AOPEN AK75?

[YATLA]

Am searching for a decent cheap MB for a new mid range system and found the AOPEN AK75 on newegg. It's a SIS745 based board for $63. Any experience with this board? Any other suggestions in this price range (not intersted in ECS K7S5A)?

 

[Zivatar]

I used the AK75 in a machine I built for my wife with an XP1600+. It's an excellent basic board--stable, subjectively fast, faster bootup than most, cheap, easy to set up. My impression is that the quality is higher than on other inexpensive boards. No SDRAM option--DDR only. I haven't tried to overclock it, so nothing to report there.

 

[Crashman]

It certainly LOOKS like a good board, although I don't have any personal experience. I usually recommend the MSI 745 Ultra, but it's possible the AK75 might have more features, I haven't looked. The 745 is a great chipset when you get your board from a reliable manufacturer.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[YATLA]

Thanks, Zivatar - do you know if the AK75 supports USB2.0, can't seem to find this specified on AOPEN or SIS websites. Crashman, was planning to order everything from newegg but they don't carry the MSI 745. While I checked the MSI board, I saw the KT3 Ultra2 for $85. Is the KT333 a better chipset than SIS 745? The MSI board support USB 2.0 which I want for future and also IDE133 max vs 100 on SIS which I won't need, also looks like the MSI has a better built in audio. I saw the KT3 Ultra2 as a recommeded KT333 board, but is it worth the additonal $22? I'm building this for my sister and no need for overclocking, just want a good fast stable board.

 

[Crashman]

I don't support VIA because of a two year long support issue I had with them.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[Zivatar]

The AK75 is USB 1.1 only, as are all SiS 745 chipset boards, AFAIK. The next generation SiS chipsets are supposed to support 2.0, but aren't out yet, and heaven knows when they will be. In a few weeks there should be a broader and cheaper selection of Nforce 2 boards, supposedly including one from Aopen. If you're looking for board longevity, that may be the way to go.

 

[YATLA]

Thanks. I need to build this christmas week, will we see <$100 nForce2 boards by then? If I spend $25 for a USB 2.0 card then the older cheaper boards work out to be about $90 total anyways.

 

[bdaley]

Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a USB 1.1 board (older) and then a USB 2.0 card, when you can get a USB 2.0 board (newer) for about the same prices.

"There's no such thing as gravity, the Earth just sucks."

 

[CaptainNemo]

I'm thinking about an AK75 too - the thing is, I don't have any USB 2.0 peripherals and I probably won't have any for a while (I would rather buy USB 2.0/Firewire/RAID on separate cards anyway).

Are the SiS chipsets generally less hassle/trouble free than the VIA ones? (I have no intention of overclocking).

 

[bdaley]

I'm currently using VIA on one PC and SIS on my other PC. I've never had a problem with either chipset.

"There's no such thing as gravity, the Earth just sucks."

 

[YATLA]

If you don't need USB 2.0, then the SIS 745 boards look to be the best value for DDR266 systems. The MSI 745 board recommended earlier is priced the same as the AOPEN, and(given other expereince, not on these boards) the MSI is probaly the better built board. You can find both on pricewatch, but I plan to order the parts from newegg based on their customer service, but newegg doesn't carry this MSI board. If you can find a reliable supplier, suggest the MSI is best bet for a value board without USB 2.0.

At this point I'm leaning towards the MSI KT3 Ultra2 which has USB 2.0 for $81 and the board has excellent reviews and good feedback from users on newegg.