Gigabyte GIGABYTE 7VAXP SOCKETA KT400

[BluesMan1]

I'm building a new computer and would like to know if that Gigabyte is a good choice.

I'm going with a Barton 3000+ and 512 DDR 3200.

Thanks

[Omardeth]

get a nforce2 or nforce ultra chipset board and not a kt400 board . you will be alot happier .

[Urban_Squrill]

Welcome to TechIMO!!!

[beppodmime]

The KT400 chipset is not really the way to go nowadays for good performance, as both the VIA KT400A and the nForce2 and nForce2 Ultra 400's both outstrip that chipset by decent margins, and the prices for at least the nForce2 boards are very decent for the amount of features built into the boards. As Omardeth suggests, definately look into buying an nForce2 board, as they currently offer the best AMD performance, and most of the manufacturers offer good feature sets within their product lines.

Gigabyte is a good manufacturer, and they now offer a wide range of nForce2 and nForce2 ultra 400 solutions. You may or may not want to go for the ultra 400 chipset, as the processor you are selecting is a 333 MHz front side bus model. But if you are considering either upgrading to a future Socket A processor, or are considering overclocking, then the Ultra 400 would definately be worth the extra money.

As far as other boards to consider, I have experience with the Epox 8RDA+, and 8RGA+ (RGA has built in graphics), and I have also had some experience setting up a system around the Asus A7N8X Deluxe. Both of those brands offer solid boards.

What kind of built in features are you looking for in your system? Right now Newegg has the 8RDA+ for 84 dollars shipped, and that includes built in ethernet, firewire, USB 2.0, along with a good onboard sound solution, although you'd need to purchase a separate board direct from Epox to take advantage of the boards built in 6 channel audio, and a dual channel memory controller. All you'd basically need to add is a video card, RAM and a CPU. You'd want two sticks of RAM to be able to take advantage of the Dual Channel memory feature, and the board supports all current 333 MHz FSB processors. The 8RGA+ is only 99 shipped at NewEgg, and includes all the above, plus a GeForce4 MX graphics chip onboard. Not the best graphics, but certainly not the worst onboard.

I'm not really familiar with KT400A boards, so I can't really offer any advice in that direction.

[BluesMan1]

Thanks for the input.

I was having two choices here either the Gigabite or Asus A7N8X but now i'm lost

I'm looking for a board with or without onboard sound, video and LAN, compatible with Barton 3000+ and up and that can take advantages of at least 333 MHz or more front bus.

My first choice was with Asus and then i ended up looking at the Gigabyte board. One features on that board is attracting me is the Dual Bios even if i never had problems even with one

I would like to have also two 512 DDR Kingston on it and add my own cards (video, sound and NIC). Any suggestions will be welcome

Thanks again.

[Omardeth]

i would go with the ausu board if you asked me . gigabyte makes a nforce board also so if you like gigabye go with that one just get a board with the nforce2 or nforce2 ultra chipset over the kt400

[BluesMan1]

Thanks for that, will look for it on the web.

[BluesMan1]

do you recommend a specific Gigabyte board with the Nforce chipset ?

[BluesMan1]

me again

what about this one:

http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/...N400%20Pro.htm

[ToddS]

Great board, that is the one I'm getting. The only negative thing about it is it doesn't have cooling mounts around the processor, so you won't be able to user certain cooling kits, but other then that, it's marvelous