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Gp · Guest

Hi,
My computer uses an AMD socket 754 motherboard. It has some BIOS problems and since I am told that flashing the bios is risky at best I'm going to replace the motherboard.
Does anyone have a mobo manf preference? I currently have an FIC...I'm looking at either a biostar, asus, mis, and there are a couple others abit, ecs, and gigabyte. There are not a whole bunch of these boards for the 754 processor.....I am not going to go dual core or anything like that till I buy a rack mount down the road some.
Any suggestions on brands not to buy?

louzucaro · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject:

If you're prepared to replace the motherboard, then why not Flash the BIOS, since the worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and then you're ready to replace the mobo anyway?

I've Flashed bunches o'motherboards and never had an issue, so long as you follow the instructions, which aren't usually very complicated.

"Don't turn off the computer now!" is usually the most important part to follow Smile

That said, whichever mobo has the features you're looking for at a decent price will probably be ok if it's from a company you like. I've had Asus, Supermicro, Intel and a few others and haven't ever had an issue with any of them.
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Gp · Guest

thanks Lou...A few people told me they have had some problems when flashing the bios..especially with an FIC board...I really feel like I should at least try but then if it doesn't work I'm without a computer. So I have to buy one anyway. If I buy one and then flash the bios I have an extra mobo now that I need to sell...so I am trying to figure out the best way.

Jon Morss · Guest

My pref is the EVGA 780i SLI MB It supports up to 3 SLI compatible graphics cards and has built in 7.1 surround sound. I had see it on sale with an Intel Quad Core Q6700 for $499 the other week at Tiger Direct which is a bargain considering the CPU alone goes for about $550.. Most serious folks I know that put their own PCs together use either the EVGA 680i or 780i.

Gp · Guest

Thanks John,
I appreciate the input. However, I am not building a new system....yet.
This is for my old processor and mobos for it are hard to find.

louzucaro · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:24 pm Post subject:

Did you look here?

http://www.pricewatch.com/motherboards/socket_754.htm

...and another which you've likely seen...

http://www.directron.com/k8vxse.html

(of all those, I'd feel most comfortable with the Asus or Gigabyte)
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

steveanthony · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject:

if it's a critical machine, like a digital workstation, I usually look at Asus or Gigabyte boards first. Otherwise, I'll see what deals are going on at newegg.com or compgeeks.com. You can check tomshardware.com for reviews of motherboards, too.

Gp · Guest

Thanks everyone I appreciate the help. Looks like a good deal on a biostar from the pricewatch link... I had forgotten about that one.

Yoda117 · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:14 pm Post subject:

Before we get to the point of getting a new mobo (BTW: Tyan and Intel are my person favs... though Gigabyte and Asus are also top contenders for the home users), have we tried updating the BIOS yet?

No need to worry about replacing something if we're not sure that it's broke yet.

Update your BIOS, then worry about a new system. BIOS upgrades are par for the course as a computer owner.
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Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Now, I may be a bumbling fool...

BUT, the first time I tried flashing my BIOS on my Asus M2N SLi-Deluxe mobo, it stalled and then shut down in the middle of flashing. In doing so, the mobo died (I RMA'd it and am getting back the repaired one soon), and worse yet, it took out my $250 sound card with it, which also now needs to be repaired (I hope it CAN be!). SO there IS risk in flashing your BIOS.

I've assembled 3 systems myself over the past year or so, and in EVERY case, I've had mobo problems! The first used a Gigabyte mobo, which smoked when I first booted it up (RMA'd, 2nd one worked fine). The second used this Asus mobo I mentioned, and the third was a cheapo ECS board (I know ithis brand has a poor rep, but it got better than average ratings on NewEgg). I also RMAd the ECS board when it refused to boot at all. I replaced it with a Biostar board that has been mostly problem-free.

Read up on reviews at NewEgg.com. Asus quality control seems to have gone downhill the past few years. On NewEgg, there are usually many extremely helpful reviews from actual user that can save your bacon. For example, I've had trouble with my audio editing PC shutting down seemingly at random (the one with the Asus mobo). I went to NewEgg, sorted the reviews of my Antec Sonata III case by "lowest reviews first," and found out that my case has a known issue with extreme sensitivity of the front USB port to static discharge! Often times, if I put a flash drive in the front USB port, it will just shut down, but I don't even need to touch it sometimes. Now that I know about this issue, I can am mostly able to prevent it from happening again - and I might not have known unless I read the "problem" reviews on NewEgg (until then, I thought it was a PSU issue, or maybe more mobo flakiness).

Hope this helps.
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TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:25 am Post subject:

I've built several computers over time. In fact the last one I purchased ready-to-go was back in 1987. I've been through a number of computers since then.
I've used ABIT most of the time with excellent results. Now, I liked them because of their ease at over-clocking, but besides that they were all very stable. And I over-clocked them all, so I always pushed them to the limit. ASUS is another very good MB brand IMHO. I've flashed every board I have had, some more than once w/o any issues.

On campus there was an issue with the Gateway computers when upgraded to Win2000. The fan control would not work and the fan would stay at low speed. We upgraded hundreds of computers with new BIOS to resolve the issue and no failures.

So, if you are resigned to possibly replacing the MB, I'd flash the BIOS and cross your fingers. Maybe already have the new MB in hand if you are really worried about it. While you are at it, get a new hard drive as well. If you do need to change MB, and if it's a new model, just rebuild your computer and use the old hard drive as a slave to get all your stuff off of it.
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Gp · Guest

Thanks again for the responses. I should have told you all that there are more than just BIOS issues with this board. The bios is just the main one I have to deal with on a day to day basis. It also shuts itself down when I plug a USB connection in to the front port. There are a couple of other issues too.
I did replace it...or at least I will once the mobo gets here. I ended up with an ASUS. It's a sort of NOS board so hopefully it will be one of the good quality ones.
I appreciate all the help I received...it's great to have a place like this.

allensco · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:24 am Post subject:

Well...let me throw another name in the pot. I've used Shuttle mobo's in two computers I've built over the years and NEVER had a problem with either. The DAW I use now was one I built in 2001 using a Shuttle mobo and Athlon chip. Sure, it's an older system...but it's working fine. No problems at all Wink

(knock on wood!)

louzucaro · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:15 pm Post subject:

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Hey Lou,
My PCs are plugged into an APC surge suppressor/battery back-up system. It’s been several months since this happened, so my memory is sketchy. All I can tell you is that when flashing the BIOS, everything froze up for a long time. Or – I’m having trouble remembering - possibly it rebooted (which may have been an issue with my case being sensitive to static discharge, a known issue with the Antec Sonata III I have discovered). After this, my PC would not boot or even post.
I took it into my local PC repair shop, who ran some tests and told me my mobo was shot, and warned me that it may have caused damage to other components. Sure enough, after they replaced the mobo with a new one (same exact model), my sound card was causing major problems. It’s been long enough that I can’t remember exactly what it was doing, suffice it to say it was acting crazily. They told me that the sound card was probably fried when the mobo went down.
So, if the problem was that my PC shut down from a static discharge issue while in the process of a BIOS flash, THAT may have been what caused all of the trouble. I do recall warning about not interrupting the process because “bad things” would happen. So it is possible that the source of the problem might have been my case, not the mobo. Hope this helps!
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Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
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