[chuckb_jr]

With my recent problems surfacing I'm feeling need for change...


does anyone have any experience with the Asus A7V333-R motherboard? It looks fine and dandy from the specs I've been looking at, but that doesn't necessarily mean much anymore (in regards to these ATI cards and the HTPC).


Real world experience? Currently using? Thinking about getting one? Anyone? Wayne? Just seeking some informed opinions.

 

[Shockabuku]

I'm using the 266 flavour of the A7V board, plus two other ASUS mobos & they're all rock solid. Personally, I always buy ASUS boards as I've had various troubles with other makes, but these are always top notch. It's worth checking it out on the net though, just in case - here's a blinding review of the model you're interested in (though without the RAID).


Cheers,


Mark.

 

[gmanhdtv]

CBJ, I personally own this mobo. In the past I have tried in order--FSI, MSI, TYAN, then ABIT. All have been Athlon based systems. The ABIT was a great and stable motherboard. The ASUS was the smoothest install I have ever encountered in the dozen or so computers I have built for myself, family or friends. In the future my first and hopefully only choice will be ASUS motherboards! If you need further info please advise.

 

[xcel]

Hi Chuckb_jr:


___If your building new, you have a ton of choices. I try to only use Asus boards myself but is there a reason you need a VIA chipset? Spec’s mean nothing in the HTPC world. Run a DTS DVD across this guy with your onboard sound via S/PDIF. Does it work properly? What if you were to place an M-Audio on it? Does it work properly now? How about if you place a HiPix on it? Is that as stable as a HiPix on a Intel chipset based board? In each and every case, you will probably have to add tweaks to the VIA chipset based boards to get them either stable with the HW listed or work properly. I don’t know how many times I have tried to help VIA owners with the high latency bus problems for HTPC uses but it is more than hundreds. I own a Soyo Dragon + myself and although I can make it work with the HW listed, I have to detune the HW to do so.


___It all comes down to VIA’s ability to design and its capabilities to test the HW to its capabilities. They don’t and they cannot. Than again, maybe you will be using an AC97 sound card with lower quality sound and not even considering a Hi-Def solution. If so, these boards are as fast as anything out there but for HTPC uses, I already gave you the caveats. Than again, I have only built and used the VIA chipset equipped boards from the KX133 to the KT266A’s and have 0 experience with the latest KT333’s. With the choices available to you, you don’t have to test them for yourself with all the HW listed above when you can get a chipset that is guaranteed to work with the HW/SW listed above from either Intel or SiS.


___Good Luck


___Wayne R. Gerdes

___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.

___ [email protected]

 

[jgeiselman]

I completely agree with xcel! Via boards are great for gaming (i own a a7v333 No-r) and as far as performance its hard to be beat. But for htpc via lacks in stability and overall compatibility. Your going to spend a little more but in the long run you'll be happier, get a intel based board. there stable, and compatible! go for a i845d (ddr board), I personally have a p4b266-c and it works with EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!


good luck,

Jon

 

[lennyr]

I completely agree with the above comments re Via chipsets, having suffered through their issues myself. However, not wanting a Via chipset in and of itself is no reason to go to Intel chipsets (and CPUs).


I have an Asus A7N266-C, which is based on the nVidia nForce chipset. I have found it to be as fast as the Vias, totally stable, and satisfactorily compatible. I haven't tried it with an M-Audio card (I use the onboard sound), but do use it with a HiPix, and it works great.

 

[xcel]

Hi Lennyr:


___I can substantiate that same HTPC HW we all use works great in an Nvidia nForce as well as it is a very fast AMD CPU platform. If you are dead set on using an AMD XP + or upcoming Thoroughbred, this is the only board I recommend for both performance and HTPC HW compatibility with them. The latest 615-D’s should be both reasonably priced as well as performance competitive with the KT-333’s when they become available as well …


___Good Luck


___Wayne R. Gerdes

___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.

___ [email protected]

 

[yonkiman]

I just set up an A7V333 with an Athlon 2100+ and it went perfectly smoothly. The thing benchmarks at about 2x my 800MHz PIII w/Asus CUSL2 MB. I also swear by Asus - though I've never used MBs from other manufacturers, Asus MBs have always been reliable and a pleasure to work with.

 

[Kriilin]

Hi,


I've built two pc's with Asus boards and loved both of them. One thing to keep in mind if you are using the onboard sound, is that Asus may not be selling the SPDIF I/O module in N America, so far only the output. If you are using a 3rd-party sound card, then this obviously not an issue. Hope this helps.

 

[falcon]

I purchased this board with an AMD 1800+ last week. Everything has been running great so far. I have been using ASUS motherboards for years, they are terrific. As for compatibility issues, I have not run into any yet. I used to buy Intel only for the longest time, but after researching primarily from www.tomshardware.com I gave the AMD CPU a try. You definitely get more performance for the money with this setup. Check the web site listed above for all the benchmarks. The A7V333 motherboard is only $116 and I bought an AMD Athlon XP 1800+ CPU for $118 at www.avlogic.com. A comparable Intel Pentium 4 1.8ghz CPU would cost $199 and an ASUS P4B266 motherboard at $132. I took the $97 dollars I saved over the Intel system and purchased an ATI Radeon 7500.


Good Luck.

 

[chuckb_jr]

I went ahead with the purchase... was disappointed to find out that it didn't have the S/PDIF board in the box... my reseller is looking into this, but Krillin, if this isn't available in N.A. what options do I have? I really want that I/O board! I've emailed Asus Tech Support already and have made every effort to try and locate one, but to no avail.

 

[xcel]

Hi Falcon:


___You haven’t used the A7V333 with the HTPC HW we use yet, have you … Now you can find out all on your own what the VIA chipset issues for HTPC use are all about As for Tom’s Hardware, well let’s just say that his site is the fourth of ten to fifteen tech sites I try and hit on a daily basis …


___Chuckb_jr: I have heard that BZBoys.com has the Asus S/PDIF I/O brackets but I picked my 2 up locally from a local reseller with good connections … As for BZboys themselves, they tried to pull a fast one by shipping me some generic PC600 RDRAM RIMM’s when I specifically ordered/specified Samsung original PC800 about 4 or 5 months ago so be careful with this reseller. In other words, call them and grille them to make sure they have exactly what you want in case they do have them available. To add to your list, there are (3) different Asus S/PDIF brackets to choose from so make sure you ask for the specific one you want … if they have them that is.


___Good Luck


___Wayne R. Gerdes

___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.

___ [email protected]