Best AMD MicroATX board?

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computerfan

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There are alot of motherboard reviews out there but very few good MicroATX reviews. I just want to know which, in your opinion, is the best MicroATX board out there? I am just concerned with AMD boards, either socket A or 754, I don't think there are any micro 939s out yet.
I was also curious as to what microATX boards were the best for overclocking?

To me the MSI K8TM-ILSR looks like the best socket 754 board. It's one of the few that I've seen that doesn't have integrated graphics.
 
I was looking through the forums for pretty much the same thing as you. I have a small gaming box that I wanted to be semi-portable so I needed a M-ATX board. I settled on the Asrock K7VM4 with a XP2500 Barton. It has pretty good overclocking options and has been really stable for me. As soon as I added my own video and sound cards, it became even more stable.

I too am ready for an upgrade, but need to get MicroATX in order to fit in the case. I am curious to see any more suggestions.
 
So how long have you been on your current system?
I have been looking at alot of micro boards online but there are a lot. I like the looks of the Albatron KM18G pro for socket A, but it's been out for almost a year and a half. There must be something better that has come out since then. I would like to hear from peoples experiences rather than just reading specs.
Hopefully someone out there is extremely happy with their micro ATX board that will let us know about it. ;)
 
If you want socket A, get a Biostar M7NCD. Not the pro version, because that's fullsize. It even overclocks pretty well, all for cheap.
 
I just got the MSI K8MM-ILSR (754 pin A64) and stuck it in the Antec Aria Micro-ATX case. It's been running about 48 hours now. Haven't had a chance to test it's O/Cing abiltiy yet, but there are adjustments in the bios for voltage and FSB speed. I plan on making it my new Folding Television and replace a 2200+ XP.
 
I'll soon be the proud owner of four shuttle MN31N IGP mobo's. Its based upon the nforce2 mcp-t & igp chipset which means Firewire and Soundstorm (with spdif bracket) + dual vga. It has only fsb oc options but its still good for around 180fsb depending on cpu. Add a seperate video card and it can usually oc a little higher.

If total oc performance in an matx mobo is what you're looking for then go for icthus's or CIWS's advice because those are nice mobos as well. Only problem is that it doesn't have the mcp-t chipset aka firewire+soundstorm. The biostar does have a nice tv-out header though.

Edit: inaccuracies
 
is there even a socket A micro ATX board that can handle CPU fsb of 400MHz? If not, what about with overclocking?
 
I know the Biostar M7NCD full ATX can, so I assume the micro can as well. Also, it's a great overclocker.
 
I know shuttle has a popular m-atx board. FIC also has a decent a64 m-atx board (via KT800 chipset)
 
another vote for the Shuttle MN31N IGP Nforce2

I've used it in about 4 or 5 builds now.
Great board and the onboard graphics aren't that shabby
 
I now the suttle MN31N IGP Nforce2 isn't bad but I heard that it can only reach 180MHz fsb. As for the Biostar icthus13, the M7NCD is still fullsize http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/board.php3?name=M7NCD. I think you meant to say the M7NCG http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/board.php3?name=M7NCG, and all the M7NCG models. Some of these models like the M7NCG 400 seem to be able to run at 200MHz fsb. I am going to look a little more at this board right now. Does anyone have experience with it?
 
I was running some searches on newegg and I found two boards with 400 MHz cpu and mem support. They are both from Chaintech, the 7NIL1-Summit(no on board video :) ) and the 7NIF2 (with on board video). The 7NIL1-Summit has an nForce2 ultra 400 chipset. This is the BEST mATX board I've ever seen!
Does anyone have any experience with either of these boards? I would really like to hear about some first hand experiences.
 
I loves my Asus A7V8X MX

Great audio, great feature compatibility in linux(its used in an HTPC as of 1 hour ago)
 
jpopa said:
I loves my Asus A7V8X MX

Great audio, great feature compatibility in linux(its used in an HTPC as of 1 hour ago)
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I don't think that board can handle 400MHz fsb. The Chaintechs listed above definitely hit 400MHz fsb and I think would be better for gaming.
 
Im running an m7ncg 400 at 200/200. right now you can get version 7.2 that has all of the voltages of the m7ncdp and overclocks very well. the shuttle while being very good is limited to 333 fsb unless overclocking, but the biostar will run native 400 fsb processors, and as we all know 400 fsb bartons prices are dropping and this makes an xp3200 attractive since you don't need to overclock and you can use stock volts for better temps. the cheintech mentioned even though listed as having the ultra chipset should run native 400 fsb bartons ok, but i don't think it will overclock well because of lack of voltages and mutlipliers, the biostar seems to be the only board that has it all (besides soundstorm). but an OEM Santa Cruise card from newegg will suffice. additionally, the newer nvida and ati video cards might need some agp voltages to get the best stability - so keep the in mind. I think that makes the biostar the best overall choice, or the shuttle as second choice imo for matx. If you really desire soundstorm (you will need to buy an addirional SPDIF bracket) to get rca out or optical out (real soundstorm) as well as have the right speaks (digital or a digital caoable reciever) as oulet for dolby digital encoding. for some this makes the shuttle mcp-t matx attractive. myself I wanted the ability to run a native xp3200 and not have to fool with overclocking (did that for years) and just be able to run rock solid stable at 200/200 @ 2.2+ and play games and run office apps with absolutely no problems and never crash and never reboot during a game and run @ 1.65v with 2x120MM fans as cool as can be. with the m7ncg 400 this is easy. Also if i get a good offer for my ati 9800 pro card I can sell it and use igp until i decide to get the new ati card and not be without a video adapter - and that makes the m7ncg 400 a great choice.
 
