Looking for a sturdy and cheap motherboard..

[toru310]

Hi, I'm saving some cash to build a new pc, first I need a motherboard that has 4 or more sata ports and a build in surround sound(if theres any) any recommendation??

The reason for me finding a sturdy mother board is because the core 2 processors are so expensive, I have to wait a year for the price to go down. and my budget is very limited.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

[hobbes_fan]

So you want an Lga 775 socket (fits p4 and c2d)

nearly all current generation motherboard offer 5.1 passtrough via SPDIF

the standard is pretty much the Gigabyte Ds3 series

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059

That said this is also pretty popular amongst my LAN mates
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127031

err this is pretty cheap
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116037

check if your processor is listed here
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2629

WHat's your budget? $180-$200 can go far if you reuse some stuff (HDD, case, PSU) and from what you've told me is plenty good enough for your use. THe only thing you'll have to by extra is RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211066


EDIT: The mb listed are currently the pick of this generation of Intel chipsets. As you're a fairly light user of PC capabilities there are cheaper alternatives around if yo are willing to get an older chipset board. In terms of compatibility some P945, most P31, VIA, SiS chipsets are cheaper alternatives. On a budget don't be scared of Open Box stuff as they are covered by the manufacturers warranty. I've built 2 pc's using this for my Brother in law's home office http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131199 and an e2140 dual core processor one has my old x1950pro and it does a good enough job for gaming. Oh and if you need more SATA ports you can always pickup a PCI-SATA interface card at a later stage. (around $10-15). I really do think you can get it done for around $150 (RAM CPU MB).

[toru310]

Thanks and sorry for the late reply..
My budget is just enough for a 7300gt video card, ram with 512mb and finally for the motherboard...

I'll be using my old PSU, my old processor the P4 with 2.66ghz, hdd's IDE and dvd burner sata..

Edit: my budget for a motherboard is 80$-120$ if converted to dollars but 89.99$ looks perfect for my needs..

[hobbes_fan]

That's plenty, thogh I'd probably skip the 7300gt and bump the RAM up to 2 gigs instead. Only because if the games you play run on a 7300gt they more than likely will run on onboard video. Games like WoW and similar mmorpg's tend to not need that much video card power and the RAM will more than likely have more of an impact on your system than a video card.

But if you really need a videocard (or the board does not have integrated gfx) go with either a 2400pro (app $30-$40USD) or 8400gs ($40-$50USD). They offer the same performance, are newer and cheaper than a 7300gt ($50-$60SD). This shold allow yo to atleast get 1 if not 2 gb of RAM

[anime_layer]

All my cpus I bought where AMD so I might be biased but why not go for an AM2+ board?

There's a general Intel rush going on but I don't really see why. They might have taken the lead in maximum performance but if I compare Athlon X2s to Core2 Duos then the Athlons still deliver the same performance for less money.

For example the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ and the Core2 Duo E6600. The Tom's Hardware CPU Charts show they are equally fast while the Core2 comes out ahead in some and the Athlon in other tests.

If you compare the prices, it looks a bit different:
Athlon 64 X2 6000+ = $159.99
Core2 Duo E6600 = $229.99

The AMD is $70 or 30% cheaper. I don't want to start I flame war - I'm just wondering what the motives for choosing Intel are.

[problemedchild]

Actually, the E6550 more or less replaced the E6600 quite a while back. It's only 70 MHZ slower than the E6600 and costs only 10 dollars more than a Athlon 6000+ Not only that, it has a better stepping and FSB. To be honest, I don't even believe Intel produces the E6600s anymore.

You might want to go AMD for cheaper motherboards, but considering you can buy a P35 Abit mobo for around 80 dollars.....

[hobbes_fan]

I don't think he can afford to go all out at once he needs to reuse his processor for the time being. He's still rnning a P4 system (LGA775 socket). Plus he's on a budget an x2 6000 is out of the question, he's going for more x2 3600, x2 3800. AM2 board are cheap, AM2+ boards from the reputable manufacturers (MSI ASUS, Gigabyte) are horrendously expensive for a budget build.

I've been a loyal AMD supporter for a long time now bt they really are starting to suck badly they are not closing the gap its getting wider and wider. I',m really contemplating jumping ship to Intel becase so far their promise of Phenom AM2 compatibility is still really really weak. If I have to buy a new motherboard forget it. I'm buying a x38 and a quad. I'm getting pretty fed up with AMD shenanigans. Cheaper yes, but the phenoms are weak, have issues that I was willing to look past but I really can't forgive them for their half assed effort with AM2 compatibility considering It's almost been 3 months since they started rolling out.

[problemedchild]

Well, he could buy a P35/X38 right now and upgrade to a Q9XXX chip at a later date. Although I do recommend against planning out computer parts months ahead or attempting to future proof the upgrade path.


