At 12:32 PM 4/17/1998  Art McGee wrote:
>
> I'm looking for a good Pentium/Pentium MMX motherboard. It needs to be a
> Baby AT or 3/4 Baby AT form factor with Intel 430TX chipset.


Art:

I recommend you take a look at the following motherboards:

   Abit Computer Corp.  http://www.abit.com.tw
   ASUS   http://www.asus.com/
   FIC or First International Computer   http://www.fica.com/
   Giga-Byte Technology Co., Ltd.   http://www.giga-byte.com/
   Intel Corp.   http://www.intel.com/
   Octek or Ocean   http://www.ocean-usa.com/ocean/
   Shuttle  http://www.shuttlegroup.com/
   Supermicro Computer Inc.   http://www.supermicro.com/
   Tyan Computer    http://www.tyan.com/

There are other quality motherboards but my limited experience
favors selection from the above.

You usually get what you pay for, everything else being equal (in
the Channel).  When you buy for PRICE alone, a $10 saving may
mean a 4-page manual, fewer quality capacitors, no quality
control, or something else which doubles the return rate. Your time
is worth more than the $10-$20 savings. I'd rather save the money
elsewhere. The motherboard defines your PC.

You should also buy locally for "in your face" RMA. DOAs are
quickly exchanged (time limits apply). When you buy from a
dealer, support is from that dealer. However, WEB page support
is very important (BIOS upgrades, copies of manuals, links).
So don't buy merely on price or maker reputation alone.

Here in Miami, Florida, I can usually find all of the above (though,
not all models) except for Tyan. However, some makers are not
sufficiently represented to result in price competition. And some
dealers do not sell to the general public.

I personally prefer Abit and Asus boards for my own use. For
economy, I use FIC and Shuttle. But I would gladly use any of
the above where price, service or particular feature form the
deciding factors.

You should also take a look at the following websites in your research:

   TOM’s Hardware Guide   http://www.sysdoc.pair.com/
    Anand's Hardware Tech Page   http://www.anandtech.com/
    Spumador's Hardware Page
http://www.venus.it/homes/spumador/ukindex.html
    Motherboard Home World   http://www.motherboards.org/
    System Optimization    http://www.sysopt.com/mboard.html

Let us know which motherboard you finally decide to buy, and why.

Good luck.

John Chin