zone_86 said:
Im running an m7ncg 400 at 200/200...
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Well this Biostar board and the Chaintechs seem to be the best choices. I was at Canada Computers www.canadacomputers.com (I'm from Toronto) last night, picking up my new Antec Aria, and while I was there I asked about the mATX selection of boards. The guy told me the MSI KM4M-L could handle 400/400 fsb but I didn't believe him since every site I've seen listed it as 333/333. He then grabbed one and opened up the box to get the MSI KM4M-L manual to see the listed specs. To my surprise it listed 400/400.
I don't who to believe; the websites or the manual???
 
I just set up a Chaintech 7NIF2 last night, and it isn't very good. It seems to be "broken" with mobile athlons. There is nowhere to set the multiplier in the BIOS, and it apparently defaults to a multiplier of 6 when using an XP-M.

So, my 2400+M is running at 1GHz right now. :rolleyes:
 
yeah, well you tried :) you could get the biostar m7ncg 400. has all options and clocks extremely well for matx. has multipliers too (on version 7.2). good luck .
 
Dark Ember said:
I just set up a Chaintech 7NIF2 last night, and it isn't very good. It seems to be "broken" with mobile athlons. There is nowhere to set the multiplier in the BIOS, and it apparently defaults to a multiplier of 6 when using an XP-M.

So, my 2400+M is running at 1GHz right now. :rolleyes:
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You're aware of the pin mod right? While not as easy as bios adjustments, you'll be able to set the multiplier and voltage that way. There's more information about it in this thread You may have to scan the first few pages for relevant posts and links.
 
i don't mention that too much anymore. i assume most people on forums like this probably know about the socket /L12 mod. but your right it can very well be done. i used to do it on kt333/400 boards where you didn't have the proper options.
 
There was a version initially of the Biostar M7NCD that had the MCP-T, I wish I grabbed one when I saw it. Perfect HTPC with the 5.1 surround and video in a single micro board.

Im looking for one again, no luck. I have a 1800+ and 2x 256M Valueram I want to put in and run as close to fanless as I can get.
 
Shuttle MN31N


I've built over a dozen systems with the board. I'd put it into one of my rigs in a heartbeat.
 
uwackme said:
There was a version initially of the Biostar M7NCD that had the MCP-T, I wish I grabbed one when I saw it. Perfect HTPC with the 5.1 surround and video in a single micro board.

Im looking for one again, no luck. I have a 1800+ and 2x 256M Valueram I want to put in and run as close to fanless as I can get.
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You can sometimes get the original M7NCG MCP-T refurbed at Newegg. My b-inlaw has one in a rig i built for him and i try to dream up ways of snagging it from him :D j/k. The two later revisions have a boatload of bios settings and full blown oc options. Why Biostar quit making that little red devil is beyond me.
 
SJetski71 said:
You can sometimes get the original M7NCG MCP-T refurbed at Newegg. My b-inlaw has one in a rig i built for him and i try to dream up ways of snagging it from him :D j/k. The two later revisions have a boatload of bios settings and full blown oc options. Why Biostar quit making that little red devil is beyond me.
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I put on in a rig I sold to a friend once too... So far, though, I haven't been able to get it back either, not for lack of trying.
 
SJetski71 said:
You're aware of the pin mod right? While not as easy as bios adjustments, you'll be able to set the multiplier and voltage that way. There's more information about it in this thread You may have to scan the first few pages for relevant posts and links.
Click to expand...

With the pin mod from this MN31N thread, could you run a athlon 3200+ with ddr400 ram at the proper 400/400 fsb? Is it stable / does it over heat, at 400/400 fsb?

Thanks for the help. I won't rest easily untill I find a socket A microATX board that can do this
 
uwackme said:
There was a version initially of the Biostar M7NCD that had the MCP-T, I wish I grabbed one when I saw it. Perfect HTPC with the 5.1 surround and video in a single micro board.
Im looking for one again, no luck. I have a 1800+ and 2x 256M Valueram I want to put in and run as close to fanless as I can get.
Click to expand...

only biostar's that ever had mcp/t was the original m7ncg (matx), then the m7ncg pro. m7ncg pro (full atx) is 333 fsb only (unless clocked) as is/was the m7ncg. m7ncg was nearly identcal feature wise to the shuttle mn31n. both are really good overall motherboards, not just as htpc but as regular motherboards, after all they do overclock, and they will run a barton 3000 @ 333 fsb nicely which is nearly as fast as an xp3200. the best overlocking matx k7 board right now is the biostar m7ncg 400 - which lacks active cooling (good for quietness though) and soundstorm, but will run an xp3200 when not running igp (which the m7ncg, mn31n) will not - so even though it doesn't have the nvida ultra 400 chip (has the crush 18d) it will still run the xp3200 and has vcore, vdimm, vagp, mutipliers.
 
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