ASUS A7A266 good mobo?

[Bobby Manus]

Im looking for a good DDR motherboard, not necisarily for overclocking, but more stable and I dont want to have to bend over backwards to get it working right (like my KT7 133a =( . It does not necisarily need regular SDRAM slots on top of the DDR slots, but if it does thats good to. It has to support 266mhz FSB and 1.33 gig athlons. If there is such a thing as a good DDR mobo for o/cing, that is an option to. If there is a good DDR mobo I could also get a 1 gig AXIA and o/c to, but I have been out of the loop for a while and when I stoped there wasn't any good mobo that had DDR and good for o/cin. Hope you guys can help me out!! Thanks!

 

[sgw]

the IWill KA266 seems like a pretty good choice from what i've read about it. however, the boards with the AMD 760 chipset are known to perform better. the "AMD 760 Mainboard Round-Up" ( http://www.digit-life.com/articles/roundup0105/index.html ) might be pretty helpful to you.

 

[_jubei_]

A7A is great motherboard. Its VERY stable unlike KA266 R .. .. Also there is new version of A7A that has 10 switches, which allows you to change cpu multipliers(overclocking)... I have one and so far I am VERY happy with it. When my Windows crush I just turn off the power and then Reboot the system. With KA266 R I had to disconnect the power supply cable from motherboard in order to run windows again... Don't know why it happened but it did..... So go with A7A

 

[Bobby Manus]

sounds sweet. Can I expect to be able to overclock with the A7A? It would be running spec at 1.3, but you guys think it can go more? HEHE! If not 1.3gig with DDR is sweat ****! Plus I just got a new Visiontek Geforce 2 Ultra from a friend, so this bad *** will be rocking and rolling yo!!

 

[_jubei_]

Yes you can Overcklock A7A but ONLY the newer Version with 10 switches... So when you get A7A make usre that this is the latest version

 

[Bobby Manus]

Sounds great, anyone know if the a7a266 at www.newegg.com is the newer version? thats probably where im gunna order cuase its cheapest all over and there a great site. Plus what speed processor do u guys recomned? 1.2gig axia 266mhz fsb is cheaper then a non axia 1.3!! BTW, for a fan, the GlobalWin FOP 32 is only 19$ at www.2cooltek.com , thats a lot cheaper then most of there fans, and it was a main competiter not to long ago (before I stoped reading these forums lol). So whats the in thing? I am 95% sure that I am getting and Asus A7A266, and AXIA 266FSB 1.2gig cpu. I will get probably 1 stick of 266mhz DDR, and I have a 256mb of SDRAM from this system that I will probably thow in to lol. As for the other componets, that I already have in this system...

IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30gb
Visiontek Geforce 2 Ultra
D-Link 10/100mbps network card
SB 128 (I have a sound blaster live that is incompatible with this board, I will try it with the A7A266!!)
300w PSU
Creative 52x cd-rom

And thats about it, don't think I'm missing anything... can't wait to get this system, but if u guys have heard of any incompatibilites plz tell me!! or if u have any sugestions go for it plz!!

 

[_jubei_]

Yes this is NEW version of A7A . But I checked newegg.com and they don't have it in stock... As for compatibility, I have Sound Blaster Live and It works perfectly. G2Ultra as well . Processors are CHEAP now so If you can spend $170 get 1.3 266 fsb.. But you can EASILY push AMD 1.2 to ~1.6 gightz... Also You can't use DDR and SDR RAM at the same time.... You either use DDR or SDR

Also DON"T BUY Samsung DDR RAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT SUCKS...... You can't overclock it Beyond 140 mhz ....... Get Crucial DDR PC2100 GREAT ram and overclocks like CRAZY! !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bobby Manus]

wow thanks for the advice bud!! any idea where the new A7A is in stock??? And do you recomend I get an AXIA or just a regular amd 1.2??? I would like to hit those crazy speeds people say axias can get, what are the chances of non axias hitting 1.4-1.5ghz???

 

[Bobby Manus]

BTW, what is a good fan? i cant spend more then like 40$... the fop32 is only like 19$ at www.2cooltek.com , is there a better place to order then here? what fan do u guys recomend for someone probably wanting to o/c the hell outa an axia? heh! i got 2 case fans, the fan in the psu. ill get 1 more case fan before i o/c anything, and i will want a good fan on the processor to so any advice???

