February Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Motherboards

When selecting a motherboard for our Value Gaming System, the main goal is to find the best overall value, while ensuring you get 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 includes a nice mix of performance, overclocking and features. 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: $73
Months on list: 6
Price Change: $0

We gave some thought to changing the AMD motherboard selection to something a bit more high-end, with additional onboard performance features, but the MSI K7N2 Delta-L still came out on top. The reasons for this are clear, as we really don't have significant capital to play around with, and adding features such as Serial ATA and GigaBit LAN are really not required for our value system. The MSI K7N2 Delta-L is certainly no slouch when it comes to performance and features, and its retail price simply can't be beat.

The MSI K7N2 Delta-L features the latest NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset revision, which fully supports the 400 MHz front-side bus. Our Athlon XP 2800+ runs on the 333 MHz FSB, but the ability to hit 400 MHz can pay serious overclocking dividends, along with providing a wider upgrade path. Top end Athlon XP models may seem expensive today, but the MSI K7N2 Delta-L's support for the 400 MHz front-side bus ensures that a potential Athlon XP 3200+ upgrade will be a smooth transition.

The MSI K7N2 Delta-L supports 200/266/333/400 MHz AMD processors, and features dual-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. These are options that rival more expensive motherboards, and the MSI K7N2 Delta-L offers a ton of high-end features for those with a slightly lower budget. MSI always provides an excellent combination of low cost and features, and the MSI K7N2 Delta-L is yet another value winner.

* One potential issue with this model is confusing it with the MSI K7N2-V motherboard, which features an nForce2 400 chipset, but it is not the Ultra 400 revision, and does not support dual-channel DDR. The K7N2-V board is significantly less expensive than the more powerful MSI K7N2 Delta-L, so care should be taken when finding an online deal that looks too good to be true.

Pentium 4 Motherboard: ABIT IS7-E (i865PE)

Current Cost: $85
Months on list: 6
Price Change: $0

The price of Intel i865PE motherboards has fallen quite a bit since their introduction, but there are a few models that were originally positioned in the value market. ABIT started out with the goal of inserting a sub-$100 i865PE, dual channel DDR IS7-E motherboard into the equation, and over the months, that deal just got better. At only $85, the ABIT IS7-E motherboard is a gift horse you don't want to look in the mouth, and it really takes a value-oriented design philosophy and then combines it with a high-end Intel chipset. There are obviously no expensive features such as RAID or Firewire, but the IS7-E is a performance board with overclocking to spare and more than adequate onboard features.

The ABIT IS7-E includes the basic features of a value priced motherboard, including dual-channel DDR266/333/400 and support for up to an 800 MHz front-side bus. The IS7-E motherboard also includes both Parallel and Serial ATA support (no RAID), 8xUSB 2.0 ports, integrated 10/100 LAN, and 6-channel audio. ABIT has also added their popular SoftMenu overclocking BIOS, with frequency overclocking, along with CPU, memory and AGP voltage selections. The ABIT IS7-E is a superb deal for our Value Guide, and its low price really helps us fit a high-performance Intel platform into a $1K budget.