Soyo Tech M.B. ?

Hello,
To make a long story short, I've talked a buddy into a custom built pc verses a Gateway or Dell which he was considering.. His guro wants to use a Soyo Tech motherboard at $199.99. Model # k7vta.
I've never heard of them. It has onboard audio which his guro said could be disabled easely and run a conventional sound board in the future. Also this is for a AMD socket A cpu. I was just at Soyo Tech website which is a very slow loading website--all I could get was the specs. FAQ's and manuals wouldn't download--didn't try the drivers.
Does anybody have any input on this brand motherboard? I like and have Abit. I'd also approve Assus or Fica for him. Also $199 seams hi-I spent I think 160 last Oct (2000) for my Abit.
K7A Raid.
Thanks in advance for any input.

1. RE: Soyo Tech M.B. ?
Scott_22 Aug-31-01 00:12 AM
In response to message 0

OOPPS I'M SORRY
The price of $199 includes AMD Athlon 1.2 mhz chip. Price doesn't seem so bad now but still wonder if board is any good.
Thank You

2. RE: Soyo Tech M.B. ?
lbyard Aug-31-01 02:03 PM
In response to message 1

Some input can be found by searching this web site with the Site Search to the left. I have not used Soyo motherboards, but have heard mainly good things about them and that they are popular in Europe. The particular board that you mention is not the most recent offering from Soyo. I for one would not buy a board that does not support DDR memory. Larry

3. RE: Soyo Tech M.B. ?
Scott_22 Sep-01-01 01:15 AM
In response to message 2

Larry,
Thank You Very much for your input. I would help you out in a heart beat with your next home improvement prodject for free ( being a licenced union plumber) but the commute from Chicago to Maine with gas been $1.87 a gallon here in Chi-town would kill me.
Thank you Sir for the great website.
Take Care, SCOTT

4. RE: Soyo Tech M.B. ?
copperpipe Sep-01-01 05:22 AM
In response to message 3

A lot of people have been buying the ECS K7S5A (SIS 735 chipset) DDR board due to its low $60 - $65 price. It also has SDRAM slots in case you don't want to buy the DDR RAM for now. And most come with an onboard network card built in (I'm not sure about the fit with the RF shield plate on the back of the case). Let it be known that I have no affiliations with ECS.
This board is said to have great performance, is very stable, and of course the low price. ECS was reportedly the #2 seller of motherboards in the world (ASUS was #1) last year. The only shortcoming is that this board does not have much in the way of overclocking features (Larry should like this one!).
I'm very tempted to get one - my empty Antec SX830 case is dying for company.