Motherboard Recommendations

[waheed]

Im deciding to upgarde my pc to an Athlon 64 bit processor (maybe an FX or if im on a budget, winchester)

I need a decent motherboard which must be socket 939 and preferably PCI Express (as im also to upgrade my GPU to PCI-X).

Can anyone recommend a good MB.

Thanks

Waheed.

[Faustus]

DOn't think any PCI express Athlon 64 boards are out unless they snuck out in the last few weeks on me.

For CPU stuff I suggested reading this write up on why the new Athlon 64 3000 is such a steal at around $200.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2242

In the same price range the 6600GT AGP or PCI express (doesn't matter which now) kicks some serious ass.

edit: I also like Gigabyte boards, but I'd wait a few weeks until the new nForce 4 boards storm the market or you'll feel cheated. Those should give the PCI-E you want.

[Faustus]

Write up on the Gigabyte nForce 4 board.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2273

edit: just skimmed the review, sounds very nice.

[ViRaL1]

I need a decent motherboard which must be socket 939 and preferably PCI Express (as im also to upgrade my GPU to PCI-X).

PCI-X or PCI-E?

Board loooks pretty nice. No SLI option, but pretty nice nonetheless. It's not like I have $800-$1k to spend on video anyway. Something tells me Solitaire doesn't support it anyway.

[rallynavvie]

Gigabyte is good, but Asus, Iwill, and Tyan are tops on my list for board manufacturers. If you need PCI-E I'd wait for the Asus platform, but you usually need to wait until the "Deluxe" revision of the board comes out as their first revisions usually don't have all the cool onboard bits. However you'd think with a platform using something as new as PCI-E it would automatically have everything onboard for you. I guess we'll see in the next month or so.

[HillJack]

I have two Gigabyte GA-7N400-L mobos - one in my desktop (2600+), the other in my server (2500+). They're aren't AMD64 capable, but they're rock-solid regardless. I'd definitely recommend Gigabyte mobos! If they don't have AMD64 support (yet), I'd wait

[glockjs]

i would go with asus or an msi neo....soyo dragon isnt even that bad

[Faustus]

I will never touch another Soyo product again after my Soyo Dragon 333.

[glockjs]

I will never touch another Soyo product again after my Soyo Dragon 333.

i know the old soyo's were nothin but junk...from what i read these days they actualy make descent boards? no?

[waheed]

Thanks for the replies. after reading some reviews on the net i was thinking of this one:

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe

http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A8N-SLI%20Deluxe&langs=01

[Faustus]

Thanks for the replies. after reading some reviews on the net i was thinking of this one:

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe

http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A8N-SLI%20Deluxe&langs=01

Nice board, but be aware its gonna be a small wait on that one.

[waheed]

WTF!!

The Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe is at £187.94 (thats $350 for people in the USA) at overclockers.co.uk, i was looking at around £100.

Either im going to have to wait till prices fall or just get the premium model (without the SLI) which is still at £152.69 ($285)

[Faustus]

WTF!!

The Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe is at £187.94 (thats $350 for people in the USA) at overclockers.co.uk, i was looking at around £100.

Either im going to have to wait till prices fall or just get the premium model (without the SLI) which is still at £152.69 ($285)

Socket 939 boards are still considered pretty highendish. So they cost alot, so if you want not only nForce 4 but SLI your gonna pay out th butt.

[waheed]

WTF!!

The Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe is at £187.94 (thats $350 for people in the USA) at overclockers.co.uk, i was looking at around £100.

Either im going to have to wait till prices fall or just get the premium model (without the SLI) which is still at £152.69 ($285)

Socket 939 boards are still considered pretty highendish. So they cost alot, so if you want not only nForce 4 but SLI your gonna pay out th butt.

Prices have already began to fall (before the MB is even out). at overclockers, the Asus Deluxe is now £123.32

Dont quite understand it, cos the premium is still at £152.69 and the deluxe being the better model (with SLI) is cheaper at £123.32

Im going to wait until after the new year until i upgrade as many people will want one for christmas (and hopefully see the price going even further down)

[offline]

-edited- 8)

[LSchafroth]

I will never touch another Soyo product again after my Soyo Dragon 333.

I've always been a ASUS man. I tried a Soyo Dragon Lite 333. Cip identifyer software shows it as a 400 chipset.

I run a AthlonXP 1700+ at 2025Mhz with a cheap cpu cooler. Runs cool and can go higher, I've never taken the time to push it any harder. Very fast, very solid motherboard. I've read all the horror stories in the Soyo forums but haven't seen any of them myself. I've now got three more without any issues.

LS