Intel 845G motherboards

I am looking at the MSI 845GVM-L motherboard for basic, inexpensive computers for general office use. It has all the usual onboard everything, video, audio, lan and a AGP slot. Really need a good stable motherboard to base these machines on. Is this a good one or is there another "everything onboard" 845G chipset based mobo's that I should consider. Thanks for any suggestion or recommendation...

I really like the 845G chipset for the application you are talking about. But I wouldn't choose MSI. Their reputation for quality is a clear step below the third-party class leaders. (Asus, Abit and Gigabyte)

If reliability is your first concern, I'd choose Intel house-brand boards. Here are a couple of links to Newegg, the first is a model that uses PC133, which for basic office work is perfectly adequate and a way to save money on memory. The second uses DDR.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=13-121-152&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=13-121-143&depa=1




BHD

I'm using the Aopen AX4G Pro board with the 845G chipset and it really surprised me. I knew Aopen had a good reputation for stability but not for overclocking, so didn't get my hopes up when it came to being able to overclock.... Turns out i had nothing to worry about once i flashed the bios. I can overclock to 2.9ghz pretty easily. It's also one of the 845G chipset boards that has unofficial DDR333 support. If overclocking isn't a priority but general stability is, i would still definitely take a look at this board, you may very well like what you see. It's also cheaper than most leading brands (Asus, Gigabyte, Abit, etc.) but every bit as stable.

There is a thing with MSI. It makes mobos that are stable but they do not support any overclocking. As long as you are running everything at stock and wont' be overclocking then I would say go with MSI. But if you are planning to overclock then stay with Gigabyte, Asus, Abit, Soyo etc.

Hookem said:

I am looking at the MSI 845GVM-L motherboard for basic, inexpensive computers for general office use. It has all the usual onboard everything, video, audio, lan and a AGP slot. Really need a good stable motherboard to base these machines on. Is this a good one or is there another "everything onboard" 845G chipset based mobo's that I should consider. Thanks for any suggestion or recommendation...

Click to expand...

Hey there Hookem ,

I too am looking for P4 mobo for the same reasons (basic STABLE PC) .

So far the only choice I've come up with to my liking thus far including price , is the ABIT BH7 . It does have more than I really need (but no onboard video) and it has gotten very good reviews and is STABLE as all heck from what I've read .


Googlegear has it the cheapest at $87 HERE (Newegg $92)
There is also a very recent review of the BH7 at Googlegear's page (VR-ZONE review) .

If you come up with some better ideas , please post'em

TIA , stereo555

I have been asking around and it seems that the Aopen 845G chipset motherboards are a popular choice for office application box's, cheap, stable and onboard everything...I have had no luck with Abit boards...Always something...Never had one just fire up and run...I am leaning towards the Intel boards as they are not much more expensive than the Aopen's...They have one at newegg that has a AGP slot, runs ddr memory and supports the 533fsb P-4's...It is 97.00 bones but from everything that I can gather anyway they are rock solid right out of the box...No issues, put em together and ship em on out the door...I am ordering the parts for one tonight and should have it together early next week...If you do not use the Intel board, every recommendation other than them is the Aopen's...I will post my parts list later tonight, still have not decided on a processor...I want them to be cheap, but fast too boot...