MOBO recommendation?

[khagan]

I am slowly building my new computer and I am stuck on what type of MOBO to get.

My requirements are:
AMD compat. (I am getting the Barton 2500+), Onboard IDE RAID (highly desired), USB 2.0, onboard sound, dual LAN (can live without if need be), and of course overclocking features.

Money isn't too tight but I would like to keep it around $150 or less. If annyone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate the input greatly. Motherboards have been the hardest thing for me to research! :(

Thanks,
Steven

[legendary]

The Soltek SL-75FRN2-RL (http://www.soltek.com.tw/English/product/75frn2-rl.htm) has everything you're looking for (minus the dual NICs). It's $96 shipped from NewEgg.

[cherryp00t]

NF7-s is the way to go ;d

[emericanchaos]

the only board i know of with dual nics is the a7n8x. if you want the best amd board get the NF7-s revision 2.0.

if you need dual nics you can always get a PCI NIC for like $6.

[khagan]

I would probably go for the NF7 if it had the IDE RAID (unless I am mistaken). The Soltek looks good too but I have read too many indifferent reviews....I want o be sure about the quality of the board.

What about the Gigabyte 7N400 pro2? Any thoughts/experiences with this? ...loks pretty :)

[woods]

You might want to look into the chaintech 7NJS-ZENITH Ultra or non ultra model. All of the best stuff in one place. I just ordered the ultra and will be setting it up in about one week.

[khagan]

emericanchaos mentioned in another thread that onboard RAID isn't very good...should I not worry about the onboard raid so much..I'll just purchase a RAID board seperate if this is the case....which raises the question as to which RAID board?

...see what I mean about being the hardest thing I have had to research :)

[khagan]

well...after much consideration we have a winner.

I decided to opt for a board that had the IDE RAID built in...this is something I really wanted due to the the performance increases of striping. The other reason being primarily due to money. If I got the ASUS or ABIT board (as good as I hear they are) it would cost me and extra $30-$50 for a decent RAID card. I didn't want the Soltek because I hadn't heard of these boards before and I read a couple of iffy reviews...if you get a good Soltek board it sounds like it would be a nice chaep board. Also overclocking isn't a major concern...I will do it eventually but it wasn't a deciding factor for me.

I chose the GigaByte GA7N400 Pro 2. I was a good balance of speed, quality and features for its price....and it also offer the ability to overclock with some minor constraints. I nice all-rounder.

Thanks everyone for the input and help...it pointed me in the right direction and made researching a whole lot easier. Much appreciated.

[Jarlax]

Let us know how your overclock goes! :)

[NO LIFE]

The abit has SATA raid....so all you need is an adapter for your PATA drives. The NF-7s comes with one adapter. Just need one more. Somthing to consider.

[khagan]

...interesting! The adapter for the extra coverter for parallel to serial ATA is only about $20 (bestbyte.net). The NF7-s rev. 2.0 looks very promising indeed. And seeing as I am currently using an ABIT m/b, of which I am extremely happy with, I may have to reconsider my decision...thanks! :\

[NO LIFE]

Yep....only need to buy one more since the abit comes with one....I love mine!!

[CrashOveride]

I would, wait no, did, go for the NF7-S.

It comes with one SATA adapter and cable so you just need a second SATA adapter and cable.

Make sure you get Rev.2 though. http://www.excaliberpc.com/ gaurentees this and has a good price on the board (they are also a reputable company).

[khagan]

I guess I will go with the NF7-S. I will be wasting my new translucent blue round IDE cables I just bought but I guess that is only $10 any way. Thanks No Life....I wouldn't have realised that an adapter came with it.

A quick question about the USB 2.0 ports...I have 6 USB "things" to plug in...The specs indicate 2 ports available but I am guessing that there is room to expand. Can anyone tell me if that is the case and if I need to purchase anything else to make it happen?

[NO LIFE]

There is a media card that comes with the board. You plug it into your mobo and then put it in a PCI slot. It gives you 2 more USB2.0 and 2 firewire. If 4 usb2.0 isnt enough there is one more usb header if you have a front USB panel on you case or not. In total thats 6 USB2.0 ports you can have I believe.

BTW- Nice find Crash. Thats mad cheap (if you dont mind a rebate)...and they even update the BIOS for you! Wish I knew about them b4 I bought mine!! :rolleyes:

[AMD_Me]

I would get any board besides the Abit. I have never used the Nf7, but have used over a dozen other abit mobos, and all either were DOA/Defective or died within 3-4 months.

[AMD_Me]

Originally posted by woods
You might want to look into the chaintech 7NJS-ZENITH Ultra or non ultra model. All of the best stuff in one place. I just ordered the ultra and will be setting it up in about one week.


I had one of these and it was nothing but trouble. It DID NOT overclock at all on the one I had.

[khagan]

I am sure there are plenty of stories of bad mobo's out there but, generally speaking, Abit has a very good reputation and I have been using a BP6 dual processing mobo from Abit for the last 4 years with absolutley no problems....so I will give them another go :)

[NO LIFE]

Good choice.