July Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Motherboards

When selecting a motherboard for our Value Gaming System, the main goal is to get the best overall value, while also receiving 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 Delta-L (nForce2 Ultra 400)

Current Cost: $95
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

The NVIDIA nForce2 is still the king of the AMD performance hill, but the chipset itself has been enhanced to the nForce2 Ultra 400 revision. As such, our new motherboard selection is not so much an upgrade as an evolution to the newest chipset model. The MSI K7N2 Delta-L is quite similar to our previous selection, the MSI K7N2-L, except that it features the nForce2 Ultra 400. This doesn't bring any real performance gains to the table, but it does have full support for the 400 MHz front-side bus, and ensures a wider upgrade path. This board is an excellent combination of low cost and features, and provides a lot of gaming power out of the box.

The MSI K7N2 Delta-L can handle 200/266/333/400 MHz AMD processors, and features dual-channel DDR266/333/400 memory support, AGP 8X, ATA133, USB 2.0, 6-channel audio and integrated LAN. MSI has also included a ton of overclocking options on the MSI K7N2 Delta-L, including full FSB selections, DDR memory speed ratios, CPU, DDR and AGP voltage options, and even AGP bus locking. Overall, the original MSI K7N2-L was a super option for the value gamer, and the enhanced MSI K7N2 Delta-L is even better.

Pentium 4 Motherboard: ABIT IS7-E (i865PE)

Current Cost: $95
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

The AMD crowd has had it good for awhile now, with a low-cost dual-channel DDR solution readily available. The release of the i865PE chipset spelled good news for value buyers, but we've had a tough time finding one that fit the budget. ABIT helped solve this problem with their IS7-E motherboard, which takes a more budget-oriented design route. There are no high-end features such as RAID or Firewire, but the performance options are all present, as are many onboard features. The IS7-E comes with a sub-$100 price tag, making it as perfect option for our purposes, and a definite upgrade from the previous i845PE motherboards.

The ABIT IS7-E includes all the basic functions a value buyer can expect, including dual-channel DDR266/333/400 and support for up to an 800 MHz front-side bus. It also features Parallel and Serial ATA support (no RAID), 8xUSB 2.0 ports, integrated 10/100 LAN, and 6-channel audio. ABIT has also included their famed SoftMenu overclocking BIOS, with CPU frequency settings, along with CPU, memory and AGP voltage selections. This is a superb deal for our Value Guide, and offers a ton of upgrade options for the future.