# Recommendations for Socket A Motherboard?

## JDCentral

I'm thinking about building a new system to run gentoo on - the main roles of which will be to watch TV (via MythTV), and to serve files/encode mp3s, videos, etc.

Which socket A motherboard(s) do you recommend?  I'm currently looking at the ASUS A7N8X, but have heard that there are some stability issues with linux and nvidia chipsets.

-Justin

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## micmac

Totally not true. I have an A7N8X and a Shuttle AN35N, both nforce2. They do well. Never have issues with them. Just use a recent kernel.

mic

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## sparks

 *micmac wrote:*   

> Totally not true. I have an A7N8X and a Shuttle AN35N, both nforce2. They do well. Never have issues with them. Just use a recent kernel.
> 
> mic

 

Well, because you have not had any problems with your board does not mean others have not had problems.  I had an Epox 8RDA3+ nForce 2 chipset board that gave me constant problems, it was almost unbearable to work with.  Yes, it was the chipset, I had the original board rma'd and replaced with a same model, problems continued.  I finally bought an Asus Via KT600 board and never had any problems with it.  I know it could have been an isolated problem with just the Epox board, but I never really did trust an nForce chipset after that.  

Now I'm at the point where I will be upgrading again soon and I'm a little weary of choosing an nForce chipset even though I heard the nForce 4 is the best way to go.  As far as socket A is concerned I prefer Via, I know others Prefer nForce2 but that is just my opinion.

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## burzmali

nforce2 chipset is nice.

I have an ASUS A7N8X and it runs super

no stability problems

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## Master Shake

I've never had a linux problem with a VIA kt600 based motherboard.

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## Arainach

For Socket A, NForce2 is the only way to go.  Everything VIA has sucks in comparison.  Go for the Asus you're looking at or Abit's NF7 series.  Both Abit and Asus make the best motherboards out there, and Socket A is no difference.  I'm running an Abit NF7 with an Athlon XP 2500+ (clocked to 2.2Ghz) for my primary machine (Gentoo-only) and I absolutely love it.

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## Gherald

 *JDCentral wrote:*   

> I'm currently looking at the ASUS A7N8X, but have heard that there are some stability issues with linux and nvidia chipsets.

 

That is hogwash.

Get the Asus A7N8X-E or Abit NF7 Rev 2 or Abit AN7.  They are all top of the line Socket A.

Although I've personally installed a ridiculous number of high end Socket As, that was before AMD64.  I think a midrange Socket 754 is a much better investment these days, even if you can only afford a low-end 32bit Semperon to go with it.

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## micmac

 *sparks wrote:*   

>  *micmac wrote:*   Totally not true. I have an A7N8X and a Shuttle AN35N, both nforce2. They do well. Never have issues with them. Just use a recent kernel.
> 
> mic 
> 
> Well, because you have not had any problems with your board does not mean others have not had problems.  I had an Epox 8RDA3+ nForce 2 chipset board that gave me constant problems, it was almost unbearable to work with.  Yes, it was the chipset, I had the original board rma'd and replaced with a same model, problems continued.  I finally bought an Asus Via KT600 board and never had any problems with it.  I know it could have been an isolated problem with just the Epox board, but I never really did trust an nForce chipset after that.  
> ...

 

I think the problem is not nforce2 itself, but extra hardware like SATA and so on. I've plain IDE and nforce2 rocks. What was the problem you experienced in more specific terms?

Cheers

micmac

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## Rhyotte

Im running an Abit NF7-S rev.2.0. One thing i like about it over the Asus is that it has SoundStorm audio. Recently Nvidia released updated drivers that enable hardware mixing for soundstorm. There is also a patch for Skype operation on the new Nv drivers. Also the NF7 boards from Abit have Great bios support. Both from Abit and from the community modded bios's. Im using the Manta Rays bios personally, and I have tested it extensively for stability ect, its great. 

Just my .02 cents  :Smile: 

P.S. just sorta FYI though socket A is pretty much a dead horse now. It may behove you to look at NF4 solutions as well.

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## Admiral LSD

I'm running an Albatron KX18D Pro II which I bought to replace an EPoX 8RDA+ I accidentally fried while dusting it out. Both are (were) good boards and I'd happily buy from either company again. Early on, Asus and Abit boards were notorious for lockups and other BS but the latest kernels work around that brain damage (meanwhile, every other vendor fixed it with a BIOS update...). I wouldn't recommend Asus or Abit myself though, not because of that but because they both offer poor value for money.

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## Gherald

 *Admiral LSD` wrote:*   

> I wouldn't recommend Asus or Abit myself though, not because of that but because they both offer poor value for money.

 

Well, they are top of the line. Anything around $100 is reasonable in my book... it is more important to get a quality motherboard than a fast processor.

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## Jinidog

I'm running a cheap Elitegroup N2U400-A without any problems.

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