What brand is the best motherboard

[smesposi]

Looking to build a new PIII or AMD system and would like some motherboard help.

I am looking for speed. So I guess I would also like suggestions on what type of processor I should get, Intel or AMD.

What should I be looking for? Thanks.

[This message has been edited by smesposi (edited 05-09-2000).]

[Target]

Man, given that you are looking at two different processors, this one is a little hard to answer simply because there is no one good answer.

For the PIII, I'd look for something with a great deal of FSB and voltage settings. That leaves you with either the BX based boards, or the VIA 133a's. Of course, quality, good after purchase support, and frequent bios update policies are a plus.

Same thing applies to the AMD boards. There are some that are more mature than others, and with a higher quality.

I guess if you could give us some more clues about what you intend to use it for, it would be easier to recommend a solution.

Do you intend to over-clock? Will it be used primarily for games or general computer use? Are you looking for a bargin, or is price not really factored into your decision? Do you want something to last for a long time, or do you want to be on the cutting edge of technology? Etc., etc.......

[Ptrper]

Hey guys, I just put a PIII 533b together and used an Iwill VD-133. It's real stable and overclocking wasn't an issue. As for an Athlon, my dad put together an Athlon 600 using an FIC SD-11 mobo, and it seems to be doing quite well.

[CMonster]

I can also recommend the "IWill VD133," it is another shining example of IWill quality ( http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif that is if you can get over the name "VD" - if ya know what I mean); it has easy and complete configuration from BIOS, and bus speeds from 66 to 150mhz with plenty of great increments inbetween, also the higher FSBs do not overly tweak your other components.

As for the Athlon: the board with the most features is the Abit KA7; however, the Athlon does not seem to work well with non-standard bus speeds and performance reviews seem to reflect this. Getting a good overclock card and heatsink for the Athlon is probably more important than the motherboard you use, but look for a good layout on the motherboard, good cooling of transistors, inteligent layout of connectors, etc.

[wtp]

get a celeron II, buy a slot 1 motherboard, i recommend Abit BE6-II. If you want AMD, get K7V from Asus, then buy the Duron. Don't forget the adapter.