Any feedback on Biostar M7NCD MB; other system recommendations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter enigma
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enigma

The Biostar M7NCD is a lot less than some others with the Nvidia
nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset; any negatives? Reviews were good at newegg,
but couldn't find it rated at motherboards.org.
Or, is there a
different one you'd recommend for an Athlon XP 2500+ or 2600+, with
eye towards bang for the buck? I may overclock, but haven't done so in
the past, and it wouldn't be necessary. But if it can be done with
stability, why not?
Also, somebody had replied to an earlier thread that the 2500+ w/ the
512k L2 cache is better than the 2600+ w/ 256k, but then I found this
article referenced in yet another thread
(http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlonxp-3000_2.html),
that seems to indicate that for most applications, the extra L2 cache
doesn't come into play, and so the 2600+ is better. Any thoughts on
that? Am I right in thinking that this is about the processor level
where you get the best bang for the buck?
As for the rest of the system:
I'm doing this for kids' games which won't be too demanding, but would
also like to transfer video to dvd's, and edit video a little on it. I
just bought a 160 gig Maxtor, but other than that, am starting from
scratch. So would appreciate recommendations for:
Case
CPU
MOBO
Graphics Card
DVD Burner: this I might not get right away; any reason to wait (new
developments/significantly lower prices on the horizon?)

Again, looking for the best bang for the buck.
Thanks in advance for any help!
 
(http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlonxp-3000_2.html),
that seems to indicate that for most applications, the extra L2 cache
doesn't come into play, and so the 2600+ is better. Any thoughts on
that? Am I right in thinking that this is about the processor level
where you get the best bang for the buck?
Click to expand...

Check NforceHQ too. They have forums on the various Nforce makes and
links to reviews.
As for the rest of the system:
I'm doing this for kids' games which won't be too demanding, but would
also like to transfer video to dvd's, and edit video a little on it. I
just bought a 160 gig Maxtor, but other than that, am starting from
scratch. So would appreciate recommendations for:
Click to expand...

I can do all that with a XP 1700. There was one Athlon that was a
monster OCer. Usually after I buy a board and CPU upgrade - I kind of
get out of it until the next upgrade. So I missed this. Used to keep
up with all the celeron OC stuff - you know so and so batch of cels
were super OCers. Well I forget the details but I came across it when
I was thinking of upgrading the CPU two months ago. There was one
batch of athlons that seemed to OC like crazy and one store was
selling them for a bit more and everyone wanted one. They were
outrageous OCers an incredible bargain. Im not even sure if they make
them anymore. I forget the details but there was detailed info on
which ones they were.

Kids games - you can run them with an ancient PC ! They tend to
really lag - made for the lowest common denominator for widest sales.
Ive been running lots of them on one PC that only has a Geforce 400 mx
and Voodoo 3 - no problems.

Case
CPU
MOBO
Graphics Card
Click to expand...

Prices are getting a bit softer with COMPUSA finally doing some rebate
deals on the 9600/pro ATI and 5600 Nvdia but not great deals. Im still
waiting for the 9700 prices to start to get soft down to $150 since
Xmas is coming up.
DVD Burner: this I might not get right away; any reason to wait (new
developments/significantly lower prices on the horizon?)
Click to expand...

Wow prices have come down. If you look around - like at NEWEGG you can
get a dual format burner 4x for $149-160 ! Sure you can always wait
for the next big price drop but its low enough now that I wouldnt wait
if you have a use for one.

Right now - more than speed all I want is STABILITY ! No problems.
Ive had it up to here.

Just found a boatload of other problems - poorly seated memory chip
which caused problems and laziness - with all the hassles and
reinstalls Ive been doing on my PCs - I got lazy and didnt reinstall
Zone Alarm and didnt do virus scans. Everytime I do one and think
that maybe a problem in the past Ive never ever been infected by a
virus etc.

This time - infected bigtime. Both HDs and a keylogger was installed.
CLeaned them out and now Im thinking of doing another clean install
and clearing out both my HDs.
 
The Biostar M7NCD is a lot less than some others with the Nvidia
nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset; any negatives? Reviews were good at newegg,
but couldn't find it rated at motherboards.org.
Or, is there a
different one you'd recommend for an Athlon XP 2500+ or 2600+, with
eye towards bang for the buck? I may overclock, but haven't done so in
the past, and it wouldn't be necessary. But if it can be done with
stability, why not?
Also, somebody had replied to an earlier thread that the 2500+ w/ the
512k L2 cache is better than the 2600+ w/ 256k, but then I found this
article referenced in yet another thread
Click to expand...


CHeck out this article too :


http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20030322034857.html
 
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