Which MB is best for a Barton 2600 cpu?

[OuTpaTienT]

I haven't been keeping up on this subject lately, so I need some opinions.

A buddy of mine is going to upgrade from his Athlon 1.4Ghz / Soyo Dragon MB to a Barton core 2600 and as of yet undetermined motherboard.

Some info:

• - Stability is most important over all.
• - Serial ATA is a feature he's interested in.
• - 8x AGP is required.
• - He's not an overclocker.
• - USB 2.0 is required
• - He has been very, VERY happy with his Soyo Dragon and would prefer to stay with Soyo (but he'll go with my recommendation)

Naturally the first thing he is considering is the SY-KT600 DRAGON PLUS. Considering how satisfied I've been with my Soyo Dragon +, I'm tempted to agree. But is there something better that offers the same features (with STABILITY remaing the most important factor).

Here's what he's looking at getting. Any thoughts are appreciated since he's relying on me to give him good advice (and like I said, I'm not as up on this stuff as I usually am):

[joker_927]

This is what I would do.

Epox 8RDA3+ $95
or
ABIT NF7-S $112

2500+ for $92 (92 WTF! it raised!)

GEIL DDR RAM 512MB PC-3200 Value $87
or
GeIL DDR RAM 512MB PC-3200 400Hz Ultra- CAS 2, 1T $104

Shipped prices @ newegg.com

[Gutter Ball]

I was a hardcore ASUS user....until I got a Soyo KT400 Dragon Ultra and a 2500+ Barton for a computer I was building for somebody. It's been running for 10 days (burning it in with various programs....and the person won't have the money until this Friday so I get to play with it till then!). I tried to overclock it a couple of times and failed, but the reset switch is easily accessible Very nice boards. My next 2 systems will definately have a Soyo board in it.

[Gettinbye]

Just a suggestion-check out a gigabyte board. Am running a ga7vaxp with a barton 2800+ and loving it (although I'm sure a newer gigabyte board would have more bells and whistles). Dual BIOS is a pretty nifty feature...

[OuTpaTienT]

What chipset is the Gigabyte board based on?

[iNeb]

I second the Epox motherboards, i have a 8rda+ and love it, it doesn't have SATA though.

[phrozen_dreamz]

Abit Nforce2 boards... I have been hearing great things about the OC'ing ability. The bios unlocks the processor for ya! NO MORE SOLDERING! YA! The newer boards support the 400mhz fsb. That's also nice if ya want to OC' the poo out of a dang awesome 2500+. Those guys get up to 3200+ rating on the stock cooler! WOW.

[iNeb]

His friend is not an overclocker

[nurdonsite2]

ASUS boards are rock solid. never had a problem with mine and its been running ROCK solid ever since i bought it (last year). but this is for a p4. however, the a7n8x delux would be a good choice. comes with all kinds of goodies including serial ata and AMAZING onboard sound (beats the sb audigy)

[agathodaimon]

Why don't you check out the Gigabyte GA-7VT600 '1394'.
That uses a KT600 chipset, supports 400mhz FSB, onboard sound, dual bios, serial ATA RAID, LAN, 8x AGP, etc., etc...

I've owned two Gigabyte boards and BOTH of them have just been absolutely rock solid. I even have 768 megs of miscellaneous PC2700 RAM (all three dimms full) with no issues.

BTW, it's got a 2600 BARTON in it too.