Recommedations on motherboard purchase

[Redskins91]

I am looking for a new motherboard. I need one with nothing integrated (sound, video, LAN). I'd like to start with as slow a pentium III (450) or Athlon (500) as I can but later be able to upgrade to something like a P3 800 or K7 900. SCSI2 LVD or UltraDMA66 is another requirement. I'd also plan to go from V770 Ultra to a new GeForce card too. I need something relatively inexpensive but very stable. Any help would be appreciated.

[ghostface]

i got a tyan trinity 400 for $76 w/coupon from buy.com. it's got onboard ata/66 w/o anything integrated. it's a via apollo pro 133a board so the memory performance isn't as good as a BX but i'm only running a cel533 so it isn'a problem. it's got both slot 1 and socket 370 and is uber stable. the only problem with this board is that it's a crappy overclocker so if that's your thing, don't get this board. i got it cuz it was cheap and i'm not a huge overclocker.

[tonym]

Redskins91,

I just got finished installing a MicroStar K7-Pro (MS-6195) mobo in this system. I mean literally 5 minutes ago!

This is an awesome mobo, it has lots of OC-conducive bells-and-whistles which I hope to use in the not too distant future. It's a bit pricey compared to others (I paid $128), but I think it's worth it. I can give you some better impressions later in the week after a few miles on the odometer, but if it's anything like the predecessor (the MS-6167) then it is a great and very stable mobo!

BTW, I'm currently using a 1GHz Athlon with 512MB of PC-133 SDRAM.

Have fun...


Tony

[skybolt_1]

Hey I just built a Athlon 550 system for a friend of mine based on the Aopen AK-72 mobo. I got the one with integrated sound but im pretty sure they have it without. Its a NICE, well laid out, easy to install mobo. Comes with AGP 4X, PC-133 RAM support, DMA/66, the works. I got mine from www.tccomputers.com, they have a great warrenty, (3 years parts and labor IF you have them assemble the processor and ram) and they were fairly inexpensive. I bought from them the mobo, 64 megs PC133 ram, 550 athlon, and a 8.1 gig Seagate U8 HD, all for $470, give or take.

Joe