which mobo to get????

marscheese · Post by **marscheese** » Wed Jan 16, 2002 9:11 am

alright, I've narrowed it down to two: the Soyo K7V Dragon + or the EPoX 8KHA+...basically, I'm just wondering which one (of the two) you guys would recomend. I think I'm leaning toward the EPoX, my friend down the street has it and seems to be quite happy, but...I'm still skeptical. Any advice would be helpful.

And (one again) thanks for all your help

dadx2mj · Post by **dadx2mj** » Wed Jan 16, 2002 10:00 am

Both are good boards and I don't think you will go wrong with either. The Dragon has a few more features but is more expensive. Also if you plan on using the onboard sound the C-Media 6 chanell sound on the Dragon is better than the AC97 on he Epox. I set my Dragon up a little over a week ago and have loved it. It has been very stable.

SuperDave · Post by **SuperDave** » Wed Jan 16, 2002 10:37 am

Let your wallet be your guide; you'll be happy either way. Personally, I couldn't justify the extra expense for the Soyo, but I'm a tightwad.

PreDatoR · Post by **PreDatoR** » Wed Jan 16, 2002 8:26 pm

The dragon will cost ya about 40-50 more than the Epox... If your not using onboard sound and raid get the epox.. If you want raid and onboard sound definately get the Dragon. The Shuttle AK35 thats coming out looks pretty promising also.

marscheese · Post by **marscheese** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 10:37 am

I'm not going to be using onboard sound, but I am going to be using RAID (at some point)...still go with the Dragon?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 11:11 am

Frankly you're better off using an add-on card for RAID, like the Promise or IWill.

If you use the onboard RAID controller and your mobo ever dies, you won't be able to access any of your files unless you get the same replacement mobo.

With an add-on controller you can just connect the controller and drives to another mobo and you're ready to go.

nexus_7 · Post by **nexus_7** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 11:52 am

that is true...but you also have to spend more up front and have cables in more of an annoying place.

Greg

poop · Post by **poop** » Thu Jan 17, 2002 6:57 pm

I agree with FP. Definitely go with an add-on for RAID. With my promise RAID controller, I have drives set up as single-drive arrays. I can unplug them, and then use then in a standard ATA controller.

The only onboard RAID I ever used didn't allow this. In fact, I lost the contents of a 10 GB drive because I ASSumed it was the same as my Promise. DOH!

Hipnotic_Tranz · Post by **Hipnotic_Tranz** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 2:24 pm

Just to let you know, the 8KHA+ (matts board) doesn't have raid where as the 8K7A+ (my board) does. However, my board has an older chipset (AMD761) as opposed to matts which has the K266A which is a tad quicker by benchmarks. If ya wanna save some money, keep an eye on http://www.newegg.com 's refurb section. Got my board for $75