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Thread: Looking for motherboard recommends

  1. Looking for motherboard recommends

    Rebuilding my PC to be mainly for media, but also some gaming. Don't want to pay the price of bleeding edge, but want something that will still be decent in a few years. I can pick out most parts, but there's way too many motherboard options out there, so I'd thought I'd hit up the PC centric folks here for a little help. And if you can suggest a CPU and a desktop style case to go along with it, I'd be pretty much set.
    "I've watched while the maggots have defiled the earth. They have
    built their castles and had their wars. I cannot stand by idly any longer." - Otogi 2

  2. Mmmm, I'm an AMD guy.

    Go to www.newegg.com and just browse around.

    If you're looking for a normal gaming PC, get:

    AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or higher if you're on a really tight budget. If you can spring some more cash for a processor, the dual core AMD X2 3800+ is going for under $150 on some sites, it just dropped half price this week.

    Motherboard, you basically have 2 main options. SLI or non SLI. 2 videocards or 1 videocard. You seem like you'll only need one, so get a non SLI motherboard that supports an AMD Socket 939 processor, and make sure that it has an nVidia chipset of some kind. My favorite brands are Asus, ASRock, and Gigabyte. Asus is a sure bet usually.

    Memory, try 1 gig(512MB X 2) of corsair or something similar.

    Oh yeah, I'm assuming you're going to get a new videocard for this. Make sure your motherboard has a PCI Express X16 slot, because this is what all new videocards are using. As for the videocard, I lean towards nVidia Geforce cards at the moment, try something in the 6800 range or higher. Read reviews.

    As for your case, go to www.newegg.com and search through their huge library of ATX cases. Pick one that you like the look of, that has gotten a lot of good reviews. Then you're all set!

  3. You're going to want dual-core if you want it to last you a while, even if you get the lowest-end of them all. Processor speeds are capping a bit at the moment and multi-core systems are the current wave of the future. Same thing with SLI, though if that's not affordable you'll be fine.


    "I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery." - Tommy Tallarico

  4. Like has been said you should get a dual core, the cheapest being a 3800+.
    Ram, either 2x512mb ($80), or 2x1gb ($160)if you have the money.
    Asus is the best brand to buy for your motherboard, so definately get one of those. You could get an SLI one now for under $100 too I think, which would make you more future proof.
    You can get 7600GTs now for around $150 I think, so that might be a good choice for your graphics card.

    Tell us what you're budget is though. If you have a bit more money, you should get a conroe system instead, but that would be $500-600+ for ram, motherboard, cpu.

  5. Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll definitely be going for a dual core now, and digging around seems to suggest the prices are dropping as Intel releases their new CPU. My budget is $400-500, though I'll be holding off on getting a new video card until around the time Vista hits, since my current one will manage for now.
    "I've watched while the maggots have defiled the earth. They have
    built their castles and had their wars. I cannot stand by idly any longer." - Otogi 2

  6. Newegg don't seem to have Conroe yet, but on a British site, a Conroe motherboard costs around $130, the ram is $160, and the cpus go from $200.
    Intel Conroes
    Asus boards
    Remember it's in pounds, but whatever the prices are in Britain you can probably knock $10-20 off as the US is cheaper.

    I don't think you're getting as good performance for your money however. I think roughly the 2.13ghz Conroe is similar to an AMD 4400+ (2.2ghz) which is much cheaper.

  7. Here's what I have planned so far:
    SILVERSTONE SST-LC03 ATX Desktop Computer Case
    ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2000MHz HT Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor
    CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

    I haven't chosen the power supply yet because I'm a total noob there, and usually bought cases with them included. So please suggest one, and feel free to make any alternative suggestions for my components. It's more than I wanted to spend, but now I'm going for something that'll handle Crysis at the best detail. No point in spending if it's going to be junk a year down the road.
    "I've watched while the maggots have defiled the earth. They have
    built their castles and had their wars. I cannot stand by idly any longer." - Otogi 2

  8. Those choices all seem fine.

    You'd want 450W minimum. If you plan to use the SLI sometime soon, then you should get a 500W PSU instead.
    (For a PSU to be good for SLI it doesn't necessarily be certified; it just needs to be within the requirements I stated here. I ran SLI with only a 500W PSU, so I assure you it's fine)

    You want to have at least 32A on the 12-volt rail; that is the rule for good socket 939 systems.
    Also it needs to have a 24 pin.

    Stick to major brands, like OCZ, Antec, Enermax, Silverstone, Fortron FSP...
    You will be looking to spend $60+ and buying a cheap pos will only cause you problems.

    Not SLI:
    OCZ Modstream 450W - $60 after rebate
    -Antec Truepower 500W - $70

    SLI:
    -Antec Truepower 550W - $80
    -OCZ Powerstream 520W - $110 after rebate (this is the best power supply around right now for regular systems, and is as good as 600W by any other brand)
    Last edited by Burky; 27 Jul 2006 at 02:39 PM.

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