Cheap AMd Build board. Reccomendations?

[freptide]

I need a board(socket A) with AMd to use with Pc100 memory and cpu at least 700mhz. Its for gaming. I was looking on auction sites and want to build a cheap but powerful gaming rig for a friend. Any board reccomendations would be appreciated.Thanks

[Surge1243]

700 mhz is not really all that powerful for a gaming machine...especially the newer games out. Is this a new build or are you upgrading an existing system?

[glc]

SDRAM is going to limit you severely - the most stable KT133A board I have worked with is the long-discontinued Epox 8KTA3 and this is nowhere near "powerful" for gaming by today's definition. I would recommend you bite the bullet and get some DDR and put it in an Asus A7N266 or something like that with an Athlon XP processor. You can get back some of the expense by using the Nforce onboard video and audio for now - the video is only GF2 MX quality but it will do in a pinch and the onboard sound is supposed to be outstanding. It does have an AGP slot for video upgrades.

[shifty]

You can try comgeek.com.They have a special combo with a shuttle mainboard that uses pc100 memory,Amd 700mhz t-bird with heat sink and fan for $59.Hope that's what your looking for.

[freptide]

Thanks guys.All excellent suggestions! His system is a K62 533mhz, which is the fastest cpu you can put on the board i think. Recently I added some memory to his existing 88mb pc100. What would this 30 dollar graphics card such as the tnt riva 16mb do for him? His case is fairly small and the PSupply is probably underpowered. Im trying to talk him in to spending some money so he can see Medal of honor and IGI in its intended form, with graphics turned up!I dont doubt the Asus board you mentioned is stable, glc. Ever since I got my Asus board ive had no problems at all. Love my AMD which is full of FPS games!Hitman 2 is gonna look sweet on the AMD!!!

[glc]

The onboard GF2 MX on the Nforce will totally wax a 16 meg TNT. Note that it's not really worth upgrading unless you can double the CPU speed - which puts you over a gig - and the XP's are pretty cheap now. You will need a new case - the Enlight 7250 is AMD-approved and will do the job very economically.

[freptide]

That is a sweet board considering the onboard graphics which saves you some dough. I got a price on it. $76 before shipping.
The xps ive looked at are around 100. I could probably use the old gateway case and kick out the Power supply. Im tempted to just build one for the heck of it. Just switch it off with my monitor hooked to my amd, and maybe OC it!

[glc]

Don't even try to reuse a Gateway case, the front panel connector will drive you nuts and it's not designed for adequate cooling for an Athlon processor.

The XP 1600+ OEM is on sale at Newegg for $53.99, free shipping. If you found an A7N266 for $76 you found a heck of a deal - you sure it's not the A7N266-VM? That's a micro ATX board with only 3 PCI slots - it has the NForce 220 chipset, not the 420D.

[freptide]

Good call! It was the Vm from Shentech.com. I dont think they even carry the A7n266. They also stpped carrying the A7m266 and only carry the Dual proc version. If the board has onboard audio and graphics its still a deal. Probably alot easier build than the AMD I built. The gateway has the pesky bracket on the front as well. The dell cases are just as bad ive heard. Dell uses a different connector for the PS so if you want to upgrade that youre screwed. I wish I would have bought this board instead of my A7m266. I wouldve saved some cash. I ordered my 1.3 cpu from newegg. I think it was 90 bucks with fan and sink. This was last winter. The memory was like 89 bucks for 256mb 2100.

[freptide]

SO the one I want is the A7n266E? This has the 420d chipset. The previous one had the 415 right? If I can find this cheap ill pick it up since it has onboard audio and graphics.

[GaryRouth]

Fry's has the Amd 1600+ with an MSI KT266a board on sale this week for $99. Add a $65 Ati 7500 64mb card and look for some Crucial 256mb DDR stick(s) for ~$44 each.

Just a thought.

[. . . If you're daring, they've had the FIC fusion board on sale, too (that's Ati's 1st venture into chipsets & has ATi onboard graphics . . . a few boards have had some rough edges, as can be expected) . . . I wouldn't do a 1st generation chipset for a friend's build (more for the curious hobbyist)

. . . Gary

[p.s. the cpu in the Fry's combo is retail: 3yr. warranty, hs/fan included]

[p.s.#2: oops, noticed you're in R.I. Not sure if there are any Fry's electronics stores out your way yet. I checked on their website "outpost.com", to see if they offer that same special online, but no luck . . . ]

[freptide]

cool,WHats the web address for fry's?

[GaryRouth]

freptide

Sorry about the Fry's note. I added an edit to my post mentioning that it looks like Fry's decided not to offer that combo online that they are offering here in So. Cal. Their online site is called outpost.com

There might be some good buys if you check your local hardware shops, once and a while it's something worthwhile. Other than that, I like NewEgg for most of my online purchases.

If I see an online bargain, I'll post it here for you. The nForce 420D boards are nice if you can find them cheap enough - if you go that route, remember to use 2 sticks of DDR to take advantage of the dual memory controllers for the onboard video. And if it's the MSI 420D board, put them in slots 1 and 3.

I prefer an inexpensive add-in card to onboard(even in a low-end build): and the nVidia and Ati value cards are bargains right now

. . . Gary

[snix]

Hey freptide, give us a ballpark figure on the amount you're willing to spend on building a new pc that way we can give you the best recommendations possible.

[freptide]

Heres what Im looking at so far:

AMD 1600 xp
En7250 case w/300 watt PS
1 stick of 256 ddr2100
Asus A7N266-E Mobo
Liteon 16x DVD rom
WD 40 gig hard drive



I want to keep it below $450


I have a monitor,mouse,keyboard and OS

[glc]

Looks like a winning combo to me and it will lend itself to upgrades well. Note that the Nforce really needs WinXP to work right.

[morriswindgate]

Another pretty good performing board is the AOPEN AK75 which uses the SIS 745 chipset and goes for $65.00 at newegg. It suports PC2700 DDR and has built in digital sound ability.
The two machines that I have built using this board are really stable runners.

[freptide]

I was planning on using 98SE for the OS. I dont have a copy of XP. WIll it still perform well. Im thinking 98SE is better for games but might be old fashioned and set in my ways.