Conroe Mobo for $60!!

[Geoff]

I came across this Conroe supported motherboard on Newegg, and this one only costs $58.99!

Heres the link to the item on Newegg: ASRock 775Dual-VSTA ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail at Newegg.com

And heres the statement from the manufacturer: ASRock -> Products -> 775Dual-VSTA

 

[Arm_Pit]

Not suprised at all, esspecaily since its Asrock.(not nessicarly a bad thing)

 

[Geoff]

Im not 100% convinced that it does support it, since I heard it had to have the 975/965 Intel chipset, which this doesn't have.

But if it does work, then it could be exactly what i'm looking for, since I just bought an AGP card and dont want to sell it, or buy a new one.

 

[m0nk3ys1ms]

Im not 100% convinced that it does support it, since I heard it had to have the 975/965 Intel chipset, which this doesn't have.

But if it does work, then it could be exactly what i'm looking for, since I just bought an AGP card and dont want to sell it, or buy a new one.

It says Conroe on the motherboard, so i'm guessing it'll support.

 

[footballstevo75]

interesting...

 

[Cromewell]

I believe OCWorkbench had one of these boards running an x6800.

 

[Geoff]

I believe OCWorkbench had one of these boards running an x6800.

Ok, so it looks like it's legit. So much for only the current 975 chipsets supporting Conroe

 

[SC7]

The 965/975 are just the Intel chipsets. 3rd parties can support it in their own chipsets. The fact that it's a VIA is enough of a turn off to make me not get it.

 

[Ku-sama]

but i like the face it supporst AGP and PCIE

 

[Geoff]

It's not going to be the best performer for someone wanted to build a conroe rig, but if you're someone like me who has an AGP video card and DDR400 memory, that motherboard will allow you to use it until you can upgrade to DDR2 and PCI-E.

 

[m0nk3ys1ms]

It's not going to be the best performer for someone wanted to build a conroe rig, but if you're someone like me who has an AGP video card and DDR400 memory, that motherboard will allow you to use it until you can upgrade to DDR2 and PCI-E.

Looks like it's worth $60 for me, I say go for it.

 

[Rambo]

Yeah, it supports Conroe.

Here's a review about it, with benchmarks:

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2797&p=10

It's not a very good OverClocking board...

 

[Geoff]

It's not a very good OverClocking board...

Yeah, in the reviews they say that they dont have any voltage controls. So all you can do is raise the Bus speed.

 

[Rambo]

Yeah, in the reviews they say that they dont have any voltage controls. So all you can do is raise the Bus speed.

Yup, and even then it only goes up to 340 Mhz (not that anyone has it stable, running at 340 Mhz...). The guys at AnandTech only managed to get it to 297 Mhz @ 1.3v.

I would probably get it if I wasn't going to be overclocking... It's a good budget board, feature packed for it's price, and doesn't look too bad either.



However, it's performance (game-wise) isn't too good. So then again, I probably wouldn't get it

 

[Cromewell]

The fact that it's a VIA is enough of a turn off to make me not get it.

Amen

So much for only the current 975 chipsets supporting Conroe

Currently those are the only ones worth using (unless ATi or nVidia have anything) as VIA is a budget alternative at best. Keep in mind the PT880 is old.

 

[SC7]

But an AGP/DDR and PT880, that'll just cripple a beautiful Conroe chip.

 

[Arm_Pit]

But an AGP/DDR and PT880, that'll just cripple a beautiful Conroe chip.

Thats completly irrelevent to performance depending on much of what your doing.

 

[Geoff]

But an AGP/DDR and PT880, that'll just cripple a beautiful Conroe chip.

If you look at the benchmarks that was posted in a previous link, you will see that the ASRock motherboard isn't too horrible, especially for it's price. However it does come in last in a few tests, so if you are looking to buy a new computer, you should look at some higher end motherboards. But if you're someone who wants to get a Core 2 Duo chip, and cant afford a PCI-E GPU and DDR2 memory, this is a good starting point.

 

[Rambo]

But if you're someone who wants to get a Core 2 Duo chip, and cant afford a PCI-E GPU and DDR2 memory, this is a good starting point.

Well, DDR2 memory doesn't exactly differ in price with DDR. And also, PCI-Express cards are cheaper than AGP cards. I can only see someone buying this board if they don't want to upgrade to a PCI-E card/DDR2 RAM. Or if they just need a really cheap motherboard.

 

[Geoff]

Well, DDR2 memory doesn't exactly differ in price with DDR. And also, PCI-Express cards are cheaper than AGP cards. I can only see someone buying this board if they don't want to upgrade to a PCI-E card/DDR2 RAM. Or if they just need a really cheap motherboard.

What I meant was someone that already has DDR memory, and an AGP video card (like me). And they didnt want to wait until they had money to buy DDR2/PCI-E, or if they didnt want to sell their AGP video card.