What is a good motherboard in the $40 range

[acidosmosis]

I am looking for a good board in the $40 range to build systems with. We used the ECS K7S5A Pro in about 6 systems this week and I am looking for an alternative to that board in the same price range.

The main thing is it should support a 266mhz FSB, and I am looking for something that has good reviews as far as a stable board.

 

[Rick]

Good board and $40 are not synonomous.

You basically have two choices: ECS or Shuttle

Actually, Biostar and Chaintec may weasle their way in that list as well. Just depends on where you shop and what you find.

You may also be able to find "off brand" boards such as PC Chips or Sapphire, but I can't make any testimonials on their reliability and performance.

If you scoot your budget into the $60 range, then you can find boards like Asrock/Asus, Aopen, FIC, Gigabyte and pretty much all the major brands.

You get what you pay for, and dollar for dollar, the ECS K7 boards are probably the best if you are on a budget and don't overclock.

 

[Didou]

Asrock K7VT2 based on the KT266a chipset so 100/133 FSB, USB ports, onboard Ethernet & even SDR/DDRam slots.

http://www.asrockamerica.com/Products/K7VT2.htm

 

[gsgleason]

go to www.pricewatch.com and go to motherboards and click on the chipset you want. I just got am MSI with KT333 and I like it. I've had no problems at all.

 

[acidosmosis]

I dont normally purchased anything from PriceWatch, unless the company has good ratings on resellerratings.com.

FYI, take a look at www.monarchcomputer.com. Their products are cheap, you get free shipping on lots of items, items are packaged VERY well and they have won multiple awards for excellent service. I've added them to my list. So far only 3 websites have made it onto that list, so that says a lot.

 

[Charles Hammond]

Might try looking for ECS on Googlegear or zipzoomfly.com

 

[acidosmosis]

Well, ECS is what we have been going with so far. So have I in the last year for a MB in that range. Just looking for an alternative in case we need one.