Wait a minute...... 2.66 GHZ P4...... that's not a 775... it's a 478 Northwood B......

You should just save up and buy it all at once if it's a 478. You'll have to buy new memory and a new CPU to support any new motherboards you buy.

[hobbes_fan]

CRAP your right.

You can't reuse your CPU. Yo have to by the whole lot (CPU RAM Motherboard) new.

Ignore my 1st post in this thread. When you said you were looking at a C2D processor I assumed you had a 775 processor.

Considering your budget you have no choice but to go AMD If you really need an upgrade now. My issues are with the AMD quadcore range they don't really apply to the dual core range.

Otherwise save up and make do for the time being.


THe good news is you could build it now if you go with AMD,
This is what I use in my Home theater PC (except for the videocard which is a 2600xt instead)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131183
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103774
this was the other motherboard I was looking at before there was a sale on the Asus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186114
decent brand they tend to make the motherboards for HP, Dell and a few prebuilt pc makers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227189 You cuold go with 1gb but it far cheaper to by a 2 x1 gb than individually
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161100

Which is about $50-$75 less than a similar Intel build

Again my apologies for making a bad assumption and giving you bad info.

[arcadeplayer987]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130098

[toru310]

Originally Posted by problemedchild

Well, he could buy a P35/X38 right now and upgrade to a Q9XXX chip at a later date. Although I do recommend against planning out computer parts months ahead or attempting to future proof the upgrade path.


Wait a minute...... 2.66 GHZ P4...... that's not a 775... it's a 478 Northwood B......

You should just save up and buy it all at once if it's a 478. You'll have to buy new memory and a new CPU to support any new motherboards you buy.

Sorry again for the late reply got busy with school work..

Ouch that stings....I was thinking of reusing my processor while I save some cash for the core 2..that ruined my plan So I have to go with a AMD then?

[jpwong]

Originally Posted by Migufuchi Fusutsu

Ouch that stings....I was thinking of reusing my processor while I save some cash for the core 2..that ruined my plan So I have to go with a AMD then?

You don't have to go with AMD. These are of course merely suggestions. I'm sure it's possible to build an LGA775 compliant computer at the same price. The question is more which brand will get you more bang for your buck. I haven't really been following what pricing has gone like, but I think AMD still has the upper hand in terms of budget build PCs.

@anime_layer: I think a lot of people are moving to Intel because they've really done a lot with the C2D CPUs. Things like heat output, power consumption, processor effeciency were all basically reigned in when you compare them to the P4 line of processors. I believe I read that duos have a lower power draw and produce less heat idle and on load compared to their AMD counterparts. I suppose it doesn't hurt that all the Apple macbooks seems to be shipping with intel processors these days either.

[problemedchild]

You should just wait for the new 45nm Intel chips to hit the market beforing buying anything. The market generally stagnats in terms of new releases for a while, then refreshes or new generations kick in.

[hobbes_fan]

You don't have to go AMD, but because AMD X2 processors and motherboards (especially motherboards) are a lot cheaper - about $10-$25 for each component so basically about $50 less for the CPU+ Motherboard combination it gives you more flexibility.

For example an Intel e2140 (lowest level intel dual core) is around $75USD a fairly equivalent AMD processor the X2 4000 is around $60. The performance is similar out of the box, but the e2140 can be overclocked harder than the x2 4000. But this is irrelevant to you because you don't overclock.

A good suitable AMD motherboard for the x2 4000 is the MSI K9n at $70.00, A good suitable Intel motherboard for the e2140 is the gigabyte ds3L at $90. Of course you can buy cheaper alternatives but you hamstring yourself with future upgrades. Because they are recent motherboards they will be well supported theoretically by manufacturers, BIOS updates, AM2+ compatibility, Quadcore compatibility etc etc.

That's $35 difference. That $35 difference can be used to either buy a faster AMD processor like the X2 5000, or buy a TV tuner or buy 2 gigs of RAM instead of 512 etc etc. or split the difference between the 2 and get 2 gigs of RAM and an X2 4400 (This is what I'd prefer to do, because it's pointless to have a fast processor but no RAM).

It's really about getting the most for your money. AMD really represents good value for those with limited $ to jump to dual core. You can go Intel and it is worth considering but right now you have to ask yourself "Is this the best vale and the best stuff I can buy on my budget?". Yes the e2140 is a good processor but with 512 mb of ram vs a X2 4000 with 2gb of RAM, expect the e2140 to get owned. It's like rnning a 100m race against Carl Lewis with 2 broken legs

The bargain dual core processors are as cheap as they are likely to get, but wait until the end of february to get a good indication if you will see any significant price drops as Intel will release about a dozen new processors.

