Motherboard recommendation

[dfl8rms]

Not sure if this has been already discussed here (please forgive me if it has).  

I am looking at building a new system based on the AMD processor and need recommendation(s) on a motherboard.  I like the Asus A7N266-C/E, but not sure if all the onboard/builtin features will work with Linux.

Your recommendations of motherboards that are known to work with Linux & MS would be appreciated.  Also thoughts on motherboards with lots of onboard features (sound, raid, etc.) versus less feature rich.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations, links, and your time away from the other BBS threads.

[jonnyb]

Gigabyte GA-7VRXP.  Has onboard RAID/LAN.  Dual BIOS.  Nice for overclocking.  Passively cooled northbridge, and VIA KT333 southbridge.  Great board all around.

You won't have any problems with either Linux or MS operating systems.

[Staga]

Give This one a look; I replaced my old A7M266 with that Soltek SL-75DRV5 and it works great.

Links to Tom's Hardware and AMD3D

[bloom25]

I'm glad it worked OK for you jonnyb, but that board is a nightmare IMO.  It has serious issues with the GeForce 4 Titanium graphics cards.  (Even though it includes a paper saying "fully compatible... " with them. )  If I were to recommend a KT333 board, a good deal for the money is the MSI KT3 Ultra.

I have not used or seen the Soltek boards, so I can't comment on them.

The Asus A7N266-C does not have onboard video, and is the board I use in my own system.  The -E board has an onboard GeForce 2 Mx graphics chip.  Both have Linux drivers available from nVidia's site, but to be honest I haven't tried them yet.  Under Windows 2000 the A7N266 series boards are great.

[gatso]

I will not be buying a Gigabyte board in the near future. Bought a GA7ZXR last year, the system I am using it in will only turn on if the temp is below 20 degs celcius and it hasn't been switched on in the last 4 hours. Even then It's not guarenteed to work, sometimes it just won't switch on at all.

Heard nice things about some of the Soyo boards. Not sure about their recent models though.

Gatso

[beet1e]

I am a product loyalist when it comes to boards, and always go for Asus - currently a A7V133. I believe the third letter in the board name eg. A7V133 denotes the chipset, so without looking I guess the A7N266 has the Nforce chipset. Some have said that Nforce is too leading edge. Others have said the VIA chipset is too problematical, but I have had no problems with it on either W-ME or W2000 Pro. I recently posted this thread in the VIA hardware forums, as I am planning a new system myself that will run Linux. I have considered the A7N266x, but now I'm considering the A7V333 which, I am assured, will run Linux.

[lord dolf vader]

i have the asus a7v266c with xp pro its my main machine. not one problem . via 4in ones are a must tho.

but i think the avn266vm with gforce2 built in and the duel channel thing is better. al

[Roscoroo]

How much time do you have to waste ?  thats about what i think about a Gigabyte mb ...

this is the board your looking at .... .   my question is under VGA   it appears to have an onboard GF mx series video card built in and a sound amp.   Are you shure you want this feature ????
   i think i would question some other linex users about this . there's bound to be a Q&A/ review site somewhere if you do a search .

I put up the specs here for the rest of the pc guru's to glance over for ya .

Asus A7N266-C/E   (this is the "E" Specs)
CPU
Socket A for AMD® Athlon™ XP / Athlon™ / Duron™ CPU
On-die 128KB L1 and 256KB / 64KB L2 Cache

Chipset
NVIDIA nFORCE 420-D
South Bridge: NVIDIA™ IGP-128
North Bridge: NVIDIA™ MCP-D (built-in Dolby Digital Encoder)

FSB
266/200 MHz

Memory
Support 64-bit or 128-bit memory bus
Supports max. 64Mbyets to 1.5GBytes PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC DDR Memory
TwinBank memory architecture to achieve Max. 4.2GB/s bandwidth

Expansion Slots
1 x AGP Pro/4X
5 x PCI
1 x ACR (shared with adjacent PCI) (Note 1)

VGA
1.5V AGP Pro / 4X
Embedded GeForce 2 MX-class GPU (Graphics Processor Unit)

IDE
2 x UltraDMA 100 / 66 / 33

Audio
Integrated APU (Audio Processor Unit) in MCP-D
built-in Dolby Digital (AC-3) Encoder
Bundled ACR 6-channel daughter card with S/PDIF Digital Output Port

LAN (Optional)
Realtek® RTL 8100 10/100Mbps LAN controller

Special Features
Power Loss Restart
ASUS Live Update
CPU Throttle
Vcore & Vio adjustable
ASUS C.O.P (CPU Overheating Protection)

Back Panel I/O Ports
1 x Parallel, 2 x Serial
PS/2 Keyboard / Mouse
1 x Game / MIDI (optional)
1 x RJ45 (optional), 2 x USB

Internal I/O Connectors
1 x USB connector support additional 2 USB ports
SIR/CIR
CPU / Chassis / Power fan connectors
IDE LED connector
Headphone (optional)
MIC2 (optional)
CD / AUX / Modem audio in (optional)
20 pin ATX Power connector

BIOS
2Mb Flash ROM, Award BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, SM BIOS 2.3