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I posted a question on here about a week ago entitled "What to Buy...What to Buy". I didn't get all of the answers I've been looking for. I'm in the process of building a new rig (for gaming, office applications, mp3 editing) and I'd like some advice on a motherboard. However, everyone who responded tells me to buy an Abit KG7-Raid. I've read a lot of reviews on this board and I have to hand it to you guys...it is a great board. However, I'd like to know why this board is considered to be so much better than the Gigabyte GA-7DXR or the ASUS A7M266? This may be an unfair comparison to the ASUS simply because the A7M266 does not have a RAID controller. The A7M266 is still one of my top 3 simply because of its speed and stability. But, why do people recommend the K7G-Raid over the GA-7DXR so much? The prices and stability are about the same, both support RAID, and (I think but would like to know for sure) both will be able to support the Palomino.
The only differences that I see are:
1. The Abit board has 4 DIMM slots and the Gigabyte only has three. However, from what I read the Abit board will only utilize all 4 if the DDR is buffered/registered, and onlt 2 if it is unbuffered/unregistered. The Gigabyte only has 3 DIMMS and can utilize all 3 if either all the DDR is buffered or all is unbuffered. This sounds better for me in that I plan on using sticks of DDR (probably from Crucial...any suggestions)in increments of 256 because 512 is too expensive. This brings me to another question....do either of these boards have trouble with double-sided DDR?
2. The Abit board has 6 PCI slots whereas the Gigabyte only has 5. Either or would work for me cause my case will hold 6 + 1 AGP, but I can't see where I'd need more than 4 or 5 for all of my components (soundcard, SCSI maybe, etc).
3. The Gigabyte may or may not (please let me know) run Athlons a little hotter than the ABIT, even if it is not overclocked. This may be a concern for me if it affects stability, however, my case will hold 4 fans and I plan on getting a really good heatsink fan so this should cool it down a little. I don't plan to overclock in the beginning but would like that option down the road maybe.
4. Adjusting the clock-multiplier of your CPU is done in the the bios for the Abit, but with jumpers/dipswitches with the Gigabyte. I've read some reviews saying that you need jumpers/dipswitches to truly overclock and just simply bios adjustments won't do it. Is this true?
5. The GA-7DXR has onboard audio that is pretty good (I know.....and I plan to buy a good soundcard however). But, I look at this as a good thing in case my soundcard craps out.
These are just some conclusions I've come to and by no means am I trying to downplay anyone's preference for the Abit board. If anyone knows of any other things I should know before I buy a motherboard please let me know. The rig I'd like to build is this:
Motherboard - who knows (hopefully this will help!)
CPU - 1.4 Ghz AMD Athlon (unlocked,retail preferrably)
Hard Drives - IBM 60gxp Deskstars (2 60 G's). Havn't
decided if I want to put them in raid at
first, and that's why the ASUS A7M266 is
still a possibility
Video Card - Geforce 3 - Either ASUS V8200 Deluxe or
Hercules Prophet 3.
Sound Card - Soundblaster Platinum 5.1 w/ Live Drive
DDR - one or 2 sticks of 256 (for now)
CD/RW - Plextor 24/10/40 or TDK VeloCD 16/10/40. Which is
Better?
DVD-ROM - 16x Pioneer
This brings me to another question. I hear that the Soundblaster Platinum 5.1 may not be compatible with some motherboards/system configurations. Can anyone elaborate on this? I only chose this soundcard because I'd have the option of hooking up my guitar to it and that it sounds great. Do any of these components have issues with any of these boards?
Also, for once and for all will someone tell me is any or all of these boards support the Palomino in the future? This is very, very important to me as I don't want to have to buy a new motherboard next year....hehe.
Well, there you have it. I've researched this thing so much that my head is spinning. Please, if anyone can help I'd greatly appreciate it!
Thanks
"If It Ain't Broke....Tweak It!!!"
The only differences that I see are:
1. The Abit board has 4 DIMM slots and the Gigabyte only has three. However, from what I read the Abit board will only utilize all 4 if the DDR is buffered/registered, and onlt 2 if it is unbuffered/unregistered. The Gigabyte only has 3 DIMMS and can utilize all 3 if either all the DDR is buffered or all is unbuffered. This sounds better for me in that I plan on using sticks of DDR (probably from Crucial...any suggestions)in increments of 256 because 512 is too expensive. This brings me to another question....do either of these boards have trouble with double-sided DDR?
2. The Abit board has 6 PCI slots whereas the Gigabyte only has 5. Either or would work for me cause my case will hold 6 + 1 AGP, but I can't see where I'd need more than 4 or 5 for all of my components (soundcard, SCSI maybe, etc).
3. The Gigabyte may or may not (please let me know) run Athlons a little hotter than the ABIT, even if it is not overclocked. This may be a concern for me if it affects stability, however, my case will hold 4 fans and I plan on getting a really good heatsink fan so this should cool it down a little. I don't plan to overclock in the beginning but would like that option down the road maybe.
4. Adjusting the clock-multiplier of your CPU is done in the the bios for the Abit, but with jumpers/dipswitches with the Gigabyte. I've read some reviews saying that you need jumpers/dipswitches to truly overclock and just simply bios adjustments won't do it. Is this true?
5. The GA-7DXR has onboard audio that is pretty good (I know.....and I plan to buy a good soundcard however). But, I look at this as a good thing in case my soundcard craps out.
These are just some conclusions I've come to and by no means am I trying to downplay anyone's preference for the Abit board. If anyone knows of any other things I should know before I buy a motherboard please let me know. The rig I'd like to build is this:
Motherboard - who knows (hopefully this will help!)
CPU - 1.4 Ghz AMD Athlon (unlocked,retail preferrably)
Hard Drives - IBM 60gxp Deskstars (2 60 G's). Havn't
decided if I want to put them in raid at
first, and that's why the ASUS A7M266 is
still a possibility
Video Card - Geforce 3 - Either ASUS V8200 Deluxe or
Hercules Prophet 3.
Sound Card - Soundblaster Platinum 5.1 w/ Live Drive
DDR - one or 2 sticks of 256 (for now)
CD/RW - Plextor 24/10/40 or TDK VeloCD 16/10/40. Which is
Better?
DVD-ROM - 16x Pioneer
This brings me to another question. I hear that the Soundblaster Platinum 5.1 may not be compatible with some motherboards/system configurations. Can anyone elaborate on this? I only chose this soundcard because I'd have the option of hooking up my guitar to it and that it sounds great. Do any of these components have issues with any of these boards?
Also, for once and for all will someone tell me is any or all of these boards support the Palomino in the future? This is very, very important to me as I don't want to have to buy a new motherboard next year....hehe.
Well, there you have it. I've researched this thing so much that my head is spinning. Please, if anyone can help I'd greatly appreciate it!
Thanks
"If It Ain't Broke....Tweak It!!!"