[Ledgem]

His only concern was a motherboard with 4+ SATA ports. What's he using his computer for? Does he really need to push for a high-performance processor? When I upgraded my computer two years ago I recognized that I was just using it for web browsing, watching anime, and email. Much as I wanted an Athlon X2, I couldn't justify the $700 expense of upgrading, and upgraded to a Sempron for just under $200 instead. Served me perfectly fine.

On the other hand, I also use a Macbook Pro. It has a dual-core processor, and that's necessary. I virtualize other operating systems often enough that upgrading the RAM from 2 GB to 3 GB was also justified. Buy the parts to fit your usage. If you want to grow into something, of course it doesn't hurt to get something more powerful than you'll immediately be able to utilize, but you don't want to be wasting money. If he even goes for a low-level Athlon X2 it'll feel worlds faster than his current system, and unless he's really pushing his system hard and doing intensive stuff, it'll last him for a very long time, too.

[toru310]

Thanks for all the info, Yeah I guess AMD based is much more cheaper with Intel, the only problem is I can't imagine my self using AMD as my desktop because they have this thing called 64bit and that kind of mess my thoughts..

Also I want to slowly change my components (including the mother board) to sata since IDE is getting a little expensive by the year and sata can I think transfer files much faster.

And finally, the funny thing is that the core 2 duo processor that got my attention was a 2.66ghz Core 2 duo same speed as my p4 and that made feel nostalgic and I want to buy it... It cost $215 if converted to dollars

[hobbes_fan]

err 2.66ghz in a dual core is nothing like 2.66ghz in a p4. All core 2 duo's are 64bit as well. Clock speed while useful is not the best indicator of performance on its own any more, no. of cores, cache size combined with clock speed are the only way to really diagnose performance.

Think of it like this. You are moving house to a place 1000km away with your fridge, TV, clothes etc. If you go by car at 60km/h but you have to take 3 or 4 trips. Or you can go by truck at 60kmh but take 1 trip. You're going going the same speed but you are doing more in that one trip in the truck as opposed to one trip in a car.

Don't get me wrong the e6750 is probably the best value and best performing high performance processor going around, if you afford it, buy it. The closest thing AMD has is the X2 6400 which is even in performance bt loses ot becase it is less energy efficient.

[GHDpro]

That 64-bit argument is a bit pointless; as hobbes_fan mentioned pretty much any recent CPU including Intel CPUs are 64-bit compatible. Whether you actually install a 64-bit OS is up to you. And it's the OS that is important for any 64-bit compatibility issues. Afaik the best thing would be to pick a 32-bit OS for now unless you want to use 4 GB of RAM or more, as 32-bit versions might not see more than about 3 GB RAM even if you install more.

I think that if you want a new PC and have cash to spare, the best thing is to buy Intel, as it's the best value for money. But if you want simply cheap components that are still fast (but not quite as fast as Core 2 Duo), then AMD is the way to go.

My main desktop is a Core 2 Duo E6600 that cost me about 1400 euros back in the summer of 2006, and my HTPC is a AMD X2 4400+ based system that I figure is about 50-70% as fast as my desktop system while being only a third of the price. I listed the components in this thread:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...55#post1299555

[SeijiSensei]

I looked at some of the options linked to here and thought that Gigabyte board that hobbes_fan linked to at the top of the thread looked like a really good deal. I especially liked that it has native digital audio on the motherboard. I really wish I could find an add-in card that has multiple digital audio inputs, though. I'd love to be able to route all my digital audio outputs through the computer and use it as a switch. Standalone switches are a somewhat pricey alternative, though they do have the advantage of being remotely-controllable with IR. I have a Harmony remote so that's a plus for me. Still I'm surprised by the paucity of PCI boards with 2-4 optical and coaxial digital inputs.

[toru310]

Originally Posted by GHDpro

That 64-bit argument is a bit pointless; as hobbes_fan mentioned pretty much any recent CPU including Intel CPUs are 64-bit compatible. Whether you actually install a 64-bit OS is up to you. And it's the OS that is important for any 64-bit compatibility issues. Afaik the best thing would be to pick a 32-bit OS for now unless you want to use 4 GB of RAM or more, as 32-bit versions might not see more than about 3 GB RAM even if you install more.

I think that if you want a new PC and have cash to spare, the best thing is to buy Intel, as it's the best value for money. But if you want simply cheap components that are still fast (but not quite as fast as Core 2 Duo), then AMD is the way to go.

My main desktop is a Core 2 Duo E6600 that cost me about 1400 euros back in the summer of 2006, and my HTPC is a AMD X2 4400+ based system that I figure is about 50-70% as fast as my desktop system while being only a third of the price. I listed the components in this thread:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...55#post1299555

Question, is asus the best board for AMD???