Gigabyte or MSI

[Guest]

I'm currently thinking of uprading from my Athlon 700 to an Athlon XP 1.7, and I'm torn between two motherboards. I've heard that the VIA KT-266A chipset is the way to go, so I've narrowed it down to two models (mainly because these are the ones my local computer shop stocks): the Gigabyte 7VTXE+ and the MSI K7T 266 Pro2.

I've had a glance at the official sites, and both boards seem pretty similar. I was wondering if anyone could give any recommendations one way or the other? I'm currently leaning towards the Gigabyte, because it's 15 bucks cheaper . But is this because it's inferior quality?

Also, what kind of power supply should I be looking at? I'm still using my old case, which I've had since my old Pentium 2. The label on the power supply says 250W Max, would that be enough?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[scamtrOn]

sorry this is not the answer, but a suggestion; wait

in the next 6 weeks much is going to happen that might make you feel you only upgraded to fall behined once again.

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[Guest]

Really? More motherboards and stuff being released?

I wasn't actually planning to upgrade until around July, but my computer recently had a heart attack (motherboard just stopped working, the comp barely even turns on), so it's kind of urgent. What sort of stuff is happening in the next few weeks?

 

[kief]

Both those boards are of a similar mid range quality. I have not heard problems with either, but on the other hand I have not heard good reports about either. My experience with OTHER board models suggests that Gigabyte is better then MSI, but then again ECS blows ass....but they do have one board everyone loves for Athlon so you cant always tell by brand alone!! Id say if you dont get any other opinions save $15 and get the Gigabyte. You may also want to check Toms reviews and see if that board is in one....

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[scamtrOn]

Tbred is coming. via has two new chipsets coming. higher FSB. new DDR ram. and more.

i'd say its worth waiting.

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[Guest]

I'm not concerned about falling behind in technology at the moment, I just need a computer, preferably a nice fast one. I haven't heard of Tbred, what's that?

After a bit more research, I'm leaning back towards the MSI board now. I still have an old ATA33 hard disk, which it doesn't look like the Gigabyte will support. Plus, the MSI has six USB ports, and even though I've only got one USB device, six ports sounds pretty cool.

So does anyone know what kind of power supply I'll need?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Huckstable on 03/21/02 01:13 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[o1die]

I would look into newegg's refurbished section, and get something that will tide you over until the thoroughbred arrives in 2-4 weeks. If you know your athlon 700 still works, you may want to replace the board only. If you have a classic athlon slot a, Justdeals has an fic sd11 listed for only $29.95 (must mention pricewatch). Check their website to see if they still have it in stock.

 

[prfstrkr]

Many sites have tests for various KT266 boards, and MSI is usually rated for lowest performance(becuz it's one of the earliest releases). However, it is highly recommended by these sites, due to the fact that it includes RAID and USB2.0 for only 10 bucks more or so. Plus, what it means by LOWEST PERFORMANCE is like 2 points here, 3 points there. So it really is unnoticeable.

I don't know why there is people saying"ECS kicks ass"...They do nothing but making the cheapest(QUALITY) board on this earth!

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=17357" target="_new">My Computer</A><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by prfstrkr on 03/29/02 11:55 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[prfstrkr]

For Athlon XP level CPU, I would highly recommend getting a Power Supplier @ 300 Watts AT LEAST. The more, the better.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=17357" target="_new">My Computer</A>

 

[camieabz]

With upgrades, multiple fans, drives, CD devices etc. I'd be going for a 400W or better.

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