Desperate for a motherboard recommendation!

[Guest]

Hi Folks! After searching manufacturer sites and review for a decent motherboard for days I came up with nothing :frown:

If you know any models that might fit the bill, please recommend, open to any options.

<b>What I’m looking for (need):</b>

Pentium/Celeron FC-PGA 370 Pin support upto 1ghz
Support for future CPUs, at least 1.5ghz
2 IDE channels, USB
3 DIMM slots, 1+ GIG ram support
Must support single sided 256 and double sided 512mb chips
Fan Speed/Temperature/Voltage Monitoring
ATX form factor
1 AGP, 4+ PCI slots, no ISA needed

<b>What might be nice to have:</b>

Raid 0, or 1, or both
4 DIMM memory slots
More than 2 IDE channels
“ON” after power failure
ATA66/100
On board Audio

Stability is of the utmost importance, overcooking not a priority. Compatibility more important than performance. Good future support for drivers or BIOS updates.

 

[o1die]

With my last pentium 3 cpu (three years ago), I used the Abit BH6. It was the best board to that date that I had ever used. I don't use Abit now because they were late with their KG7 Raid, and I don't need Raid or the high price. E-mail your specs to them, and I bet they can recommend one of their boards. They are the only vender that accepted a faulty board from me for warranty. Others make you return them to the vendor. Whatever brand you decide on, use pricewatch for the best price. I bought my last board from GPS Computer Services. Newegg also has good prices.

 

[bungee]

There is something funny with that description: if you want PIII/Celeron, then you won't find a board that will support up to 1.5GHz because both will never go over 1GHz anyway. Only Tualatin could go a bit over 1 GHz, but not that much because it would be in competition with P4 which already do not have good sales...
Go AMD!

<font color=red>Hail total victory of AMD versus Intel!

 

[bungee]

...and you will easily find a board that have all these features with AMD. Look only for exemple Asus A7V133. What I recommend is get a Duron and you will later be able to upgrade to a athlon 1700 in one year for a ridiculous price.

<font color=red>Hail total victory of AMD versus Intel!

 

[Crashman]

If you want to support futer processors, you will have to wait for good Tualatin compatable motherboards, such as the Asus TUSL2-C, to reach the market. But maybe not-there should be slotkets for older Slot1 motherboards that will make the necessary voltage changes for using the Tualatin. The Abit SH6 is an i815 board with Slot 1 that should support those new slotkets for the new Tualatins when they become available.
Want to go cheap for good quality? Try the Blaster PC from Tigerdirect.com. It comes with built in SB LIve Platinum 5.1 sound, motherboard, case, power supply, an FM tuner, and a remote for the sound, for only $150. That's the same price as the sound system would cost separately, so it's really the best motherboard deal out there. It uses the BX chipset and supports up to a 133FSB.

Video killed my Radio Card!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the recommendation, but I really was looking for a motherboard, for an Intel, with a 370pin socket.

 

[Crashman]

I'm fairly sure that I explained the situation-the Tualatin, Intel's new PIII, needs a new revision of the chipset which supports a new voltage signal. Current Socket 370 boards, such as the Asus CUSL2, are not supposed to be compatable. But most companies are producing NEWER versions of their motherboard which DO support the Tualatin, Asus's will be the TUSL2-C. So if you really want a good motherboard that will support the Tualatin, your going to have to wait. Maybe a couple weeks. Maybe a couple more.
If you need something right NOW, I recommended a Slot1 with a Slotket, simply because revised Slotkets should support the Tualatin. That way you end up replacing a Slotket instead of the entire board.

Video killed my Radio Card!

 

[Guest]

Maybe I'm missing something, but current motherboards with a 370 socket, for example like Abit VH6T, DO have support for the Tualatin, and have BIOS default setting which go to 1.6ghz on a 12 multiplier. It’s a board which fits perfectly what I’m looking for, and sits on store shelves as we speak. I was asking opinions as to maybe discover other options that I haven't discovered yet.

 

[Crashman]

Missed something? Only the fact that VIA=garbage! Seriously, I would wait a couple weeks to get a TUSL2-C, they are already selling them in Japan for weeks now and I expect them in the U.S. market fairly soon. The main reason for building a PIII system is so that you can use the superior Intel chipsets!

Video killed my Radio Card!

 

[Guest]

I highly doubt the VIA deserves such a strong word like "trash". Simple logic suggests that Abit, a respectable company, would not put out a product if it was really that "trash". But you have the right to your own opinion, so let's leave it at that.

The thing is with the upcoming TUSL2-C is it supports only 512MB ram, and I'm more than sure, even without downloading the manual, that it won't take a 512MB chip (or 256mb single sided, which makes this motherboard no good as I already have 3 chips) This very low memory ceiling maybe is acceptable for playing Quake, but not a computer which will get heavy use with few graphic apps open, along with word processing, email, and other day to day applications.

 

[Crashman]

I doubt that you need more than 512MB, and Tom even stated that the CUSL2 was one of the few motherboards that could support 512MB modules, the TUSL2 being virtually the same.

Video killed my Radio Card!

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

i hate to disapoint you but the abit vh6t only goes up to 1ghz! i just read the manual which you can find easily at abits site and look up the motherboard.

My sig is better then your's!