Any ABIT fans out there?

[Sound Mind]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127017

Does anybody know anything about this board for a modest budget build?


I bought a Biostar mobo a month ago, and it's been a nightmare. But I don't know if it's because of the the Biostar brand, or the VIA chipset. Which makes me nervous about this board. ABIT seems to have a good reputation, but VIA doesn't with me yet.

Any informed opinions from anyone?

[glc]

Stay away from Via boards for Intel processors. Spend more and get something known decent:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131041

[Sound Mind]

Problem with that mobo is that I need two IDE ports. That's why I'm having such a hard time finding motherboards. I found an Intel that will work, but it just sounds so modest.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121031

The hitches are that I need four IDE devices, a PCI-Ex16 slot (I don't want to give my girlfriend a dying AGP interface), and it has to support DDR2 533 memory. Such a mobo is hard to come by, apparently. Which is to be expected. I'm upgrading her processor to an 820, though. I wanted to go dual core for her at first, but couldn't afford it. Now I can.

The nice thing is I don't need to look for super hot gaming perfomance. OC'ing ability means squat. Just needs to run Photoshop and Premiere and all the other things she does.

[glc]

That's an ATI chipset - not a good board.

The right way to do this is with this board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131044

This board is pretty decent if you must keep the cost down and don't need Core 2 Duo compatibility:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186070

I'd recommend a 915 over a 820, by the way. The 820 runs quite hot.

[Sound Mind]

Ooh. I do dig the Foxconn. But can they run DDR2 533 memory? The specs state 667 for both.
[EDIT] - I always ask someone, and then do the research and answer my own question before they do. Sorry.
That's quite a nice board. I think I'm going to go with that instead. For the extra $7, I don't see why not! Thanks!

And yeah, I hear that about the 820. But I'm not going to use the stock HSF, and I'm putting in a couple 12cm fans around the case to get air moving.

I'm proud of the cooling I did on my computer. Full load, it's 40C.

[glc]

For the cost of that aftermarket cooler and the extra fans, you can get a 915, which really is a better processor than a 820 in every respect.

[juppy]

Agreed. The 915 is only $27 more than the 820 at Newegg, and has more L2 cache memory as well as being made with the 65nm process instead of the older 90nm process. Go for the 915.

[glc]

Note that the Foxconn board is not upgradeable to Core 2 Duo. The Asus boards I linked are.

[Sound Mind]

Yeah, good points...

And she won't need Core 2 Duo. She's not going to upgrade for another seven years when Core 2 Duo and anything else now will be long obsolete anyway.

So, thanks for the tips! I now have a configuration that I'm happy with! And I do like the SATA 3GB/s ability on the Foxconn versus the 1.5 on the Intel. That made me nervous.

[The_YongGrand]

Foxconn boards are okay, but the best ones are still Asus.

The VIA chipset for Intel processor isn't doing quite well. I tried that before. But for basic and daily use, I guess it'll be fine. :D

[glc]

You do know that Intel branded boards are mostly made for them by Foxconn?

[The_YongGrand]

Oh that's why I can see Foxconn labels on the Intel boards. So is my Foxconn 915P7MH looks like another Intel 915 board? :D

[glc]

Foxconn also makes all kinds of connectors. They are a big OEM for all kinds of stuff.

[newbuilder14]

I realized this when I saw the 4-pin to 8-pin adapter that came with the Intel Bad Axe was labeled Foxconn.