Which motherboard to buy

[2 much thinking]

I'm building a computer for a friend and just wondering what motherboard to get. OBVIOUSLY socket A :) anything around $250, doesn't need RAID, don't need to worry about 166 FSB as he wants something good but on a medium budget.

Probably get an XP1800+, 256mb RAM, 40-60G hdd, CD writer, bout $150 to spend on Graphics card, NIC, possibly get an Icute case from styles, just normal mouse, keyboard and he's already got a monitor

im going to get everything new,

any ideas:D

*waits for the rush of 100's of posts cause EVERYONE loves building a new computer

[SilverPriest]

Shuttle AK35, damn fast and quite cheap.
Dunno where to get that from though, havent seen them round NZ.
Either that or a soltek DRV4/5, assuming u dont mind stupid placement of IDE headers.
*mutters*
This is assuming u are going DDR tho.
For SDR u cant go past the Abit KT7A :D

[2 much thinking]

yes will definately be going ddr especially with RAM prices ATM. :D

yeah heard those solteks are pretty good,


assuming u dont mind stupid placement of IDE headers.

ohh well, dont mind a minor niggle if u get a good end result.

[Ragnor]

I haven't got over my distrust of past shuttle efforts so I wouldn't recommend one of the newer ones...

Soltek are cheap and nasty, but it will do the job... I have a soltek board at the moment and haven't had any problems with it.

I probably would pay a bit more for and go for an Epox (or even an Abit if I was feeling rich enough) when I next upgrade. More features / support etc, better reputation & quality.

I would say go the Epox 8k3a ($260), only $10 more for the + version (RAID) ... You never know getting a new computer might eventually turn your friend into a ub3r g33k..

[whetu]

dont forget MSI.. cheap and featurepacked... just right for your mate..

[Volodkovich]

Paradigm pc (http://www.pp.co.nz) have the shuttle AK35GTR - i dont really see the point in it tho - @ $250 u mite aswell get a Epox 8k3a.