What is a good motherboard for AMD XP

[CudofCow]

Im looking to buy a new motherboard soon because mine is old and doesnt support anything much higher than i already have. Right now i have an Athlon XP 1800+ and PC2100 RAM. What is a motherboard that can handle my current CPU and RAM but can also be upgraded to Athlon XP3200+ and top of the line RAM?

Since i cant afford to buy a new CPU or RAM just yet, i need something upgradeable. Any suggestions?

[minibubba]

something with the nforce2 chipset, then look for the features you want. A few good brands include ASUS, Epox, Abit, Gigabyte, ext. My prefered mobo being the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe.

[Wiggo]

I prefer the EPoX 8RDA3+ myself.

[Thoric]

A7N8X Deluxe has lots of features - dual lan, soundstorm, sata, very good overclocking. i know some of the other boards around have some/all of these as well.

Abit NF7-S 2.0 is another good one, or the Epox as Wiggo suggested.

:thumb:

[CudofCow]

does the DFI lan party support XP 1800+'s? any thoughts on that board?

[smokin_pc]

yes most DFI nforce 2 boards wuill support it. But DFI is kinda on the expensive side.

if u want alot of features + good stable board go with the asus a7n8x deluxe. great borad

a good OC board is the abit nfs 2.0 and the epox 8rda3+

when u get the new board, get new pc3500 and better cooling to OC tat 1800+ to like a 3000+

[maximus7001]

I use asus a7v8x-x for lots of machines due to their low cost, good warranty, and the multiplier unlocking. They support pc3200 ram, but only xp3000/333fsb. If you are sure about the xp3200, then the a7n8x-x family would suit you better. Also beware that some cpu's are not supported without a bios update on lots of these boards. Be sure to keep your old cpu until you got the new one working properly.


asus cpu compatability

[overlord_158]

So far, all the posts I've read in this thread are about what I would have expected, with one exception. There hasn't been a single mention of MSI's products.
I have to agree with minibubba's statement of going with the nForce2 chipset.... and the Asus is indeed a good board... but upon comparison shopping for myself, I found the MSI to be a superior product overall.
My personal recommendation would be to go with something like MSI's K7N2 Delta series. Not only is it a stable and cost effective platform, but it was also designed with the over-clocker in mind. The K7N2 Delta-ILSR for example, has everything one could want in a low-cost package. For starters, there's CPU support from 600MHz to the Athlon XP 3000+ and higher, FSB from 133MHz to 400MHz, nVIDIA's nForce2 MCP2-T Chipset, Serial ATA RAID, up to 3Gb RAM support, and the list keeps going on and on!
I personally have the K7N2 Delta running an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton, and I must say that I am extremely pleased with it... and I didn't have to spend a small fortune to get something that I'll be able to expand on when the time (and finances) allow! As it stands, my video card alone cost me more than double the amount of the MB/CPU package.
As you'll figure out for yourself, everyone has an opinion, and they're not all the same! So do your own comparison shopping, but keep MSI in mind when doing it... you may be pleasantly surprised!

[Crap pee racer]

How about Gigabyte boards, which ones should I look at, maybe the 7n400v? Found the epox 8rda3+ on sell, it looks interesting. Does no one use albatron boards? I have two that I like as well if not better than my Asus a7n8x deluxe. I have a BIOSTAR that I messed up the bios and cannot get it back, which I am might have to replace. I have moved the jumper to clear the cmos, plus removed the battery. Still cannot get into bios, any idea's. Thanks

[snowpro]

CHECK OUT THIS
www4tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030721/index.html[/url]

[JonnyP]

I just built a new 'puter using the Lanparty, a 2400+ CPU and 9800 Pro video card. It is rock solid with great video. The Lanparty board comes with lots of nice stuff like rounded cables, FrontX (front connectors for USB, Firewire, mic, earphones) and a carry system for lugging your system around. I haven't learned much about overclocking yet, but I hear this board is great for overclocking.

Go to DFI.com and you can get all the specs on what memory and CPU's you can use....

Good Luck!

[CudofCow]

Im not sure what i think about the FrontX panel that the LanParty offers. Its sorta clunky. I diddnt add it to my system because it looks bad with my case's bezel, but it does have a lot of nice stuff. I also dont really like how many cords you have to plug in, in order for all of the components to work. They should have made the plastic on it black insted of beige. I dont know.....

By the way, the board is amazing for overclocking, and BIOS updating. These are about the best features. Overclocking can be done right in the bios, no need to put goo all over your CPU to unlock it. The BIOS can also be updated right in windows. I dont know why motherboards are just becoming capable of this really strange feat.