 

[Da Whip]

Here is a recent comparison of most HSF's:

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[Bobby Manus]

The OCZ Gladiater is only 30$... ....... looks like i changed my mind on the pricy swifttech lol

 

[Bobby Manus]

BTW if I were to order a new mobo/proc/fan this weekend (and there is a good chance I will, but then again I might not, finals coming up in about a few weeks, cant be focusing on puting together my new parts lol) I would probably get this...

Asus A7A266 DDR/SDRAM mobo
Athlon 1.13ghz Batch AXIA
OCZ Gladiater HSF

I already have...
IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30gb HDD
Soundblaster Live! Value AND a SB PCI128 just incase the Value has probs (which it often does!!!)
Visiontek Geforce 2 Ultra
256mb pc133 (will soon upgrade to 256mb DDR pc2100)
Creative 52x max cd-rom

Do you guys think I will anticipate any problems? Any suggestions are always welcome!!!

 

[pugwash]

"Yes you can Overcklock A7A but ONLY the newer Version with 10 switches... So when you get A7A make usre that this is the latest version "

You can of course overclock the mobo with only 4 dipsw. Dont believe evreything peeps say, some just dont know what they are talking about. My A7A can run at 150mhz fsb, and I can also change the multiplyers in the bios.

 

[Bobby Manus]

Ok cool, so I really dont need to worry if I am getting the newer version of the mobo or not then? BTW does anyone know wat version of the mobo www.newegg.com is selling??? Where did u guys buy your boards? Do you recomend buying from them again? Thanks

 

[Blackearth]

i've heard that ddr has some stability probs, which is why i chose not go with ddr. i may have been misinformed. . .? then again, many, many other people have had no probs whatsoever, so go with what you want.

 

[Bobby Manus]

Yea some people are havinbg problems with the Iwill DDR board, but i havent heard of anyone having problems with the A7A266, at least not yet lol. Plus my friend was able to get his working so I am going to have him come over and we will build this bad *** together. Still trying to decide wither to get a non axia 1333, or a 1.13 axia... I like the idea of running at spec, just for warenty purposes. But I also like the idea of overclocking the hell out of a processor hehe. They are the same price, so wha would you guys recomend? Thanks for the input

 

[_jubei_]

pugwash (May 24, 2001 12:38 p.m.):
"Yes you can Overcklock A7A but ONLY the newer Version with 10 switches... So when you get A7A make usre that this is the latest version "

You can of course overclock the mobo with only 4 dipsw. Dont believe evreything peeps say, some just dont know what they are talking about. My A7A can run at 150mhz fsb, and I can also change the multiplyers in the bios.

Who you calling PEEPS ????? SURE SURE...... You can't change CPU mutlipliers in A7A with 4 dipsw..... Unless you performed a MOD which enabled the CPU mulitpliers, or ASUS released NEW BIOS , that I am not aware of..... Ofcourse you can overclock using FSB, but I was talking about CPU multipliers......
Next Time You should be MORE clear when you say you can change mulitpliers in A7A.....

And don't go around calling people PEEPS you BIOTCH !!!

 

[pugwash]

Hey I would hardly call placing a wire across 2 solder points a mod. The wire can be kept in place with clear sticky tape. Mines been there for a month, and no problem.

"Yes you can Overcklock A7A but ONLY the newer Version with 10 switches... So when you get A7A make usre that this is the latest version "

Yeh like your'e clear. Ive seen your other posts as well m8, they aint much help as well. And by the way its BIATCH lol

Bobby Manus, get crucial PC2100 ram, do not buy the Samsung. Samsung causes all kinds of problems with the A7A and other DDR mobos. If you have problems with 2 sticks of ram, then set the jumper to the right of the agp port to pins 2/3.

 

[Bobby Manus]

thanks for the help everyone!

 

[pugwash]

Hey Bobby, I got a 1 gig AXIA. I keep it at 1.4gig 1.75v. When I get to 1.5gig, it wants 1.8v+

At 150 fsb, the system is flying along. At 140fsb its still quick. At 141fsb and higher, memory timings are altered by the bios to more slower speeds to insure stability. You then have to use WPCREDIT to change the offsets to get the speed back to spec.