[NMLUG] Budget AMD 939 x2 motherboard

[sbrowne at ix.netcom.com (Steve Browne)]

Checking out several mobos for my system upgrade (as much as my budget
would allow) I found a pleasant surprise - a board with the latest
features which works and at a BARGAIN PRICE.

The "Mach Speed Viper" MK8-939A is sold only by Tigerdirect.com. I've
never before bought from them as I can find better prices elsewhere;
so far the experience has been positive. The specs are at:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1953306

It runs AMD Athlon 64/FX/X2 and, most interestingly, sports an AGP
("MGP") AND a PCI-E x16 video card slot, so if you are considering the
transition from AGP to x16 (recommended!) this covers the bases. It
has a Phoenix bios with features not mentioned in the literature,
including recognition of ECC DDR (I haven't tested this function yet).

It looks to me like a rebranded Biostar, having Biostar's trademark
red substrate. The board has two blank spaces for missing chips. One
is for LAN ROM. I don't use LAN ROM so I don't know what it does. The
other, I think, is for a Winbond-type sensor chip, as gkrellm can't
find the CPU temperature (although the bios can).

For all that loss you get this mobo for $49.99 (after $20 rebate) plus
shipping. I can vouch that it works fine with all Linux distros I've
mentioned testing. It overclocks more stabily than my Asus A8V, and
that using non-ECC DDR.

Thought you'd like to hear something positive!

Steve
Stephen B. Browne
sbrowne@ix.netcom.com
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
                          - Walt Disney