Which KT266a Mobo?

[Guest]

I'm looking to upgrade my cpu/motherboard from my current PIII 1ghz with a Tyan Trinity 400. I'm most likely going to buy a Via KT266a Mobo with a high speed Athlon, but only have around $225 for Mobo/Cpu/Cooling.

I've looked at the MSI and Shuttle boards in particular... I'm a fan of MSI and have been for awhile; I've built several systems for friends using their products with no complaints at all and great stability. The RU version of the MSI is very appealing, I need IDE Raid but only to use the extra IDE connectors. I've heard that since the MSI RU board has a "Lite" Raid chip, it only supports HDD's and only in a Raid config... Is that true? Can I run just a single HDD or two connected to the Raid connectors but not in a Raid 0/1 config?

The Shuttle board is cheap, and seems great, but I'm not sure about the stability/feature set...

Also, what speed TBird CPU should I get?

Thanks,
empy

 

[Guest]

I forgot to mention that I am not really into overclocking, but I may get into it a little with this new config. I'm leaning towards the MSI K7T266 Pro2-RU... Anyone know where the cheapest price online for this board can be found? Thanks...

 

[o1die]

I have the shuttle ak31 version 3.1, from newegg for $90. No major problems so far. I like having all the overclocking features in the bios (no dip switches) and 6 pci slots. I don't need raid. I was able to get into windows at 150 fsb, but with 2 different brands of memory, it won't run stable at that speed. I would suggest one stick of 256 or 512 crucial for better stability.

 

[Guest]

I haven't seen any of the RU boards on sale yet adn they are th only one's that i've seen with Raid onboard. My memory may be incorrect. Anybody know the other KT266A boards with RAID?

If you're looking to only spend $225 than your options are limited. I'd suggest the following (prices I quote are from pricewatch.com and will include S/H):
1. AK31A $94 from Megamax.com
2. Thermaltake Volcano 5 - $19 Tcwo.com
3. Athlon 1.33Ghz - $105 Tcwo.com
4. The S/H from TCWO.com is $6.95 and covers up to 150lbs.

For a grand total of $224.95 - you can send the extra nickel to me for services rendered. The 1.4Ghz Athlon is $124 from TCWO.

 

[Guest]

I would go to this site to do some reading and then try to go to a benchmark site for test
http://www.motherboards.org
Motherboard reviews, tips, and performance comparisons

 

[njeske]

The DFI AD-70 series currently uses the KT266 chipset and has a version with RAID onboard. They are going to be migrating over to the KT266A chipset soon, so their should be a board based on the KT266A with onboard RAID for cheap here pretty soon.

DFI isn't as well known as many other brands, but I have used their boards for years and I have never had a problem with them. They are rock solid and DFI offers good documentation and phone/email support.


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