best motherboard with an ISA slot

[jabot]

Just curious -- does anyone have any suggestions as to the best motherboard available (one that will house the latest/fastest processors & ram) with an ISA slot? I am stuck with one ISA sound card, a HardSid Quattro, which is only available in ISA... So I'm looking to build the fastest computer I can with the limitation being that it requires an ISA slot.

Also, are there any performance bottlenecks because of the presence of an ISA slot, or is it just a matter of the chipset supporting it?


Thanks for any help.
jason

 

[Spitfire_x86]

I can't remember any motherboard that takes latest/fastest Athlon XP and P4's and have an ISA slot. All modern motherboards are equipped with onboard audio. Onboard audio is of three kinds--

1. Chipset integrated AC-97 audio
2. Sound chip soldered in motherboard
3. Nvidia nForce APU (Audio Processing unit)

This list is sorted based on quality. AC-97 audio is at least as good as your ISA sound card. Mobo soldered sound chips sounds like SB Live!. nForce APU is at least as good as SB Live! Audigy Platinum. Note that nForce APU is found only nForce 220/420/415-D chipset based motherboards.

Afterall, you don't need to plug your ISA sound card in today's mainboards. They are equal or better than your sound card.

 

[Mordy]

Wow! the card looks like it cost more that whole your next computer!
You didn't tell which system you thought about...

AMD:
There is some KT-133A (SDRAM) boards that acording to manufacturer (don't know how true is it) should support A-XP and even T-Bred:

Abit Kt7a(R) -latest pcb version
Chaintech 7aja2
Tyan S2390B

there was more, DDR versions too,but i remember only what was sold where i live.

P4 - There was some MSI mobo for p-4 with isa slot, i can't find it on their site/

Tualatin - There is more options for that cpu

 

[chuck232]

Spitfire's idea is best. Chuck the card and use the integrated sound. Chances are it'll be at least as good. Plus, I'm sure it'll be more worth it to get something a little more *modern* . Most mobos with ISA slots would be limited, for example would not support northwood procs or wouldn't be able to use the t-bred/barton cores...

<i>Past mistakes may make you look stupid, but avoiding future ones will make you look smart!</i>

 

[jabot]

perhaps you're missing the point:

this isn't *just* a sound card -- it's actually a card which drives the 6581/8580 sound synthesis chips used in the Commodore 64s. The board is not used to reproduce PCM wave audio like modern sound cards, it drives 4 independent 'synthesizers on chips', essentially. As this is a very low-production unit (mine is serial#251 or something like that), for technical reasons (timing I guess) and cost issues a PCI version was not made.

check it out, maybe you'll understand what i mean:

www.hardsid.com

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Commodore 64 is a history now. It's features should no longer be attractive. Your synthesizer (Midi Synthesizer?) should be nothing better than a FM systhesizer (worst midi synthesizer).

Almost every sound card and onboard audio drivers install Microsoft GM/GS software synthesizer. It sounds pretty good.

I you are not satisfied with it's quality, use Quick time player to play your midi files. Quick time Midi synthesizer is the best sounding software synthesizer today.

FORGET YOUR ISA CARD. YOU MAY KEEP IT AS AN ANTIQUE.

 

[jihiggs]

in my opinion, a company that is still selling a card that only supports isa is laughable. for a board that still has an isa slot your going to have to go back to the abit ka7 days, think that was the last amd board abit made with an isa slot, after that they started pushing cnr, also a joke.

how do you shoot the devil in the back? what happens if you miss? -verbal

 

[phsstpok]

I think the Pentium mobos were the last Intel platforms with an ISA slot. KT133A were the last AMD platforms. Some of the latter are still being made. I think Epox and Iwill are still producing these. You can also find Abit and Asus KT133A boards which have an ISA slot. The Epox EP-8KTA3PRO and +PRO support up to Athlon XP 2000. Don't know what the other KT133A boards support.

ISA has a definite bandwidth limitation, a paltry 2 MB/sec. Not sure how that applies to your synthesizer card but the bandwidth is no worse than all previous incarnations of ISA.


<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[chuck232]

I've got a Dell PIII600E and my mobo has got a... YES!!! ISA!!

<i>Past mistakes may make you look stupid, but avoiding future ones will make you look smart!</i>

 

[phsstpok]

I could bluff and say it was a typo but it's not the case. I forgot about i810 OEM systems.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[Crashman]

I'll sell you an Abit BE6-II, the champion of old BX boards, and a Powerleap IP3/T adapter, together for the low low price of $120. Then you could mount a PIII Tualatin 1400 with 512k cache on it.

<font color=blue>By now you're probably wishing you had asked more questions first!</font color=blue>

 

[deadkenny]

Oh no! Not another, "I gotta have an ISA slot" thread. I doubt that you'll find anything too recent. Older socket A is probably your best bet. The ISA slots were being phased out around the time of the slot 1 pentiums. I had a P3B-F with one ISA slot, but even that was optional. You'd be hard pressed to find a socket 370 with an ISA and I doubt there are any P4 boards with an ISA.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

my old board had 1 ISA slot...
the Iwill KK266-plusR.
based on the KT133A chipset.
decent board, though not as fast as the current DDR ones.

<b>Before visiting THG i was a clueless noob. Now im still clueless, but look at my nice title!<b>

 

[llewelyn]

if you want to do the dirty and mix intel with via this motherboard has got two isa slots: SOYO SY-7VBA133U VIA 694T .
an isa card does demand more from the cpu.