switching to Athlon

**JacinTexas** · 01-02-2003, 02:19 PM

Originally posted by Slade54
I havent used a ECS board myself, but from what i gather, if you dont run the thing with enough juice, your gonna have a bad experience with it. Get a PSU that will feed it everything it needs, and then some, and you will have a good experience with it.

THough, thats all hear say, but from a lot of different ppl

I agree that the PS is a critical part of any system. I don't use any PS less than 300w on new systems.

It's unfortunate that the PS is usually the one thing that is overlooked or ignored by a lot of people when they build or upgrade a system. It always amazed me that someone would spend several hundred if not a thousand dollars to build a quality system then use a $30 PS and then get upset when the system acts up.

By all means pay the few extra bucks and get a GOOD PS with as much juice as you can.

**AllGamer** · 01-02-2003, 02:26 PM

ECS are not bad, it was only the old models for INTEL CPUs that had problem with.

if ECS made AMD mobos with absolutely no Onboard stuff, then i'll most likely get a n ECS to play with too

**FuzzBall** · 01-02-2003, 02:55 PM

Only thing that bugs me about my ECS K7AMA2 mobo is that it has severe compatibility problems with nVidia graphics cards. I tried installing a GeForce MX200 on it & as soon as I install the drivers & reboot when prompted, windows would refuse to load.
Tried a GeForce2 MX400 on it as well, same problem. I don't think it's just my mobo, is it? At least I hope not......

**edtrip** · 01-02-2003, 03:58 PM

I have to agree that the ECS boards are good, stable boards. I've built several systems using the Kt133 board, including this one, and they have all been problem-free.

I will say though that I did not care for the S5A board with the Sis chipset and had some issues with it and returned it for this kt133 board.

If you're buying new I'd get a board with a kt333 chipset for only a few bucks more that the k7s5a. An ECS or something else. I just got a Biostar M7VIP Kt333 board for my upgrade (time to go DDR). I used one of these in a recent system build and it was a nice board. Have doubts? Read all the customer reviews over at Newegg.

And it was only 65.00 shipped from Newegg and on the day I ordered I could've gotten an xp1600 for 45.00 or an xp1800 for 59.00 (I already have a 1700)

And that myth about the incompatability of AMD's is just that ... a MYTH.

**AllGamer** · 01-02-2003, 04:15 PM

yup, i've seen lots of that

so is always best to run it with ATI

**FuzzBall** · 01-02-2003, 04:20 PM

Originally posted by AllGamer
yup, i've seen lots of that

so is always best to run it with ATI

Currently using a 32MB SIS305 AGP 2X

ripped from another IBM system. Anyone has $50 burning a hole in their pocket or wallet? Allow lil' ol' me to take care of that for you, kind Sir.....

**krazefinn** · 01-02-2003, 08:28 PM

I have set up seveal ecs k7s5a configurations. They can work alright, and actually held the performance crown for ddr boards when they debutted (vs kt266).

Although, any company that changes their name annually (possibly to divest themselves of bad press, ie fake ramcache chips, etc) doesn't bode well.

I like the sis735 chipset, but am not enamored with ecs aka pchits. Could not in good conscience recomend them to all but the most experienced builder.

**Aarmenaa** · 01-02-2003, 10:05 PM

Well, I've had a Thundrbird 1000 for a few years now. I used the PSU that came with my case (a 300w), and the the heatsink and fan that came with the system. I put all this on an MSI K7T Pro2 (a KT133 chipset board). I haven't had a better system-even if it is a little loud (I attribute that to the slowly dying fan on the GeForce2 GTS that I bought off a guy for 15 bucks). And, the price was just about right-the whole system for under $400 US. I'm AMD all the way!

-Aarmenaa

**Izdaari** · 01-02-2003, 11:00 PM

nForce2 is the way to go if you can afford it - these boards are not cheap compared to the old KT333, but they're fast and stable. I love my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe board, but then I should, it cost $153. I'm not complaining, it's so feature-packed that it actually is good value for the money at that price. There are cheaper nForce2 boards of course, including the ASUS A7N8X (non-Deluxe), which is the same minus some features.

If the budget won't allow for that, I'd say the MSI KT3 Ultra2. My previous MSI boards have been good to me, as has ASUS. Not sure what to think about ECS, many swear by them but others swear at them, and hearing that they used to be PCChips doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Whatever board you choose, make sure to get a high quality AMD approved PS with at least 300W and I prefer 350W.

High quality RAM is important too. PC-2700, CAS 2.5 or better, from Samsung (Samsung original that is, not Samsung chips on someone else's PCB), Crucial, Corsair, Kingston or Mushkin should do the trick.

**pepito** · 01-04-2003, 01:21 AM

well guys, i'm very, very happy about the results on my thread.
some few question still. is an ASUS mobo suitable for an athlon? let's say ASUS A7S33? (it cost around $63 here)
here's my estimated specs: (can't really stretch my budget too much! hehehe!)

Athlon XP 1700+ (still can't find t-bred's cpu's on our local stores)
ASUS A7S33 SiS745
256mb PC2700
GeForce 4 Ti 4200
Maxtor 40 GB 7200rpm (is D7 series of maxtor a ball-bearing or fluid bearing drive?)
Thermaltake Volcano 9 (for the HSF)

I already have a modified ATX casing. I placed about 4 fans to keep it aircooled, but still do you think it's prepared for an Athlon? I also placed my Maxtor drive in Lian Li's hard disk mobile rack with 3 fans.

i'm not really a power user but i use my computer a lot especially on my job. i'm into gaming but not too much. what really temps me about using athlon is it's price compared to pentium's. and with all your good advices, i think it's enough to say that i should switch athlon. thank you very much guys!

**deadkenny** · 01-04-2003, 01:30 AM

Don't get the A7S333 if you want to OC, and don't get any SiS 745 board if you want to run PC2700 DDR (at least not if you're planning on running it async with a '266' FSB Athlon). The A7S333 won't support '333' FSB, because there's no 1:5 PCI divider. You might have a decent shot at it with a MSI Ultra 745. Mind you, running the A7S333 at spec with a 266 FSB Athlon and PC2100 running synchronously it's a nice stable board with decent (but not great) on board sound.

**pepito** · 01-04-2003, 03:17 AM

but the thing is, i've built my trust on ASUS motherboard. Based on my experience, the first PC i've used wayback 7 years ago, was pentium133 on Asus mobo, and it was only busted last year just because i spilled a glass water on my mobo. so, probably, my ASUS will still lasts if i hadn't done that. so sir, are u saying that there's no suitable ASUS mobo for Athlon? thanks!

**BiG MiKeY** · 01-04-2003, 09:10 AM

Originally posted by pepito
still can't find t-bred's cpu's on our local stores

dont do that r u nutz..ure gonna pay retail price for wut
http://www.pricewatch.com
www.newegg.com

i can almost garentee ull pay less through these sites... tip look for the combos might serve u well

**pepito** · 01-04-2003, 02:44 PM

so, maybe i'd go for a palomino first. if i am to use kt333, will it differ if i also match it with 266DDR?

**BipolarBill** · 01-04-2003, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by pepito
so, maybe i'd go for a palomino first. if i am to use kt333, will it differ if i also match it with 266DDR?

Not really. Just be sure to get good quality PC2100.

Thread: switching to Athlon

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