• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Gigabyte GA-81GX or Abit BD7II ???

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

scrappydog

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2002
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Any recommendations between a Gigabyte GA-81GX or an Abit BD7II? The system will have a P4 1.6A and OCZ PC3000 512Mb stick.

Criteria:
-- Decent overclockability, but stable
-- Will use standard retail Intel heatsink & fan
-- Needs onboard audio
-- Not too expensive
-- RAID not important
-- Mostly used for lightweight stuff (web surfing, office apps)

I've never used either board so any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!
 
BaldHeadedDork said:
And if you want to overclock, ditch the OCZ for Corsair XMS or Crucial.


BHD
I'm stuck with the OCZ -- I have two 512MB sticks. Thanks tho. BTW, it's for my g/f who wouldn't know how to crush her system... hence the need for quality but relatively inexpensive components (and onboard audio) ;)
 
Last edited:
If you could wait for another 2 weeks or so, the release of Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra or Pro is very near. I like GA-8PE667 because it has VCore voltage setting up to 1.80V, AGP voltage setting up to 1.70V and DDR voltage setting up to 2.80V. Not to mention the officially supported Hyper Threading Technology for this newer board.

Abit BD7-2 doesn't have AGP voltage setting, and the VCore and DDR voltage is limited up to 1.7V and 2.7V respectively. You need AGP voltage setting in some circumstances, especially with GF4 card series at high FSB.

For overclocking capability, I think they are equally the same. It just that Abit has bigger name in overclocking arena. The quality of Gigabyte mobo probably better than Abit because Gigabyte produce its own boards, whereas Abit subcontract its boards to ECS. Is this enough suggestion?

Personnaly, I am waiting GA-8PE667 Pro version. Currently I am using Abit BD7.
 
Last edited:
Thanks RENWICK...... looks like I'll be waiting for a Granite-Bay board once the rush & flaws all settle down anyway.
 
Wait for the BE7, you might get the full potential from your OCZ3000 memory. The Intel 845e chipset limits overclockability of memory above PC2700. I have 512MB of Samsung PC3200, and I can not get the memory clock speed above 392Mhz since the board does not officially support memory other than PC2100 and PC1600. I am extremely satisfied with this BD7II. Just my two cents.
 
Apparently NewEgg do great prices on refurbished boards
like the bd7-2. For a new, inexpensive overclockers board
have a look at the Epox 4pea
 
Well I'm ditching Abit. I've been running them for over 4 years, and they just ain't what they used to be.

Problems most accompanying Abit products:
Had several BIOS issues; I've personally had BIOS issues with the BL and BD series mobos, and the IT7 Max mobos is now having cold boot issues as well as issues running WinXP SP1.(I don't have the MAX mobo.)

Abit's tech support has become very spotty. You'll see complaints here about on a fairly regular basis.

Abit products are lacking in keeping up with latest trends or new innovations. The main and only thing Abit mobos has in their favor is their oc'ing options and Asus has broader options than Abit, for example.

Abit mobos has had a constant problem with their caps leaking and blowing, killing the mobo. Abit will not respond to this problem in any meaningful manner. They use cheap under powered caps and the most they've said about it was they got a bad batch.

Their voltages are reported incorrectly, inparticular their cpu and ram voltages. Same applies to their temp readings.

And to me the worst problem with Abit mobos is their High Point Raid controllers. There has been more problems associated with this than most anything else. Systems hang more, they were more subject to cold boot, or boot issues, the HP raid is finicky and even slow compared to Promise raid. If I were even considering an Abit mobo, it would be without the HP raid, and I would add my own Promise controller card, which in fact is what I done. (Though I disabled the HP raid controller on my mobo.)

I think from what I've read the Gigabyte mobo you mentioned is much more stable and has the Promise raid controller already installed. (I was considering the Gigabyte mobos for awhile before settling on Asus.) Gigabyte in the past has shown to be fairly responsive to customer complaints and rma's, as well as timely updates. I like their dual BIOS also, but it something you'd hopefully never need.

The ONLY problem I see with the Gigabyte mobos is they don't oc as well as Abits. Plus you they do not directly give you the main oc'ing screen in BIOS. (You have to hit a key combo to enter it.)

Many people do have good luck with Abit mobos and some people do have bad luck with Gigabyte mobos. It just depends on what the person sees for himself in what he is looking for or has.

Personally I'm gonna get a Asus P4PE and order it today or tomorrow, as soon as I can figure out which grade of it I want.
But I would also consider the Gigabyte over the Abit as long as I wasn't intending on pushing my oc'ing to the limits.

Just my .02 cents worth.

Cheers,
Mike
 
Last edited:
grunid said:
Wait for the BE7, you might get the full potential from your OCZ3000 memory...

I decided to get the Asus P4S533 (I needed a board immediately), which is doing a decent o/c. I'm at 142FSB & a 4:5 divider on a P4 1.8A & the OCZ PC3000. It boots fast, stable as a rock. I also built a system for my neighbor with the same configuration -- he's getting 150FSB & a 4:5 with his Corsair XMS. A 900MHz o/c ain't bad. Anyway, thanks for the feedback everyone -- it is much appreciated.
 
Back