Foxconn mobo's

[Rhino]

Hello everyone!

I'm in the process of collecting info on a system that I want to build and am wondering about the quality and reputation of Foxconn mainboards.

I found a barebones system on ebay that includes a 2.8ghz P4, a Foxconn Intel 865 chipset motherboard, and a case with a 500 watt power supply. I did a google search for Foxconn and found different opinions of their mobo's. It would appear that they are towards the low end in both price and quality but I thought I would post here to get some more opinions.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[ChipDeath]

I've never heard of them myself, so if they've been about for a while that means they're probably very cheap OEM suppliers, which genrally means cheap components.

What budget do you have, and what do you need? you may be able to buy nice, reliable new stuff with a warranty for not much more cash, rather than resorting to ebay.

---
Epox 8RDA+ rev1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @205x11 (~2.26Ghz), 1.575Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL 2-2-2-4
Sapphire 9800Pro 420/744

 

[Rhino]

Thanks for the quick reply!

They are an OEM supplier, it says that they are the largest OEM supplier in the world in the ebay listing.

I haven't really put a firm number on my PCbugdet, I was thinking of somewhere around $1,000.00. I want to have a good gaming rig so that my wife can use our current PC (Sony, 1.7ghz P4, 512mb rambus, nVidia FX5900SE 128mb, 60gb harddrive) for her work. There is nothing more annoying than coming home after work and finding the significant other working on the PC. Cuts into my gaming time way too much.

I have a buddy of mine who thinks I should go with an AMD processor. He says that you get more bang for the buck but I have only had Intel CPU's in my previous systems. Thoughts on AMD processors?

What mainboard would be sufficient for the 2.8ghz P4 that I want to build my system around? I was thinking that I would be paying somewhere around $130.00 to $150.00 for a good mobo.

Thanks again!

 

[ChipDeath]

A good motherboard for a P4 System would be an Abit IS7. you can get more expensive motherboards, but there is very little gain from doing so. You thought about overclocking? a P4 2.8 + Abit IS7 would give you a good base for doing so.

On the AMD side, if this computer is for Gaming, then best gaming performance is by building an AMD Athlon 64 system. You could however build a very good gaming rig based on a cheaper Athlon XP Chip, if you would rather save as much as possible.

Does that budget have to include Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, etc? Those things can eat into your budget, but you should be able to build a good rig for your budget without much trouble.

---
Epox 8RDA+ rev1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @205x11 (~2.26Ghz), 1.575Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL 2-2-2-4
Sapphire 9800Pro 420/744

 

[Rhino]

Thanks again for the quick reply and info Chipdeath.

I will look into the AMD 64 and XP processors after I get home from work.

I will probably move the FX 5900SE to the new computer(it's only a couple of months old) and put my old GeForce-4 4200ti into our current PC. Other than that I will need to get everything else. I will be doing this slowly(3-4 months) so I won't have to skimp on inferior components.

 

[pat]

I can recommend to buy the CPU/mobo/ram as the last component if you plan to buy part slowly. I would rather take 3-4 month putting money somewhere and the when you have enough, go buy the parts. Because in 3-4 month, the brand new great cpu you buy today might be not be as great as it was.

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!

 

[Rhino]

@Pat:

Thanks for the info!

I planned on doing that with the video card(if I decide to buy a new one) but I didn't think of that with the CPU/Mobo/RAM components.

I would think that the AMD Athlon XP CPU's are about as cheap as they are gonna get(?) with the new 64 bit CPU's now readily available.

Is Intel coming out with a new CPU? I thought I heard something about a P5.

 

[Rhino]

@ChipDeath:

I found several different versions of the Abit IS7(IS7, IS7-E, IS7-G, IS7-M, IS7-V).

Which one do you recommend?

