Motherboard suggestions . . .

[backstept]

I'm planning to build a new computer, and I'm not sure where to start . . . actually that's not true, since I'm starting this thread to ask about motherboards which is usually the place to start . . . anyway

I built my current PC in 2004 (FRAK I can't believe it's 5 years old!)with a motherboard my dad gave me, an Asus A7V8X-X
on it I put 2x512 sticks of Mushkin memory, an Athlon XP 3200+, a BFG Nvidia Geforce 6800GT, and a 120GB HDD

it was quite zippy at the time, and it's still a decent websurfin' machine and for playing older games, but it's having trouble with Mass Effect and Fallout 3

okay, here's the part where I ask everyone's opinion:
what motherboard should I get?
I'm thinking of keeping my current case (Antec SLK1650B) but I've had cooling issues in the summer, so I'm not dead set on re-using the case. Also, if I don't re-use the case that frees me up to get whatever form factor motherboard I choose, instead of limiting to ATX style.
are there motherboards that have both IDE(what my current hdd is) and SATA?
should I build a 64 bit system?
AMD or Intel? how many cores?

basically it all comes down to building a PC that will have a long upgrade-ability for the years to come, is relatively cheap (probably can't afford bleeding edge components) and also I've been out of the PC building game for five years so everything is new to me again

thanks

 

[farmkid]

Pretty much everything is still ATX, so form factor isn't an issue unless you want to go to microATX or something. There are a lot of lower power processors available now that will produce less heat than your current one, so you might be just fine with the case you have. If it were me, I would keep the case for now and only change it if there are problems.

As far as the motherboard goes, you first need to decide if you are going with AMD or Intel. You can do it a lot for considerably less if you go with AMD, but of course it won't be as fast. Go look at some benchmarks in the things you will be doing and decide what processors will give you sufficient performance for your budget. Then go from there.

Pretty much every motherboard out there now has both SATA and PATA (what you called IDE). However, most now have only one PATA connection, so you can only connect 2 drives, rather than the 4 you are used to. Keep that in mind because you might end up needing a new hard drive, too.

At the very least, you will need to buy a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video card. You also might need a new hard drive or optical drive and power supply or case.

 

[Mr. B]

To start, you might look at the latest BIt-Tech buyer's guide.

Choosing a motherboard is pretty daunting as there are many perfectly good choices. To quickly answer your other questions... most boards still have IDE (although I would consider replacing your IDE drives (not future-proof)... stick with ATX unless you want another form factor case, your case should be fine if there are no significant airflow obstructions like sloppy wiring... go with Intel... 64 bit is nice, just be sure you have drivers for hardware and you don't use software that is incompatible... buy as many 'cores' and your budget allows... alot of software can only address one, though.

 

[wellsweb]

These are my opinions. Nobody can tell you exactly what to do. Here goes...

Stick with ATX or mATX. There are some good deals on BTX, but they are a pain to work with.

AMD will give you more bang for the buck, but make sure you are getting compatible hardware. I've had some USB issues with an AMD board by Elitegroup. Intel is a good way to go for compatibility, but I would be wary of Intel's own boards.

Use a good chunk of your budget for a high quality video card. You may want to investigate a dual video card solution (SLI), but I've got no experience with them.

I would stick with a 32-bit OS unless ALL of your software and hardware are compatible. Vista will work best on a pre-built system, so consider sticking with XP.

You are not likely to find more than one PATA connecter on the MOBO, so keep that in mind. Also, try to match your SATA drives with the version of SATA that is on the board (either 1.5MBs or 3.0 MBs).

Use the reviews on newegg.com as a guideline. Take them with a grain of sodium chloride. They can help you avoid some problems.

Remember, these are only opinions and suggestions. Were they actual commands from a person in charge, you would be compelled to obey.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I have an Intel 975XBX2KR.
4 memory slots (but, according to Intel themselves, the 8GB (4x2048 DDR2 dual channel) I have in there is the max it will recognize).
1 IDE (PATA) connection
8 SATA connections, though I think I have to change a BIOS setting for the extra 4 to work.
Socket 775 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield
CPU heatsync and fan +2 120mm case fans. Left side case panel has a cooling vent & duct right on top of the CPU fan, drawing air directly to the CPU.

