs about the MSI boards. The Asus and Epox boards seem to have battery issues. It's nothing that can't be fixed though.

[taraker]

I don't post here much, pretty much just lurk, and I gain alot of good info, but the one question I have is, does anybody like FIC boards?

I find they usually have the better chip sets, nice layouts, good support and good pricing, web-site is up-to-date and english is typically accurate but nobody ever seems to mention them at all...

What's up with FIC that I am apparently missing?

[BipolarBill]

FIC's biggest problem is inconsistancy. One board can be overclocked and the next can't. When you buy any Asus, Abit, Epox, MSI, Gigabyte or Soyo board, you generally have an idea what you're getting. Not so with FIC. As a matter of fact, they had Epox make their nForce2 board for them.

[taraker]

I never have overclocked anything `cept my bike, and that you bore............... Just buy more CPU...

I am looking at the FIC AU11 along with a new AMD CPU

[Tick]

Hey BBP I read the reviews on the anandtech site. Theres a site I had forgotten about. Depending on price and availibility its a hard race between the 8RDA+ and the A7N8X . Will keep you informed!

Tick

[allocade]

The only board to go with for the stuff that you want is the

Giga-Byte

GA-7VAXP ULTRA

http://www.giga-byte.com/products/products.htm

check this link out.

I just built a "kick ****" Gamer out of it and man does it perform.

6 channel sound, kt400 chipset, AGP 8X set, dual bios with all the future bios upgrages to support whatever processor that comes down the pipe. All this with an awesome price. Well enough of my rantings CHECK IT OUT.

[BipolarBill]

It doesn't game with the nForce, unfortunately:

http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/20030303/index.html

[allocade]

didn't know that was an issue

[tantone]

It's that article that made me want to go with the nForce2 chipset. I've got an XP2100 and a GF3 ti200. Replacing my current KT133a Soyo board with a good nForce2 board would provide just the speed boost I'm looking for.

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Hey BP if getting mobo off newegg they fixed it already! My Asus Dleuxe (nforce2) came with a KTS batt. installed. Not the bad maxell.:D :t

[BigBlue66]

I just upgraded to this motherboard a couple of weeks ago with an XP 2400+ TBred.

This board is every bit of sweet. I knew about the battery issues so bought a new one first thing. The board booted up first time just sweet as can be and has been running flawlessly with aggressive CPU settings and dual channel DDR in sync with the FSB of the TBred. I got almost 6,000 CPU PCMarks right out of the box.

I have also been considering that GA-7VAXP for another build. The board has lots of good reviews on Newegg. Only drawback is the older technology of the KT400 chipset, but I'm sure it will stand up to whatever abuse a guy could throw at it.

So, if you want the NF2 chipset, I say Asus all the way. If you want to stay with the KT400 chipset, then it doesn't look like you could go wrong with the Gigabyte board. And, it's blue!