Picking the right mobo for my stuff

[OAPTyf]

Lo peeps,

Ever since I bought a new maxtor hdd that isn't recognised by my old Asus P2B-F, and therefore being defaulted to some PIO working mode, hehe, I've been wondering what new mobo to buy.

So I read a lot and got to these choices:
Gigabyte 7VAXP
gigabyte 7vrxp
epox ep-8k3a+
asus a7v8x
asus a7n8x
I'm looking to buy an AMD 2200 with that and 512MB of 2700 memory.
Any ideas which mobo will be best? Ooh, and what mem stick? 2*256 or 1*512 mem?

This is the other stuff it will have to work with btw:
Maxtor D740X 40GB ATA133 7200RPM IDE
PSU 350 Watt P4/AMD ATX
Point of View Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti4200 64MB SE 3.3ns TV-OUT Dual head DVI
creative SB Live (onboard?)
realtek rtl8139 (onboard?)
1*cd-rom, 1*cd-rw
iiyama s701gt visionmaster 400

Last question (yes we're getting there, hehe). Will the new mobo fit in the same old midi tower ATX case?

Any help is much appreciated and so are other suggestions btw! :^)

E

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Buy a nFroce2 board. I recommend ASUS A7N8X or Epox 8RDA+

Let us know <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=25703#25703" target="_new"> What File compression format you use? </A>

 

[andlcs]

MOBO: Asus A7N8X (nforce2).
MEMORY: 1* 512MB stick if the Chipset isn't the nforce2 or 2* 256MB if it is Nforce2.
CASE: The MOBO fits in a mid tower ATX case.

 

[halkebul]

The Asus A7N8X deluxe is the best AMD Athlon motherboard available. Use DDR400+ to better prepare for a future upgrade to a 400MHz DDR FSB Barton processor. In which case, your memory could run in sync with your FSB - 400MHz/400MHz. Results in better performance. The onboard audio of the A7N8X Deluxe is certainly top-notch so no need for the creative sound card. A7N8X Deluxe also has Firewire and not one but two ethernet ports.

My recommendation
-----------------
Asus A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard
AMD XP 2200+ Processor Retail
Two <A HREF="http://www.coldconcept.com/default.php/cPath/39_42/osCsid/bacb71282522ff2370ab505db85302d5" target="_new">OCZ 256MB PC3500 Enhanced Latency (EL) memory modules</A>

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=527833#527833" target="_new">Official A7N8X Thread</A>

<i>It's your world kid!!!</i>

 

[OAPTyf]

Lo,

Thanks for your help, much appreciated! :^)
I'll have a look around now to see if I can actually buy those parts around here, hehe! The 3500 memory I haven't seen yet, so will probably be a no-go there :^\

E

 

[OAPTyf]

Lo,

1 more question! :^D

What would be the best cpu cooler for this system if I do intend to overclock it in the future?
The memory btw will probably be Dane-Elec 2700. And I'm going for either an 2100 or 2200 AMD cpu.

Thanks again.

E

 

[halkebul]

What would be the best cpu cooler for this system if I do intend to overclock it in the future?

For overclocking, instead of getting the XP 2200+, I would get a XP 1600+ (Thoroughbred) OEM processor and a Thermalright SK-800 heatsink and Vantech 80MM tornado fan.

<i>It's your world kid!!!</i>

 

[OAPTyf]

Uuh, now u got me confused, hehe! Why get slower stuff when u want to O/C?

Ooh btw, been checking prices and all... :^\ It'll prolly end up with just 1 256MB 2700 memory stick... And the nforce2 version mobos seem hard to get over here, so perhaps I'll go for an Asus A7v8x! :^)

Thanks again for the help,

E

 

[halkebul]

The lower CPU multiplier of the 1600+ will allow for higher FSB speeds. FSB speed is more important than pure clock speed. That is a 1600+ overclocked to 1.8GHz (10.5 CPU-Multiplier x 171MHz FSB = 1.8GHz) is faster than a 2200+(1.8GHz) because it has a faster FSB speed, 171MHz vs 133MHz respectively. In any case, I would get quality DDR400+ memory for the purpose of overclocking and for a future upgrade to 400MHz DDR FSB Barton processor. In which case, your memory, operating at 400MHz, could run in sync with the 400MHz DDR FSB of the barton processor - results in better performance.

<i>It's your world kid!!!</i>

 

[snotling]

I would wait for a Hammer (IF you're into AMD CPUs) all you need right now (unless you play a lot of first person shooters or the like) is a better IDE adapter. a PCI ATA100 card will do the thing.

if your CPU is 350MHZ or better stay with it a few more months.

 

[snotling]

yeah, it's only ONE season. If you managed until now with that old compusaurus you might as well wait a little bit longer, you're not gaming on that old thing are you?

you're the one who knows best. I you can wait, the wait else don't!

consider I was partly joking. ;-)