Saving for a dual athlon board.... now, which one?

[DoorBasher]

I'm starting to same money for a dual Socket A motherboard. This will take a while because I have no DDR RAM, but I need to know which I should draw my sights on. I've done my homework as best I could, but seeing as the market for 760MPX boards (the chipset I'm looking for, which I think is the most recent) aren't as widespread as say, KT333s, I haven't been able to gather all the info I need. Here's what I'm looking for in my future motherboard:

*support for some mild overclocking (not the type you would need PC3500 for. I'm talking something like bumping the FSB to 140.)

*Support for non-registered RAM. It's OK if it will only take 2 DIMMs worth, because I'm only planning to use 2 sticks.

Integrated sound isn't required as I have a Live Xgamer which I love. Lots of fan headers would also be a good thing, as the case I'm going to put this in will have a lot of fans. (I'm the kind of guy who dosen't mind a Delta 38, as long as it keeps my Athlon(s) from burning up).

Thanks in Advance,
Doorbasher


-----Insert witty sig here.-----

 

[donny_paycheck]

Hi. First of all, welcome to the forums.

I'll recommend the MSI K7D Master-L, like I'm sure most will. It's hands down the best overclocking board with the 769MPX chipset.

It takes unbuffered DRAM in the first two slots.

It has four fan headers. (2 for CPU HSFs, PSU fan, front case fan)

It has THE BEST overclocking goodies in BIOS: vcore, multiplier, FSB, DRAM tweaks, all the rest. A big stress on the vcore and multiplier options. No other released board has these. 140FSB will be easy to hit with it. No 760MPX board has a problem hitting 140FSB, actually, they all seem to top out around 155, with the IWill MPX2 being able to hit 180+. However, no other 760MPX board has the overclocking features that this board has.

I stress getting the Master-L variant because it has an onboard NIC. This is helpful with the shortage of 32/33 PCI slots on 760MPX boards. You can use most NICs in 64/66 slots, but they'll pull the 64-bit PCI bus down to 33mhz.

So, the MSI K7D Master-L is my recommendation.

 

[Mr B]

I'll second the motion.

I just got one and I love it! In BIOS adjustibility of FSB, multipliere, and CPU core voltage...sweet. I've got a pair of XP1600+'s unlocked/SMP enabled running 12.5 x 140 @ 1.85v, rock solid.

3.5GHz is a beautiful thing.........

 

[attack]

K7D for sure....AFAIK the K7D-L is just more expensive and has a LAN port...isn't that correct donny?

Also my K7D with 1.3 BIOS only goes to 150 FSB, someone said 180 from an Iwill and 155 from a K7D-L? I thought the mpx chipset could only goto 150?

 

[donny_paycheck]

Yes, the Master-L is about $25 more than the Master. You could save a few bucks by doing without the onboard NIC and adding an el-cheapo $15 NIC yourself, but the bonus that makes onboard worth it is the saving of a 32/33 PCI slot. Note the large northbridge active cooler and HSs on the voltage regulation parts. A very well built and high quality board.

 

[cmcquistion]

I agree with everyone else. I have three of these motherboards, now. They are simply the best duals on the market, IMO.

 

[Spec_Ops2087]

correct...so far the MPX can only go to 150FSB to my knowledge....it is a great board...I got the FSB maxed out on my MP 2000+'s...I have to hand it to MSI, this is by far their best board and they deserve a good pat on the back....with this board being so good I am considering getting on of their single CPU boards for gaming...

MSI all the way...think I am a MSI fan now




Spec

 

[Audioaficionado]

And the cherry on top of this sunday is the fantastic finish they put on the mobo.

I'm going to mod a case just to show it off.

 

[donny_paycheck]

Apparently the Iwill MPX2 can hit 180+ FSB, which is amazing for a 760MPX board. The kicker is that it has no multiplier or Vcore adjustments; two things that are absolutely critical for overclocking. Don't bother.

 

[DoorBasher]

Great! Thanx to everybody for A) the welcome, and B) the advice. Now to start saving cash.