I'm upgrading: Please recommend a budget chip and motherboard in the AMD line...

[Kevin Alexander]

I currently have a AMD K6-2 350Mhz processor w/ an AOpen AX59 Pro motherboard, Voodoo 3 3000, and 320 megs of PC100 SDRAM. I am interested in a budget new chip and motherboard and would like to stay in the AMD line (700 Mhz or higher) without breaking the bank. I will even settle for used hardware to save even more money. What options do I have?

 

[Chris Mannes]

Here's a link to the 'value system' guide at AnandTech.
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.html?i=1513
He breaks it down based on what you want to do with the computer.
But to 'rip' out his MotherBoard & CPU recommendations.
CPU:
AMD Duron 900 - $ 65
AMD Athlon 1Ghz - $100
MotherBoard:
EPoX EP-8KHA - $120
ASUS A7S-VM - $100

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Tiger direct has a STEAL on a MB & Processor combo, if you're not super picky on brand name and you don't need ISA slots...
I bought one of these Shuttle AI61 AMD Thunderbird combos w/ 900mhz, and it worked great (I had to get rid of it becsue the chipset was not compatible with my Echo Studio Audio card)... I sold it to a friend, and he loves it (does hardcore gaming on his rig too!)
Shuttle AI61 Slot A Motherboard
w/ Athlon 800 Thunderbird CPU
$109
Shuttle AI61 Motherboard
with Athlon 800 Thunderbird CPU
& Creative Labs 128-Voice PCI Sound Card
$129
Shuttle AI61 Motherboard
with Athlon 850 Thunderbird CPU
& Creative Labs 128-Voice PCI Sound Card
$139
Shuttle AI61 Motherboard
with Athlon 900 Thunderbird CPU
& Creative Labs 128-Voice PCI Sound Card
$159
Or if you don't like Shuttle MB, you can get a Micro Epox
Epox KL-133M Socket A Motherboard
w/ Duron 950MHz Processor
$169
-Vince
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http://www.musicianassist.com
AIM: VinceMaskeeper
Interested in moving into FRONT PROJECTION with huge 6-10 foot widescreen? Buy my whole HDTV-ready CRT based front projection system delivered, cheap! Click here

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Thanks Vince and Chris! Vince, if I go w/ the Tiger deal, will I have a problem fitting one of these into my ATX case, or can I use my existing one?

 

[SteveBjr]

Should work fine in an ATX case. Unless you have a mini tower (which i hate!) you won't have a problem. Most home computers use ATX.
I don't really care for motherboards with integrated sound cards/video cards but if you're not into hardcore gaming or audio work you should be fine.
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Steve,
DVD Collection

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

I don't really care for motherboards with integrated sound cards/video cards but if you're not into hardcore gaming or audio work you should be fine.

Just to be clear- the Shuttle board does nt come with onboard audio nor video (the epox seems to come with both onboard). They package the shuttles with a PCI Soundblaster card, but this is a seperate card that can be thrown away if you want- and you can use whatever card you want.
The board has a standard AGP slot- I used both an AGP and a PCI video card with the shuttle when I got it, and both worked fine.
Tiger also has package deals for other processors and whatnot (FIC mobo, and more if you just look around).
You can find more info on the shuttle boards: http://www.shuttleonline.com/
AIM: VinceMaskeeper
Interested in moving into FRONT PROJECTION with huge 6-10 foot widescreen? Buy my whole HDTV-ready CRT based front projection system delivered, cheap! Click here

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I'm you're gonna go for an Athlon, make sure your power supply and RAM are up to spec. Athlons are very picky about power supplies and if yours doesn't meet the criteria then you'll get a dog of a system. The AMD website has a list of Athlon-approved PS manufacturers. Same goes for RAM.
I'm not sure, but I don't think the Durons are as picky.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I just ordered the EPOX 8KHA motherboard ($105) and an AMD T-BIRD 1GHz CPU ($93 retail) from newegg.com.
Best prices I could find on the web for those components.
You can even get the OEM version of the CPU for $73 (with no heatsink or fan).
Really great prices that those guys have.
You'll need DDR RAM with that as well. Crucial.com sells a 256MB PC2100 DDR memory chip for $37.79 with free shipping.
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Andres
http://home.earthlink.net/~coolvirus

 

[SteveBjr]

You guys should try http://www.pricewatch.com That also depends on FSB. The price listed above is for 200FSB but the 266s are only a few dollars more.
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Steve,
DVD Collection

 

[Chris]

Seriously.. look at the ECS SIS735 chipset (DDR) board.. eats everything else out there for lunch:
http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/showdoc.html?i=1520

 

[Camp]

I agree with Chris. The new SIS 735 is very fast -and a great value for the ECS mobo at $60. This is the value mobo right now (funny, a "value" mobo that outperforms the most expensive products).

 

[John_Bonner]

Like Andres I went to Newegg for the majority of my system. Great prices. Here's what I put together:
Case: Enlight 7327 w/300W p/s $50
Mobo: Epox 8K7A $120
CPU: AMD 1.2GHz TBird (266FSB) $98
H/S Fan: Thermoengine (Sidewindercomputers.com) $25
Case fan: Sunon 80mm $8
RAM: 256MB DDR (Crucial.com) $37
HDD: IBM Deskstar 60GB 60XGP $152
Video: ATI Radeon LE 32MB DDR $71
Sound: Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (mwave.com) $70
Printer: Epson Stylus Photo 870 (mwave.com) $119
FDD: Mitsumi 1.44 $9
CD-RW: from old pc
As Chris noted, Anandtech is a great source for info. Lively forums as well.
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JB
"These go to eleven" - Nigel Tufnel