March Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Motherboards

When we choose a motherboard for our Value Gaming System, the main goal is to get the best bang for our buck, while trying to purchase the most future-proof and high-performance hardware possible. Naturally, these goals are often at odds with each other, and the sticker price is usually the main stumbling block. To find that right mix, we need to ensure that the motherboard is affordable, and has a nice mix of performance, overclocking and features to boot. Whether you're buying a low-cost gaming system or an ultra high-end powerhouse, the motherboard is still one of the most important components, as it provides the backbone for your entire computer and determines your potential upgrade path.

Athlon XP Motherboard: MSI K7N2-L (nForce2)

Current Cost: $90
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

When it comes to Athlon XP performance, the name of the game is the NVIDIA nForce2. This dual-channel DDR powerhouse is the de facto choice for the AMD performance and overclocking crowds, and is a great platform for a gaming system. Unfortunately, many nForce2 motherboards don't come cheap, and with a $1K budget, we had to be very careful when choosing the right product. As usual, MSI comes to the rescue with their impressive and inexpensive K7N2-L, which features the standard nForce2 configuration, though without the MCP2-T chip found on higher-end versions. It's still an excellent deal, and provides a lot of power out of the box, and allows a superb upgrade path.

The MSI K7N2-L features dual-DDR266/333/400 support, AGP 8X, ATA133, USB 2.0 6-channel audio and integrated LAN. This board also includes a ton of overclocking options, full FSB selection up to 200 MHz, DDR memory speed ratios, CPU, DDR and AGP voltage options, and even AGP bus locking. Overall, this is a super product for the value buyer, and easily ranks up with more expensive nForce2 motherboards.

Pentium 4 Motherboard: Soyo SY-P4I 845PE Lite

Current Cost: $85
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

Unlike the AMD motherboard choice, there is really no clear cut option for the Pentium 4. There are many chipsets that fit the value gaming system's budget, but for our money, the i845PE is the most powerful, compatible and stable of them all. It's also no slouch in the overclocking arena either, and presents one of the more well-rounded values of the bunch. As for our selection, Soyo has built quite a name with their impressive Dragon line, which features fully-loaded motherboards that also exist at the top-end of the price ladder. For their i845PE line, Soyo has really switched gears, and offers a few different configurations, depending on budget, requirements and features.

The Soyo SY-P4I 845PE Lite is a pretty wild deal, and is basically the standard SY-P4I 845PE edition without the RAID function. This board has support for DDR333 and 533 MHz Pentium 4 processors, and includes USB 2.0, integrated LAN and 4-channel audio. Its support for up to AGP 8X video is the only feature it's lacking, and the positives far outweigh the negatives in this case. Soyo has also produced an exceptional overclocking base with their SY-P4I 845PE Lite, and it features full FSB speeds (up to 255 MHz), higher-than 333 MHz DDR overclocking, CPU, DDR and AGP voltage selection, and AGP/PCI bus locking. This is a whole lot of board for a very low price, and Soyo has our vote for the Intel value side.