Does this setup look ok?

[Bluehail]

BIOSTAR "M7VIG 400" KM266 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU

AMD Athlon XP 2000+, 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor

Kreton 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2100

El cheapo upgrade to the 21st century for a friend. On their PII either their power supply or memory took a dump so I'm still picking out a case

[Vampiel]

1. I spit on

2. OK, but you can get better for the same price

3. I spit on

[Hearie]

Originally posted by Vampiel
1. I spit on

2. OK, but you can get better for the same price

3. I spit on

Whats wrong with that RAM? 38$ aint bad! Also for 44$ shipped that MO-BO aint bad either! Do you have any suggestions to replace these two items?

[bonz_dragon]

Yeah! What's wrong with that board? What you want him to spend more or is it you just don't like Biostar.

I'm also using a VIG but it is the Pro D model and it has been as stable and reliable as any other board that I've used. Including my MSI and an ePox that blew-up.

[BipolarBill]

If you have to pick out the case, why saddle yourself with that cheap Micro-ATX motherboard?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...123-215&depa=0

I don't know anything about Kreton memory, but I do know that it's silly not to buy Crucial for $5 more.

[Vampiel]

What BpB said. Very slightly higher price, much better quality. I dont see why you wouldnt want to get PC3200 Crucial and a much better motherboard for about $15 more.

[BipolarBill]

Oh - I neglected the lack of onboard video in the full ATX board.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...185-002&DEPA=0

If the budget allows, go for a video card instead.

[Vampiel]

At least get better memory, PC3200 is about the same price and faster, it will downclock to 333fsb if that's all the mb supports. Go with Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, or Samsung. All of which have lifetime warr.

[Bluehail]

I am on a shoestring budget my friends. My good friend barely has money, and I want to make this as painless on the wallet as possible.

The noname ram has lifetime warranty, I am not concerned with speed or performance but I just want it to work. I am buying DDR266 because that's the FSB on the Athlon.

That latter mobo looks a bit better. It looks like the integrated video doesn't share with the main memory, that's good but he won't be doing intense gaming anyway.

[Hearie]

Hmmm, well I like the second MO-BO that BpB posted with the integrated 64MB RAM, but I still price Crucials RAM at about 15$ higher(I didnt spend to much time looking, 5$ more for crucial is good, 15$ more...nah not for el cheapo) This is just my opinion though, and I DO listen to BpB(although he crabby alot).



Bluehail, I would go with that MO-BO along with your orig two choices. It doesn't have an AGP slot, so make sure that it won't be needed. Too many times I have put a computer together only to have them come back in 3 months saying they wanted to play this game or that and they had no AGP slot to slap a vid card in. Yes you can go with PCI, but theres only 3 slots there to start with(although modem will go into CNR slot). just me 2 sense.

[Bluehail]

Thank you. I'll do just that.

As far as the AGP goes, he doesn't do gaming except for old games. If he ever wanted to step up that would probably be during the era of PCI express cards.

=)

[ukulele]

The Biostar board is fine for a non-overclocked system but the owner would be better served with a more upgradable board and faster ram. Take a look at the Biostar M7NCD.

[Rob R.]

It's difficult to get an opinion on bottom of the line hardware on a computer enthusiasts message board. This place is packed with the wrong people to ask

[Bluehail]

Good point Rob lol

[bonz_dragon]

I have to agree with Rob on his point.
But my opinion remains. The Biostar is a very good board if you take into consideration it's limitations.
Yes it is a dated board and The Biostar VIZ with the KM400 would be a great step up in performance for only $3.00 more than the VIG on pricewatch.
Both the VIZ and the PCChips board that BPB linked to support a 333FSB so it may also be worth looking at PC2700 memory, which too can be found on pricewatch relatively cheap..
At any rate it would be worth upgrading memory to PC2700 if the board you decide on supports a 333FSB even if the CPU is only 266FSB.
I have 2 Biostar systems here. One is an old Pent 133 that is about 8 yrs old and to this day I have ZERO issues with it. The VIG Pro D was a snap to configure and rock solid, though it may not be the fastest it is very stable and forgiving!