 

[pat]

And I tell you, no matter what Intel or AMD fans will tell you, you cannot go wrong with either a AMD XP or 64 or with an Intel P4. They both have strengths and weakness but they perform both very well. Now, what matter the most, is the mobo, or the chipset. Just think of what you want to do and need for your next computer, then look at the chipset feature and decide which one is best for you. then choose the mobo that has this chipset and match the ram and cpu. Ex, if you're going to run a server, the nforce3 250Gb has gigabit lan and integrated firewall in the chipset.

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!

 

[sturm]

Foxconn builds the computers that are sold under the HP and Compaq name. The boards are bare minimum and cheap.

 

[ChipDeath]

<b>IS7-V:</b>
uses the Intel 848 chipset, Which is a pared-down version of the 865 chipset. basically the same, but with only a single memory channel, instead of Dual Channel (technology which can boost performance with 2 memory modules)

<b>IS7-M:</b>
Has (very bad) onboard Video, otherwise the same as...

<b>IS7-E</b>
Reasonably full-featured board. Not a bad choice.
the IS7-E2 is the same board but has 2 RAM slots. (both support Dual channel)

<b>IS7</b>
The Top of the pile IS7 board. Essentially the same as the IS7-E, but natively supports RAID 0/1 with it's two Serial ATA channels, and also gives you on-board Firewire (1394) ports (useful for some digital cameras etc).

So I would recommend either the IS7-E or the IS7, depending on whether you feel you might want RAID and Firewire. the -V is a cheaper, lower performing version, and the -M has integrated graphics which you won't need, and the -E2 removes the ability to simply add more RAM in the future, without removing the current RAM (although in practice this might cause problems because of the Dual Channel stuff, but at least the option will be there.)

Oh, forgot the -G. AS far as I can see, it simply adds 2 more SATA channels via a silicon image RAID chip, so I don't think there's much point in you considering that one unless you'll want hard disks coming out of your ears.

Of course, All this only matters if you go with an Intel Setup....

Just a quick disclaimer:
I compiled this quick difference list by quickly trawling newegg.com + a little google, and I'm tired, so it might not be entirely accurate. If anyone would like to point out any mistakes or things I've left out, please do...

---
Epox 8RDA+ rev1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @205x11 (~2.26Ghz), 1.575Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL 2-2-2-4
Sapphire 9800Pro 420/744

 

[Crashman]

Ebay sucks compared to the reliability of regular online stores. I'd go with the standard IS7, it cost less than $100 (I've seen it as low as $90).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Rhino]

Thanks for all of the info guys!!(Especially ChipDeath and Pat)

I will weigh all this info and will probably be asking some similiar questions about the AMD XP/64 CPU's and mobo's.

Thanks again.

 

[Cybercraig]

Ebay sucks compared to the reliability of regular online stores.
___________________________________________________________


How can E-Bay suck? It's only certain vendors that can suck! E-Bay is not a vendor, simply an auction house. As for your advice, I think you are right in steering unexperienced buyers to sources that will actually back up their warranty. You buy off of E-Bay at your own risk! Nothing like NewEgg or Mwave for sure! Buying new? Stay off of E-Bay! Buying used? Welcome to the dance! JMHO

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Now, let's eat!

 

[Crashman]

Heh, you answered your own question, except for one thing: Reliable etailers such as Newegg and ZipZoomFly are 99.999% sure to be around for the next 5 years, while ebay venders are 90% certain to disappear within the next 2 years!

I got ripped off a couple times on ebay by "reliable venders" who simply disappeared after years of reliable service. And I mean disappeared, they didn't even have a store location to go to in order to track down the owners. You can run a HUGE online business out of a 2-car garage!

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[rener]

Check out Foxconn Destroyer it is one of the best MB on the market for 4way SLI with AMD Phenom AM3 support and up to 16GB of Ram.

 

[bjb]

Stay far away from foxconn mb if you value your money. I bought one and found that you can get a mb that is not made for north america and they will not replace it even if purchased here. It sounded like a manufacturing issue that they did not want to take a hit in the pocket book so they pass it on to the customer in the form of non functional hardware that they will not replace. GearXS is one that carries these bad boards.