Good Motherboards...?

[Kyle86]

Ok, so I posted some questions a few days ago and I think I'm gonna go with everything Rocketmech suggested. The only thing now is there are so many motherboard options I don't even know where to start. I would like something that is expandable to 4gb of ram. I will be using an AMD Socket 939 3200+ Venice core processor, and a SATA hard drive (looking at the 36gig WD raptors). Also, plenty of PCI-express to work with after reading all the hubub. Nividia Nforce4 was mentioned...no clue what that is or does. How much is necessary for me to spend on a motherboard if it's only going to be used for internet, and basic spreadsheet and word processor type applications? What are some good brand names to stick with? MSI? ASUS? Thanks again

Kyle

[Peter M]

Expandable to 4 GBytes for internel, spreadsheet, and word processing? Does the word "adequate" mean something to you?

Sempron64 2600+, 512 MBytes of RAM, and a $60 integrated-graphics mainboard, and it'll be well and truly sorted.

[Crashman]

Best value comes from Chaintech and Foxconn. nForce4 boards do little to differentiate themselves except to add more features.

[Rocketmech]

Its hard to argue with Peter M when it comes to budgeting a system . But, you mentioned in your other post , "... video editing" , so IMHO you'd be happier with the A64 3200 Venice .
I absolutely agree you don't need 4 gb ram. 1 or 2 at most if your doing heavy Photoshop or Premiere. 512 is really all you will probably need , but if your budget allows I would opt for 1 gb.
The NF4 is the chipset or northbridge as some refer to it. I recommended it because its very popular , manufactured and supported. If your looking for a mATX all-in-one , then I think the Asus A8N-VM CSM is hard to beat .

[Crashman]

For Micro ATX boards I'd really rather suggest an upper-end 6150 board. Read the review of Foxconn's 6150K8MA at SysOpt, you'll find it outperforms similar nForce4 solutions, gets away with passive cooling, and its only weakness is onboard video which can easily be replaced with a PCI-Express graphics card.

[Kyle86]

Yea, I guess I made it seem like I was going to be using the computer for a lot less then I really am. I want to keep a lot of options available as it will be used for an array of different things. Video editing is definitely a possiblilty as is photo editing. The computer will be accessing medical billing databases remotely to work from home and I'm sure I will put a few games on it as well. I just want to keep options open, but not necessarily use them to start. Thanks again for all the help, you guys rock.

[Crashman]

Most office PC's are Micro ATX...the board I suggested is full-featured and has one PCI-Express x16 graphics card slot, three PCI slots, four SATA headers, and two ATA headers. You can get a full-featured Micro ATX case that houses several hard drives, to 5.25" external drives, and one or two 3.5" external drives.

The main reason I'd suggest someone go for a larger motherboard is when they need more slots: You could add another PCI-Express x16 graphics card slot and two PCI-Express x1 slots to the larger board.

[user0209]

Rocketmech,

that Asus board you recommended looks very sweet in term of price/features. Do you know if the board is OPTIMAL for athlon x2 in term of FSB. I'm not very clear on DDR vs DDR2, mem speed and FSB MHz.

Thanks

[Crashman]

The Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS2 beats the Asus A8N-VM hands down. Better audio, more PCI slots.

[Kyle86]

ok, so I went ahead and went with the Asus board that rocketmech suggested...got a SWEET deal...next question is on ram. Why are there so many seemingly identical ram stick that are completely different in price? Is it just because of brand names? Whats a good name to go with? What does pc3200 mean?What's the difference between high and low density? What does 400mhz mean? Dual Channel? Any good articles someone could refer me to? Thanks again

Kyle

[Crashman]

Ah, that's too bad, you could have gotten a better board from Foxconn with a lower price. Heck, SysOpt even reviewed the Foxconn board. PC3200 has a data rate that, in rounded numbers, resembles 3200MB/s peak. It runs at 200MHz clock rate and because it uses Double Data Rate technology, transfers data a twice the clock rate, 400MHz.

Chris Saunders did a review for SysOpt on Corsair's Value Ram PC3200 last spring...and it can be found here: http://www.sysopt.com/features/memor...le.php/3533106

[pandaz3]

I just made a system this past weekend for the Warden, she wanted more speed in her computing I used the ASUS A8N-VM CSM mentioned by RocketMech. I used a Winchester 3500 and 2 X 512 Super Talent PC3200 (CAS 2.0). It works like a champ. Not one difficulty from store thru install. She likes the Video, the speed and all. I paid $92 at the local retail outfit which is close to online prices with shipping. I bought a In-Win case for it and after inspecting it's 350W 'Power Man' PSU ... I used it. I did / do have a Seasonic S-12 430 standing by, but I think the Power Man is okay. I used one five or six years ago with satisfactory results.

Anyway the A8N-VM CSM is a good machine. Using Win XP Home.

I replaced my mainstream AV8 with a ASUS A8N-E night before last, Opteron 148, AC Freezer 64 Pro, Corsair 2 x 512 PC3200XL, 250 gig WD Sata II HDD. XP home. what a breath of fresh air! these are my first ASUS boards

(I still intend to try a ABIT UL8 Pro when they come out.) (I have and like the UL8)

[pandaz3]

I could have gotten a Foxconn at the same store a little cheaper, but I had not read anything about them and went with a known to me brand. Audio is fine, latest and greatest to my knowlege.

I have used Super Talent in three machines and am buying more. I paid $90 US for 2 x 512 PC3200 CAS 2.0.

[pandaz3]

The Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS2 beats the Asus A8N-VM hands down. Better audio, more PCI slots.

He said ASUS A8N-VM CSM, a 6150 board not a 6100 like the ASUS A8N-VM. the ASUS 6150 only has 2 PCI slots, but it does have a PCIe slot in addition to the PCI-e Video slot. It also outputs VGA and DVI, the Foxconn has three PCI and the Video slot, no DVI and no BIOS problems

The Foxconn does have 7.1 and the ASUS 5.1


"High Definition Audio, ADI AD1986A 5.1channel CODEC
Support Jack-Sensing and S/PDIF out interface "

[Crashman]

Foxconn isn't known to you? What the heck are you doing in the forum if you're not reading the reviews! That's your first task, READ the reviews!

OK, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I'll tell you what: The solid Dell boards that never fail...made by Foxconn. The crappy boards in the cheapest Dells...MSI!

Here's a better one: The great Intel boards in HP servers...made for Intel by Foxconn. Those crappy MEW-AM boards used in millions of HP desktops...Asus!

Foxconn obviously knows HOW to make a solid board, but to find out more about a specific model...you have to read reviews!