First Build- so much to choose from-

[adl6009]

After checking out all the stuff available on the moatherboards for the athlon I decided that thers just too much to know, so I'll ask your opinions.
I'm looking to build a 1.4 athlon (when is the 1.6 coming out?) 266 bus with 256 megs of ddr. I don't need sound or video onboard, but if onboard lan came with the board it would be a plus (but not required).
5 or 6 pci slots, do I need 3 dim slots? Do I care if it has an isa slot?
I know there are a lot of opinions out there, nbut if there is a "go to" board or a great board with lots of new builder documentation, that kind of thing.
Thanks.

[bobyt1]

check out the thread about the sis735 board.
the ecs board sounds good to me

I know how you feel about the "too much information " to choose the right board.
I just built my first system useing an athlon 1.0 ghz.

took me 3 months to decide what board to get, what video card, etc.

Here's what I ended up with if it helps

MSI k7 master motherboard

1.0 ghz AMD Athlon T-bird 266mhz fsb

Thermoengine hsf w/6800rpm fan
Temps 50 deg. C

Vision Tech Geforce2 GTS 32mb ddr video card.

(2) 256mb crucial ddr cas2 (512 mb total)
Ram.

40.9 gb maxtor dimond max 7200 rpm hd

running windows ME

Runs super fast and very stable.
benchmarks are very high too.

I'm happy. couldn't wait till the sis 735 chipset was available.
so I went this way

Hope this helps

[Keepitcool]

I did much reaserch myself. I ended up going for the iwill ka266 more because of price. isa really isnt needed unless you have something that is. the ka266 is a stable board and has 3 dimms with onboard audio. but if price isnt an issue i would opt for the abit kg7 +r. in the mid price range the ga7dxr would be my choice.Dont forget a good coolin system.

[adl6009]

I had just found the abit board when I posted that message. I am going to be checking them all out but the abit has a leg up because of the reputation abit has. Good boards and excellent documentation. Although I am not going out and buying 4 or 5 75 gig hard drives to set up a raid array right now, its nice to know I could if I wanted to. (Yes, I would buy a 4 wheel drive even though I don't drive on the beach or in snow.) I am going to check out what the deal is with the chipsets, how they compare and what they do and if via's better than amds or whoever, that kind of thing. Thanks for helping out.
I just read through the thread on the SIS chipset, the onboad lan is a plus, along with the price, but the comment at toms hardware about sis worries me. I'll be looking for any other reviews. I want to start this build in a week or two so I still have some time.

[This message has been edited by adl6009 (edited 08-08-2001).]

[Ghuda]

Gigabyte Ga-7dxr
1.4 athlon
512 micron ddr pc2400 (Don't screw around with the 2100 you know the next chips coming out are going to require it to take full advantage blah blah)
2 40gb 7200 WD hard drives (just get them at best buy)
Antec 1030sx soho fileserver case. JUST BUY ONE
Video card, well thats where im stuck i'm not shelling out 500 for a geforce 3, and there is like 100 different kinds of geforce 2's out. I play everquest and tribes 2, i want framerates.

[newbie~wan]

Like bobyt1 said, check out the ECS K7S5A board w/ SiS735 chipset. Read the review thats available here at sysopt, too.
I'm just a newb, but it look like you cant go wrong (better performance, half the price). Some people are predicting the price will go up once it gains popularity, so I say jump on board now.
If anyone disagrees, I welcome their opinion as well as any facts they may know of. I was raised to believe if it looks too good to be true it probably is. Top of the line performance for $62.50? Smells fishy, but I'm hopin 4 the best.
Good luck w/ your complete system.