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Integrated Motherboard Recommendations 4
- Thread starter jrozier
- Start date
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The only one I know of is the PC chips 810, it supports non DDR Duron/Athlon processors with SDram.
You will hear lots of diehard computer buffs warning you away from such boards as they are jack of all trades and master of none and for users in the know a seperates system
ie:seperate sound/graphics/modem/Lan, is always going to be superior, like a seperates stereo system compared to one of those all in one things.
Having said all of this!! I have built a least a dozen of systems using this board with very favourable reports from the customers, the main one being THE PRICE!! So for a low end system with fair performance they are ideal! Martin Vote if you found this post helpful please!!
You will hear lots of diehard computer buffs warning you away from such boards as they are jack of all trades and master of none and for users in the know a seperates system
ie:seperate sound/graphics/modem/Lan, is always going to be superior, like a seperates stereo system compared to one of those all in one things.
Having said all of this!! I have built a least a dozen of systems using this board with very favourable reports from the customers, the main one being THE PRICE!! So for a low end system with fair performance they are ideal! Martin Vote if you found this post helpful please!!
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I have put together computers with PC Chips boards in the past. Their boards were slow, unstable, and were a complete headache to set up. They came with lousy driver support - ex. one model the network drivers included on the cd was missing some installation files needed to set it up, it was a known error even listed on the mb faq on their website, yet their file downloads seriously were like .02KB/sec. The boards were buggy as all hell, as one I remember worked fine at 100MHz x 4.5, while a second one had to be set up at 95MHz x 4.5, because 100MHz x 4.5, or 90MHz x 5 would lock up Windows startup. Windows experienced seemingly random lockups, I remember I couldn't install HP printer drivers for the life of me with a fresh install of 98.
On top of all that, these PC Chips boards are notoriously slooooooooooow. They will not give you the full potential of your CPU, and they do strangly continuely slow down with age, even with fresh installs of the OS. Search for reviews of PC Chips boards on the internet, you will find other comments just like mine.
What I say is out of personal experience, not something I heard second hand - I will never buy PC Chips motherboards and I will always advise people against them.
To try and help you out finding a motherboard, there are more and more being made with onboard sound and LAN, using SIS's chipset for AMD processors, I know ECS has a motherboard coming out, their K7S5A, that's just one board for starters. You can find modems for $15 or less, and you can find good ATI agp cards for $25 (which are a hell of a lot better that the onboard video built into PC Chips boards).
Saving a couple dollars is not worth the headaches that accompagny cheap hardware, and that's the bottom line.
On top of all that, these PC Chips boards are notoriously slooooooooooow. They will not give you the full potential of your CPU, and they do strangly continuely slow down with age, even with fresh installs of the OS. Search for reviews of PC Chips boards on the internet, you will find other comments just like mine.
What I say is out of personal experience, not something I heard second hand - I will never buy PC Chips motherboards and I will always advise people against them.
To try and help you out finding a motherboard, there are more and more being made with onboard sound and LAN, using SIS's chipset for AMD processors, I know ECS has a motherboard coming out, their K7S5A, that's just one board for starters. You can find modems for $15 or less, and you can find good ATI agp cards for $25 (which are a hell of a lot better that the onboard video built into PC Chips boards).
Saving a couple dollars is not worth the headaches that accompagny cheap hardware, and that's the bottom line.
Told you!!
I knew someone would slag em off!
To be fair though these boards are a lot better than they used to be.
But it's only as I said! you get what you pay for!
As for buggy drivers etc I can only say I personally know of 3 local PC shops who's lower end systems all use this board with little or no problems with either drivers or high return rates.
I agree seperates are better but for a large majority of end users the PC chips board works fine. Martin Vote if you found this post helpful please!!
I knew someone would slag em off!
To be fair though these boards are a lot better than they used to be.
But it's only as I said! you get what you pay for!
As for buggy drivers etc I can only say I personally know of 3 local PC shops who's lower end systems all use this board with little or no problems with either drivers or high return rates.
I agree seperates are better but for a large majority of end users the PC chips board works fine. Martin Vote if you found this post helpful please!!
Just got the brand-new ASUS A7N266 with an XP 1600 Athlon chip.
Features onboard video (GeForce II), Audio (Dolby 5.1) and network / modem (caution - there are several versions, mine doesn't have the onboard network/modem)
System performance is really good - definitely high-end with dual-channel DDR, although a Geforce II card is not the same as the new Titanium cards, of course.
Problem - at around $ 200 the board is not exactly cheap - however, if you save the money on the on-chip features, it might work out.
Problems / stability / bad driver support?
Definitely not, as, it's ASUS ;-)
(that means if you set it up correctly)
take care,
Andy
Features onboard video (GeForce II), Audio (Dolby 5.1) and network / modem (caution - there are several versions, mine doesn't have the onboard network/modem)
System performance is really good - definitely high-end with dual-channel DDR, although a Geforce II card is not the same as the new Titanium cards, of course.
Problem - at around $ 200 the board is not exactly cheap - however, if you save the money on the on-chip features, it might work out.
Problems / stability / bad driver support?
Definitely not, as, it's ASUS ;-)
(that means if you set it up correctly)
take care,
Andy
Guest_imported
New member
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
i've been researching motherboards recently and have been looking in to abit and asus motherboards extensively. both companies r making most of their new motherboards with onboard sound, or atleast the option to get it. A few of the asus boards have onboard lan, but i'm pretty certain neither has onboard modem. These boards are more for the higher end user, for overclocking mostly, and i've found cheaper boards out there. but at the same time, on u can find the new abit and asus motherboards for around $100. just as u can find good prices for any computer product. just my 2 cents.
