Recommend a Socket 478 m-atx mobo for gaming and HTPC?

Wabbit

Distinguished
Feb 20, 2002
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Hi, I am trying to decide on a micro-atx motherboard for gaming and HTPC. I've done quite a bit of searching on these boards but haven't quite found the info. I have up to about $100 to spend on this item and I don't intend to overclock. I do want m-atx to cut down on size and because the only cards I intend to use are an AGP video and a pci tv-tuner.

Details:

Socket 478 for a P4 2.53 Ghz CPU. Is it true that an 800 Mhz FSB is as fast as this CPU will go? Also, is DDR400 - pc3200 my best memory option?

Video: I prefer not having onboard graphics, as I will be using my Geforce 6200 128 RAM AGP 8x card for gaming. There aren't any m-atx boards out there with as good or better on-board graphics, are there? I play BF2, so I need good graphics for watching the clouds when I die every 10 seconds.

Needed Onboard: NIC, USB 2, SATA and good sound. I don't need PS/2, serial or Parellel ports.

Thanks for any help!
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Since you're looking for an AGP equiped board, you should look at the variety of 865G chipset Micro ATX boards. All the well-known brands are offering good quality so you'd choose best based on features. The 865 and 875 chipset series is regarded as the best choice for P4's with AGP support.

Newegg had about a dozen 865-series Micro ATX boards last I checked, and at least 2/3 of those had the AGP slot (some had it omitted)