Recommend a mobo?

[Mr. Mulder]

Could someone please recommend a good mobo for a “AMD Athlon XP3000+ 400Mhz FSB 512 L2 Cache Barton Cpu”? I’ve seen one or two about but one of them has gotten some bad reviews :unsure:

(Also, what’s the Athlon XP3000 like with recentish games? :unsure: )

[Snee]

http://de.shuttle.com/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-72/170_read-10008/

I like this barebone (mobo/chassis combo), tho' you can't change the ram-voltage on the mobo, unless you'd like a really large paperweight instead of that new computer. Bit of a manufacturing error, really.

But there's no PCI-e I think. It's similar to the barebone I have, almost exactly the same model, and except for it running hot on stock cooling it's brilliant and very portable.

I like it so much I'm prolly never going back to standard-sized 'puters for my main one.

Can't help you much with a regular size mobo tho', since I've been out of the loop on that department and could only give you general hints on what brand to buy, and I'm sure you've got that bit covered.


Oh, and re: the xp 3000, as long as you have a good gfx card, it should be able to handle Doom 3 and Half Life 2 without problems.

[Mr. Mulder]

Cheers SnnY, It does look sexy. I’ve never built anything in small casing like that, what are the main differences, if any? :unsure:

Edit: "250 Watt mini PSU" - doesn't that seem a little low? :unsure:

[Snee]

Weeeell. I know ppl run 6800GT's and similar in those babies (tho I'd rather go with the 6600 gt 'cos of heat n' stuff), it's actually a quite competent PSU, good 12v rail they say. Seems the PS reqs aren't the same with a mobo like this.

It can be a bit of a puzzle to assemble, and it only fits one 5.25 drive and two 3.5's according to shuttle, but you can fit another underneath if you really need it, tho' it gets hotter. And there's only the one pci slot.

But it's really lightweight, n' thus good for LAN parties, and the sn45's ship with the best integrated soundcard on the market as well as a network card.


It's not the only sff that seems good around either, I think BOT is running something a little bit bigger, and then there's the http://www.silentpcreview.com/article146-page1.html antec aria case, in which you can fit a mATX mobo if you can find a good one, if you find the size appealing.


EDit: meant to say integrated soundcard, d'oh.

[Mr. Mulder]

Weeeell. I know ppl run 6800GT's and similar in those babies (tho I'd rather go with the 6600 gt 'cos of heat n' stuff), it's actually a quite competent PSU, good 12v rail they say. Seems the PS reqs aren't the same with a mobo like this.

It can be a bit of a puzzle to assemble, and it only fits one 5.25 drive and two 3.5's according to shuttle, but you can fit another underneath if you really need it, tho' it gets hotter. And there's only the one pci slot.

But it's really lightweight, n' thus good for LAN parties, and the sn45's ship with the best integrated mobo on the market as well as a network card.


It's not the only sff that seems good around either, I think BOT is running something a little bit bigger, and then there's the http://www.silentpcreview.com/article146-page1.html antec aria case, in which you can fit a mATX mobo if you can find a good one, if you find the size appealing.


It sounds like a bit of a sacrifice for the sake of gaming and size, and I don’t game that often :unsure: but on the other hand, it is sexay :unsure: Think I’ll look into it some more. Thanks for the info :)

Advice on regular ATX mobos is still welcome :)

[Virtualbody1234]

Are you looking for a full featured board with RAID, SATA and all the bells and whistles?

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7N400%20Pro2%20(Rev%202.0).htm



Or the same board without RAID, SATA and missing some other stuff?

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7N400-L.htm

[Mr. Mulder]

Are you looking for a full featured board with RAID, SATA and all the bells and whistles?

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7N400%20Pro2%20(Rev%202.0).htm



Or the same board without RAID, SATA and missing some other stuff?

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7N400-L.htm

Thanks, I'm not looking for anything too flashy, certainly not up to the minute - RAID isn't important for me, Although:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=3375&source=Kelkoo

This does seem reasonably priced, does it not? :unsure:

[Virtualbody1234]

I have built quite a few PCs using these 2 models and have found them to be very stable and offer good overclocking features. One small detail is that the temp reading shows about 10°C higher than it actually is (Not a big problem to me). In fact I am typing this post with a PC with the 7N400-L running @ 3200+.

[Mr. Mulder]

Cheers, I think I'll go with the 7N400PRO2 :)

[Virtualbody1234]

You could also wait for other opinions. I'm sure others will follow.

[clocker]

I can recommend either the Asus A7N8x-Deluxe (nice because it allows access to the on-chip temp diode), or...
the Abit NF7-S rev.2.0 ( no diode access, but a multitude of BIOSs available).

Both have worked fine for me.
The Asus has better cable header layout, the Abit is a performance oriented board ( but they may be going under, so hurry if you want one).

[Mr. Mulder]

As sad and pathetic as it sounds, I don’t really overclock to a great extent :unsure:

Just ordered the 7N400PRO2, thanks for everyone’s help :)