Do AMD's still have more heat issues than Intels?

 

[farmkid]

Do AMD's still have more heat issues than Intels?

No, that problem went away with the early AthlonXP. Later AthlonXP CPUs and since have no problems. Some of the Phenom CPUs produce a lot of heat (not as much as the P4EE's, but close) but I haven't heard of any problems due to it.

 

[backstept]

found a candidate on Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157139

one thing I'm curious about is that it has ATI onboard video, will there be trouble if I put a nvidia card in there? or would it be better to go with ATI since it has crossfire capability?

I've never had a ATI card so I don't know if I"ll go with this one . . . not really loyal to the brand, but there's no reason to switch as far as I know

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Onboard video ought to be able to be disabled in BIOS the same as onboard audio I would think.

Do AMD's still have more heat issues than Intels?

No, that problem went away with the early AthlonXP. Later AthlonXP CPUs and since have no problems. Some of the Phenom CPUs produce a lot of heat (not as much as the P4EE's, but close) but I haven't heard of any problems due to it.

Yeah, my last experience with an AMD was about 8 years ago, you would hope there would be improvements, but I've always been happier with Intel.

 

[Brolan]

If the board isn't made by ASUS don't bother with it.

 

[backstept]

If the board isn't made by ASUS don't bother with it.

they do make good boards, but I'm hoping to balance affordability with brand loyalty
if another manufacturer's board has comparable specs, good reviews and a lower price I'll probably take a risk on it

I'm probably going to hold off on hardware choices until I get my tax refund and take care of some bills. that's life

 

[Meredith]

found a candidate on Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157139

one thing I'm curious about is that it has ATI onboard video, will there be trouble if I put a nvidia card in there? or would it be better to go with ATI since it has crossfire capability?

I've never had a ATI card so I don't know if I"ll go with this one . . . not really loyal to the brand, but there's no reason to switch as far as I know

As long as you can disable the onboard video and use another card, I would get the MB with the ATI or NVidia Card built in.

Consider this:

1. Buy MB with video card.
2. Use built in video cards for a few years.
3. Upgrade to new kick ass video card.
4. Several months later you want to upgrade, get a new system minus video card and move almost new video card to the new system.
5. Use your old system as a secondary PC or PC for someone you know, and you didn't have to buy a video card for it.

As long as the built in video card is decent and the extra price of the motherboard is less than buying a comparable video card I would get it.

 

[Meredith]

If the board isn't made by ASUS don't bother with it.

I had issues with an ASUS MVP8Pro motherboard once, when playing video the thing would freeze up, regardless of what video card I threw into it. It is in my secondary system with an OLD PCI video card in it.

I replaced it with a Gigabyte MB and it worked just fine. I have had good luck with MSI motherboards a well.

 

[farmkid]

If the board isn't made by ASUS don't bother with it.

I used to think Asus was the best as well. Then I got an Asus board. I haven't had any less trouble with this board than the others I've had over the years. I've found the best bet is to look at the reviews to see the experiences of other actual users.

 

[dillon3001]

I find tomshardware.com has some good articles on motherboards among other things. They also have some interesting articles on building budget gaming PC's :
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2113.html

This is their latest (dec 2008) article on a 600-650$ budget gaming PC which you may find helpful. I built my latest PC for myself back in October 07 and have been very happy with the performance I have gotten out of it gaming wise.

MSI P35 Neo2-FR
G-Skill 2 GB DDR2-800
2 250 GB 7200 RPM Western Digital HDD
Radeon x1950 Pro 512mb
Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33 Ghz

I got a very nice zalman 120mm cpu cooling fan. You may not want to get one that large (when I got it, i thought it was going to eat my face).

One thing to remember as well is getting a good solid power supply. Its an item often overlooked by folks building their own systems.