GEOS said:
My ECS K7S5A finally crapped out and I just want something to tide me
over till next year when dual core will be pretty much mainstream. Not
looking for anything exotic; just the basics: something stable,
USB2.0, LAN, 5PCI. I've been checking Anand and Toms but there are so
many choices, who can decide?
The 5 PCI may be an issue. A lot of the boards for Socket A still
available are for mATX cases. What about the Abit KV7 based on the Via
KT600 chipset? I do NOT like the northbridge fan on it, though. I don't
like northbridge fans and have found them to be unreliable and largely
unnecessary. The Abit NF7-M has the same northbridge fan that I dislike,
but it is based on the nForce chipset and has the 5 PCI slots that you
require, LAN, plus onboard video. I can't see if the boards specify
USB2.0 but I'd be EXTREMELY suprised if any new board didn't have
USB2.0. You'll want to confirm these details before purchasing.
PS are there IDE > SATA adapters if I want to use my IDE drives with a
SATA MB?
The above board comes with two IDE connectors for a total of 4 IDE
drives. That said, yes, IDE -> SATA adapters are available for about
$25USD each drive (however, I don't search too many US sites, so you
could probably find these cheaper).
Cheers,
Ari
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transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
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