The problem with these forums is they tend to appeal to Tekies! naturally interested and mostly owning high end, high performing cutting edge systems.
It is therefore very difficult for these individuals to think in lay persons terms or with limited budgets.
Ask a Tekie about how good a 800mhz Duron is before you know it the have you buying an AMD Palomino XP1900+ on an Soyo Dragon DDR board!
The point I am trying to make is lets keep everything in context, not everybody can afford everthing high end!
lets write about the entry level stuff, just because if nothing else, IT'S CHEAP! and probably fits the bill for 95% of users. Martin
Vote if you found this post helpful please!!
It is therefore very difficult for these individuals to think in lay persons terms or with limited budgets.
Ask a Tekie about how good a 800mhz Duron is before you know it the have you buying an AMD Palomino XP1900+ on an Soyo Dragon DDR board!
The point I am trying to make is lets keep everything in context, not everybody can afford everthing high end!
lets write about the entry level stuff, just because if nothing else, IT'S CHEAP! and probably fits the bill for 95% of users. Martin
Vote if you found this post helpful please!!
Jakespeare
Vendor
I'm an OEM system builder, and have build HUNDREDS of computers. The most important component in your computer is the mainboard.
PC CHIPS boards are the lowest end you can get.
When for $80 you can have good, why spend $50 on something unreliable? Only a novice would buy a PC CHIPS mainboard.
PC CHIPS boards are the lowest end you can get.
When for $80 you can have good, why spend $50 on something unreliable? Only a novice would buy a PC CHIPS mainboard.
Right, a motherboard with seperate lan/graphics modem/sound is always going to be superior. But for the computer novice wanting a cheap system with no interest in whats inside the box, or if it's the fastest most reliable equiptment then these boards are fine. Maybe not for me and you I know.
I know exactly where your coming from with your comments, I can appreciate what it is you are saying. I can even go as far as to say I myself advise my customers to spend up! and get something better.
But not everone wants a cadillac or can afford one, and many are just happy to drive around in a beat up pickup!
I know exactly where your coming from with your comments, I can appreciate what it is you are saying. I can even go as far as to say I myself advise my customers to spend up! and get something better.
But not everone wants a cadillac or can afford one, and many are just happy to drive around in a beat up pickup!
HugoGuessit
Technical User
Well, Jakespeare, for some of us, that means the difference between getting the cpu & mb this month, or getting the motherboard this month and the cpu next. And, since we have the availability of support from fine arrogant techs like yourself, why not...
(speaking as a geek who owns an emachine)
hg
(speaking as a geek who owns an emachine)
hg
I totally agree that a couple bucks is a couple bucks, and some people only need the bare minimum of hardware to get buy just fine with...
But sometimes by saving those dollars on the system, causes you as the builder to spend much extra time futzin' around with the setup and/or spending a good deal of time servicing the computer for system instabilities that have arisen by using cheap components.
Here's my solution to those penny pinchers, if you're thinking of something like a PC Chips board and say a Duron 900, instead go with a good mobo and pick up a Duron 750 instead. I've got on order right now a Gigabyte mobo w/ KT266A chipset & onboard Creative Labs sound + Realtek LAN for a mere $75 - these deals are out there, you just have to look for them. Due to the wonders of the PC Chips boards, even with a slower processor I am confident that the Gigabyte board will be atleast on par w/ PC Chips and a faster cpu.
It's saving a few bucks on the cpu and diverting it into a better mobo, still resulting in the same performance at approximately the same cost, just providing a much more stable solution.
There are certainly more options out there to build a value priced pc, and I will never stop warning people to stay away from PC Chips motherboards.
But sometimes by saving those dollars on the system, causes you as the builder to spend much extra time futzin' around with the setup and/or spending a good deal of time servicing the computer for system instabilities that have arisen by using cheap components.
Here's my solution to those penny pinchers, if you're thinking of something like a PC Chips board and say a Duron 900, instead go with a good mobo and pick up a Duron 750 instead. I've got on order right now a Gigabyte mobo w/ KT266A chipset & onboard Creative Labs sound + Realtek LAN for a mere $75 - these deals are out there, you just have to look for them. Due to the wonders of the PC Chips boards, even with a slower processor I am confident that the Gigabyte board will be atleast on par w/ PC Chips and a faster cpu.
It's saving a few bucks on the cpu and diverting it into a better mobo, still resulting in the same performance at approximately the same cost, just providing a much more stable solution.
There are certainly more options out there to build a value priced pc, and I will never stop warning people to stay away from PC Chips motherboards.
i have to agree with Dakota. I just bought the baby bro of his gigabyte board (different onboard audio, no network port) for £80. Its very stable, highly efficient and is extremely easy to set up.
whats more, most gigabyte boards come with a software utility that allows for overclocking from within windows, and is quite good. I've got a 950MHz Duron which is currently ticking over at just under 1100MHz, with no apparent stability problems.
Scotsdude
********
I do the best I can with the info that I have.
If it works, let me know.
If it don't, ditto!
whats more, most gigabyte boards come with a software utility that allows for overclocking from within windows, and is quite good. I've got a 950MHz Duron which is currently ticking over at just under 1100MHz, with no apparent stability problems.
Scotsdude
********
I do the best I can with the info that I have.
If it works, let me know.
If it don't, ditto!
ASUS is already selling them oops.
$208.00 at
Should have read the other posts. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.
$208.00 at
Should have read the other posts. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.
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