Motherboard advice needed

[Larommi]

Here is the story:
I have a buddy who wanted video capture. At the time I thought ATI AIW 16mb would do the trick. The problem now is the thing locks up all the time. Did the drivers for the card, motherboard, agp slot, and bios. Nothing helped. I know that it is because it is an older SS7 board. I want to rebuild his system and put him into an Intel setup. He has a ton of parts that I am going to take in trade for the new parts, but there are limits. I found two boards that I like or have experience with, and are readily available from work.

I like the Asus P3B-F. It has a 440BX chipset that I know is solid, but it is a dated board. The AGP is only 2x and there are limits to the speed of the chips. It is also a little more spendy. (thanks Intel)

Then there is the Asus P3V4X which is a little cheaper but is a Via chipset. The agp is 4X and I am sure is a little more updated. I would also like to think that the chipset is a little more stable after these past few years.

What do you folks think I should go with? Has anybody had any experience with either of these boards and with the AIW card?

Thanks


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You spend your whole life believing that you're on the right track,
only to discover that you're on the wrong train.

[shawnMt]

Take a look at the Abit BF6. Asus P3BF is also a good board but yeah a little spendy.

Just a note, I have an ATI AIW 16MB and Asus P5A SS7 board in a machine and have had no problems with video capture.

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[AlienDyne]

Hi.
My system has Asus P3B-F, Diamond V550 16MB and a Pinnacle Studio-PCTV Tv-tuner.
I have no problems capturing and editing video.

I'd get a motherboard having Intel chipset instead of VIA, if I were in your shoes.

I agree with Shawn about Abit. Asus and Abit are both very good motherboards.

Just one tip: Avoid cheap motherboards. Video capture needs powerful and branded hardware.

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"Matter is passive. In spite of its power, it can't be controlled without the human mind." Sokrates

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[Tech666]

Stick with the intel chipset

I too recommend ABIT , i have stood by them Since the SM5 VX chipset motherboard , and the BF6 is a rock stable board!

i personally have had problems with Asus boards , but that has GOT to be a fluke..just my bad luck

[thirdfey]

I have the P3V4X in our file server and it runs fine, no lockups or blue screens (with Win2K server). You may want to look at the Intel 815 chipset based mainboards starting to appear. There are some good reviews on www.tomshardware.com , I personally have not gotten a chance to try one out. If you get the P3V4X make sure you update it immediatly with current software.

[Larommi]

Thanks for the replies. I am researching the Abit boards. This however is going to be a job that when I get the go ahead has to be done the same day. Our main supplier does not carry that brand. We can get stuff delivered from then in as little as two hours so it kind of limits my choices.

shawnMt, I have used the P5A. In fact I am using one now. I will be the first in line to say go AMD but I will never recommend ATI anything again. That is why I am going the Intel route to get this done and over.

Alien, how have you been? I have been leaning the way of the P3B but I will not be changing video cards at this time.

Tech and thirdfrey, thanks for your input...I will take them into consideration.

I do not have to make any decision for a few days yet so any more input is appreciated.





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You spend your whole life believing that you're on the right track,
only to discover that you're on the wrong train.

[AlienDyne]

I'm fine Larommi. Thanks for asking. Nice to see you again.

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"Matter is passive. In spite of its power, it can't be controlled without the human mind." Sokrates

Photos Of My Work

[This message has been edited by AlienDyne (edited September 19, 2000).]

[Darren Wilson]

I have been using the i815 boards from QDI (Synactix range) since there launch and have beenm 100% with them. I even had a couple of customers insist on Cyrix MIII chips which the Synactix didn't support, just e-mailed QDI and the same day an 'unavailable' BIOS was waiting in my Inbox. Solid support!!!! Abit boards are also solid but I haven't had a chance to try there i815 board out yet. Asus I dumped about 2 years ago when I started getting a lot of RMA's with the P2B, both DOA and after a few weeks/months.

BTW the ATI AIW work fine on these boards and is the only card I will use in any Athlon/Duron systems that I build.

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[Larommi]

Darren,
Which board are you using for the T-Bird, Duron builds? This was something else I had considered but pushed on the back burner because I thought the AIW would never play nice with anything but Intel. If this is the case I might go with AMD on this rebuild. Should I decide to go Intel, what is wrong with a VIA chipset on the board, if that is what is on an Atlhlon board?
Thanks