need immediate help replacing Abit KX7-333R

[Nethawk]

Greetings,

Unfortunately I don't have the time to research as I once did, as I go on the road once again for work.

My Abit KX7-333R motherboard has just failed, and I need to buy a replacement. Here are the basics for what I believe criteria for replacement must match:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 266 T'bred CPU
1GB (2x512) DDRAM PC3000 Cas2 Corsair 184 DIMM

While previous chipset was VIA, I'm not opposed to changing.

Thanks very much in advance for any help that can be provided. I'm stuck with all my passwords encrypted on this computer, and of course can't access, which means I can't pay bills, change investments, etc. All I request is the model numbers of performance boards that won't require me to update other components. Onboard LAN, USB2.0, etc. features are less important than getting up and running again. I hope to place an order this weekend so that I can make the replacement next weekend.

Additional information on components are available if necessary.

Regards,

JC

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by nethawk on 10/16/05 11:37 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Nethawk]

Won't somebody recommend a manufacturer and model number, at least? What are my options?

I'm kinda desperate here...

Thanks in advance.

 

[ChipDeath]

OK. First of all it may be possible to repair the old motherboard. The most common problem with dead motherboards is dead capacitors. <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_Plague" target="_new">here</A> is a site that a quick google turned up, which shows you what to look for. If you can see any of these, and have the equipment you could try replacing them, or if you're not happy with it any nearby electrical/hobbyist shop could probably do it for you, for a minimal fee. I have done this myself, and it's really not that hard - what have you got to lose?

That aside, any decent socket A motherboard will work. Generally the best of those is the Abit NF7-S, but a lot of that is because it's a great overclocking board.

The problem you'll have is that windows may well not be too happy about switching chipset, and a re-install might be required, so it may be easiest to try to get one with the same chipset, if you can. However, that chipset is getting on a bit now, so finding a board with it (a new one anyway) is likely to be tricky. That and the fact the KT333 chipset sucks make it hard to recommend a board using it.

What I would suggest if you decide to get a new board is to buy a Socket A board with an Nforce2 chipset from Abit or Epox, swap all the components over and boot into SAFE mode. Un-install everything from device manager, reboot and use the disks that come with the new board to install everything.

A few boards that are good:
Epox 8RDA3+
Abit NF7
MSI K7N2

..But Almost any nforce2 board would do you, if you're not interested in overclocking.

I would definitely try to fix the old board first though, since that would entail no re-installation or anything.

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[Nethawk]

Thank you!

I have been searching, and I believe to maintain at least some modicum of forward progress, the Abit NF7 seems to be the choice. Now, which one? I've been looking for one site that compares the features of the myriad choices available, as well as availability. It seems as though the NF7-M might be the proper choice.

Again, thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[ChipDeath]

Hmm.. from memory:

<b>NF7</b>
Good board, has standard AC'97 on-board sound, the usual IDE ports etc.

<b>NF7-S (rev 2.0)</b>
Excellent board, has Soundstorm integrated sound (proper hardware digital effects processor - better than most separate sound cards if using digital output/speakers) Also has SATA ports.

<b>NF7-M</b>
Same as vanilla NF7, but has nforce integrated graphics, which are basically a Geforce4 MX. Not bad for integrated (Quake 3 would play ok), but too weak for modern games.

<b>NF7-S2/S2G</b>
Not to be confused with NF7-S (Rev 2), these are cheap boards with limited tweakability. The S2G model has integrated graphics but is otherwise the same. Dreadful for overclocking entusiasts, but if you don't care about that stuff would no doubt prove reliable and stable.

<A HREF="http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=7" target="_new">Abit's take on the lineup</A>

What graphics card do you have? A Geforce3 or better is probably superior to the integrated graphics on the NF7-M, and wouldn't steal system RAM for the graphics like the on-board would.

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<pre> (\_/)
|~~~~~|======
|_____| This was bunny. He was tasty.
/\/\/\/\</pre><p>

 

[ChipDeath]

Oh, and I'd still have a go at fixing the old board

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<pre> (\_/)
|~~~~~|======
|_____| This was bunny. He was tasty.
/\/\/\/\</pre><p>

 

[Nethawk]

RE: Old board - not throwing it out, I have components to build yet another computer, if fixable I will use it for this purpose. Unfortunately, due to an extremely busy professional life (VoIP engineer) I travel quite a bit, and dont have time to mess around.

NF7-S Rev2.0 would be my choice, if anyone had them anymore I mentioned the M simply because it is the only one in this category that anyone seems to have in stock (if websites are in fact up to date).

At least two reviews of the M model indicate that it is more stable than the original NF7, and onboard graphics are appealing only down the road if I need another basic computer.

Again, thanks much for your help!