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**Wiggo** · 07-19-2002, 07:40 PM

Yeah the motherboard comes with a HSF on the northbridge chip not one for the CPU though. ;)
<center>:cheers:</center>

**JealousMidget** · 07-19-2002, 07:46 PM

I am one of the people who have an 8K3A. Yes the BIOS flash did solve some minor/nuisance issues out of the box. It wasn't that difficult. The stability of the board alone should make it a consideration. If you have not finalized your decision on the motherboard, you may want to take another look at the board. Besides if you don't want to unlock the multiplier on the cpu, you can boost the FSB no problem and it's still a free upgrade. Free is GOOD.

JM

**Ehhe Yebeb** · 07-20-2002, 04:22 AM

The soltek board is faster than both the Epox and the Asus (SL75DRV5)

**Wiggo** · 07-20-2002, 05:06 AM

Yeah as a standard setup the EPoX board is pretty middle of the road stuff but its when ya start crankin' things towards the limits that it really gets ahead of the rest. :smokin:
<center>:cheers:</center>

**RDR** · 07-20-2002, 08:29 AM

not to mention that ASUS boards usually cost a good deal more than an equivalent Epox.

I've used Asus boards in the past & not been especially impressed - with the emergance of Epox I use them almost exclusively, just recently I've had some good luck with ECS boards too - their a great deal, but you need to do your research first because they have produced a few real POS's

a far as the HSF goes - if you buy a retail boxed Athlon - it comes with one that is adequate for a non-OC'd set up. If it's an OEM chip you'll need to get one. Copper is the way to go if you're not on a tight budget - something like a thermalright SK6 is a pretty good deal now since some better perfrom units have been released

**Morgan_Lander** · 07-22-2002, 12:58 PM

The question to impose on you, is what do you want in the motherboard. The A7V-333 is very loaded, but if you intend to do some serious overclocking, you're likely to be highly disappointed, as the more loaded boards tend to do poorly in overclocking.

**Lava Lamp Freak** · 07-22-2002, 03:06 PM

For now all I'm looking for is a fast machine that I can expand and make faster in the future. I know nothing about overclocking now but will eventually want to play around and learn more. I'm thinking that I might just hold out until the new nForce boards are out and see how the reviews go on them. The MCP-T seems nice having the GeForce 4MX, sound and networking onboard.

**Morgan_Lander** · 07-22-2002, 09:30 PM

If you just want to play around and not do anything hard core, look around. I'm not discouraging a Via chipset board, but the nForce boards are very nice. Also, if you want a fast system, the nForce 2 does come in a package without the integrated graphics--which would be good if you intend to buy yourself a better card anyway. Based on my experience with the original nForce, I will say I'm pretty eager to see how the nForce 2 does.

The other alternative would probably be Soyo's Dragon series. I haven't personally used their products ever, but they make one of the most loaded boards available.

**Ehhe Yebeb** · 07-23-2002, 05:14 AM

The nForce boards are OK, but i wouldnt buy onboard video for the life of me, a 32meg shared geforce 2 just turns me right away. If your not looking into serious OC'ing and want a loaded board, shuttle makes good ones. Epox boards tend to really only offer to the OC'ing market, other than that they arent anything flash, basically i would be looking at shuttle, or maybe MSI. Those two offer good value as well as feature loaded boards, soyo definetaly offers a lot of stuff, but also add a hefty pricetag. Also if your looking for heaps of features, the Abit AT7 has 4 ATA 133 IDE raid channels (HPT 374) as well as 2 regular ATA 133 channels, for a maximum of 12 HDD's, as well as tons of USB ports (1.1 & 2.0) and onboard IEEE1394(firewire). The drawback is that to accomodate all those goodies there are only 3 PCI slots

**Lava Lamp Freak** · 07-31-2002, 10:29 AM

I decided to go with the Epox 8KHA+. I've already placed the order with Mwave and should have it soon. I decided to go with the 266 cause of the price.

I just found out they only allow up to 7 days for a return of a defective product. I'm building piece by piece and won't be able to finish purchasing parts until later this month. I sure hope the board works when I plug it in. Are there any issues I should be aware of out of the box with the Epox 8KHA+? Thanks.

**zeradul** · 07-31-2002, 02:35 PM

No, it is rated by many as the best board of its type.

**Lava Lamp Freak** · 08-01-2002, 08:08 PM

I've read that the cooler can not be removed from the processor once attached. So, should I buy something like the Volcano 7 now if I plan on overclocking in the future? Do the coolers come with the thermal paste or will I need to purchase that also?

**Wiggo** · 08-01-2002, 09:31 PM

I don't know where ya read that but unless someone used thermal epoxy the HSF should be easy enough to remove but get yourself the Volcano 7+ and don't bother with anything else below it in quality. ;)
<center>:cheers:</center>

**FLaCo** · 08-01-2002, 10:15 PM

7+ is the way to go with performance/price .

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