Sorry this post somewhat straddles the fence between "Motherboards and Other Categories". My main concern is a solid motherboard that fits my needs. I want the most bang for the buck, within the $166 limit for a Motherboard. I've already pretty much decided on the other components, some new and some existing. See below for details...

I'm trying to find a decent Socket 939 Motherboard that supports AGP 8x and DDR-400 memory. I'm trying to save $400 on the cost of an upgrade (would save me more than 50% over a basic am2 setup) so I can use my existing memory and video card (see below). I don't have the option of going with AM2 or Intel 775, as it will cost me around $800 to do the upgrade I need (mb, mem, cpu, video, hdd).

If I go with the not-so-upgradable dying socket 939 platform, that should give me another year or two on the lifespan of my current box before making a full transition to AMD, Intel 775 or whatever platform is current at that time. My budget is $400 for the following...

Motherboard:
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (SanDiego) w/1MB Cache, Socket 939 ($89 at ZipZoomFly)
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD2500KS 250GB 7200RPM w/16MB Buffer (Qty = 2) ($145 at ZipZoomFly)

Will use the following existing hardware along with the Motherboard, Processor and Hard Drives...

Memory: Crucial 2GB PC-3200 Memory (2x1GB Dual Channel Mode)
Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro 128MB AGP 8x
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamer Edition

REQUIREMENTS: (in order to be able to use the majority of my internal components)

1) Minimum of 2 IDE (UATA100/133) and 2 SATA connectors (SATA300 preferable)
2) Minimum of 4 USB2 ports (6 or 8 preferable)
3) Minimum of 2 DDR memory slots (4 preferable)

After the CPU and Hard Drives, that leaves me with $166 or less for a solid Motherboard. I assume I can get a decent one for under $100. Any suggestions, other than not wasting the $$$ and going with AM2 or Core 2 Duo? Thanks! :-)

-- MaSoP

I have two systems built with this board and it has been 100% stable for me. The great thing is it has an AGP and a PCI-E slot. So you can upgrade later on. Check out the link. Too bad NewEgg does not have any in stock at this time but I am certain other places carry them.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157097

Trying to base your upgrade around existing memory is a tough one but understood my many others here. I was forced to buy a new mobo and depart from the AGP ranks but it's really not all that bad. Here's what you can do with the same money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813186086
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 814130073R

There will be about a million different opinions and options but it gets you out of the "stuck with AGP" ranks and a decent upgrade with at least a few upgrade options.

I coulnd't find anyone that had the VSTA - 939 AGP/PCIe boards in stock when I was looking about a month ago. It's a great "get by" option if you can find one.

Yeah, it seems to be quite hard to find. I believe it was released to market over the spring or summer of '06 and surprises me how hard it is to locate, even with fast turn-over in the IT world. I was hoping to pickup an Asus M2N-E board along with an ATI X1950 PCI-E and 2GB of OCZ memory, etc...

I suppose the timing is bad. I still am hoping to find an available 939 board. There is another ASRock model that is hard to find too. I believe it is the AM2NF3-VSTA. I located it on eBay but the pricing was higher than retail and there was nearly a week left with no buy it now option. That one also is out of stock everywhere that carries it as well.

-- MaSoP

Yeah, it seems to be quite hard to find. I believe it was released to market over the spring or summer of '06 and surprises me how hard it is to locate, even with fast turn-over in the IT world. I was hoping to pickup an Asus M2N-E board along with an ATI X1950 PCI-E and 2GB of OCZ memory, etc...

I suppose the timing is bad. I still am hoping to find an available 939 board. There is another ASRock model that is hard to find too. I believe it is the AM2NF3-VSTA. I located it on eBay but the pricing was higher than retail and there was nearly a week left with no buy it now option. That one also is out of stock everywhere that carries it as well.

-- MaSoP


I guess if you guys find some post it and let us know.....I might pick up one for a back up since I have two machines with that board...

i just got a response from the manuf that they discontinued the 939 dual and upgraded the components and gave it a new name.

here's the URL for it.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview. [...] eDual-VSTA

this boatd has both AGP 8x and the PCI E and 7.1 ch audio on the brd

here's a summary of the brd:

Supports FSB1066/800/533MHz processors and H-T Technology

Supports Dual Channel DDRII667 (DDRII x 2 DIMM slots) and DDR400 (DDR x 2 DIMM slots)

Untied Overclocking : During Overclocking, FSB enjoys better margin due to fixed AGP/PCIE/ PCI Buses

1 x PCI Express Graphics slot
1 x AGP 8X slot

Hybrid Booster - Safe Overclocking Technology

2 x SerialATA 1.5Gb/s connectors, support RAID 0, 1, JBOD functions

HDMI_SPDIF header, providing SPDIF audio output to HDMI VGA card, allows the system to connect HDMI Digital TV/projector/LCD devices.

7.1 CH Windows® Vista™ Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec)

Supports all features in Windows® Vista™ Premium

HD 8CH I/O: 4 ready-to-use USB2.0 ports, HD 7.1 channel audio jacks