[Taristin]

http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/socket_a/m7vkd/index.php3?name=M7VKD

This damn thing causes me so much stress... Maybe I should buy a new one... But I doubt I can aford a good one...

[pyro-manic]

Soltek SL-75FRN2-L - cheap, high quality, and easy to overclock with.  (£61.10 on www.overclockers.co.uk )

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]A long time ago I found out that a research is part of buying computer hardware, not only does it identify the best prices, it gives you some indication of how reliable the part you're looking at is.

Unfortunately I found this out not at my own cost (which would have been preferable) but at the cost of one of my friends, I built a computer for him using what I thought were good value parts; the motherboard turned out to be a lemon.

Thankfully he knew it wasn't my fault and has since got a better motherboard. Still, a bitter lesson to learn.
[/color]

[pyro-manic]

Yep. Mine 'sploded in April. Still haven't fixed it (only just got enough money now), but I ain't buying GigaByte again. Shiny new Epox or Soltek for me! And a new case, with decent cooling - the one that went pop ran a system temperature of 50 - odd degrees on a hot day if the case was shut. Not healthy....

[Stryke 9]

That's bad? Hell, mine does 70 on good days...

[Taristin]

Originally posted by pyro-manic
Soltek SL-75FRN2-L - cheap, high quality, and easy to overclock with.  (£61.10 on www.overclockers.co.uk )

This one's (in my PC now) very easy to overclock with, just set it in the BIOS.

I'll look into this, but I've only just fixed what went wrong now, so I'm kinda afraid to touch it...

Much research to do... Maybe I'll just buy a laptop

[Admiral LSD]

Originally posted by pyro-manic
Soltek SL-75FRN2-L - cheap, high quality, and easy to overclock with.  (£61.10 on www.overclockers.co.uk )

NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 (nForce2 SPP) + MCP

Yuck.

I woulldn't touch that board with a ten foot pole, especially when that same site has the EPoX 8RDA+ (which has an MCP-T) listed for £69.95.

[Solatar]

I got some Intel motherboard I picked up off www.newegg.com . Needless to say it's pretty compatable with my P4.

[diamondgeezer]

ASUS A7V8X-X. Forty five squids at overclockers, and a rather nice piece of kit. Plus, the name is cool.

[Grey Wolf]

I've heard that both the Epox and the Abit easily surpass the Asus in overclocking.

[Admiral LSD]

Originally posted by diamondgeezer
ASUS A7V8X-X. Forty five squids at overclockers, and a rather nice piece of kit. Plus, the name is cool.

Via chipsets suck though. nForce2 is the only sensible choice when it comes to Athlon chipsets.

[diamondgeezer]

I repeat: £45. Of course it's not the best board out there, but I can hardly complain at that price

[Admiral LSD]

The A7N8X-X is only £6.90 more

[Liberator]

Originally posted by Grey Wolf 2009
I've heard that both the Epox and the Abit easily surpass the Asus in overclocking.

Some of us don't like overclocking as it tends to shorten the lifespan of some rather expensive stuff.  Besides things are so fast these days, what's the point.

[Grey Wolf]

IIRC, if you overclock without increasing the voltages, it doesn't really affect the lifespan of the chip. I currently have an overclocked 1800+ running at 1.83GHz with reduced voltage, and I think that shouldn't really affect the lifespan of the chip.

And anyway, if you want to go cheap, go buy an nForce 2 400 (the single-channel one), not the VIA.

[pyro-manic]

Originally posted by Stryke 9
That's bad? Hell, mine does 70 on good days...

Ain't you got one of those weeny little cube-shaped thingies? (I think you posted a pic of it somewhere) With really fast bits inside? Mine was a big tower case, with an Athlon 1200 and a GF2Ti - not exactly the most powerful setup, so it shouldn't have been anywhere near that hot. Anyway, got a spanky new Antec  case (1080AMG, if anyone cares) with loads of fans now, so it won't be a problem when I get some new bits. Bloody expensive, though - blew nearly half a month's pay on the thing....