computer advice

self | 12-05-05 | jeremiah

[jeremiah]

I am looking to put a new motherboard and processor in my desktop. I am looking to have the best I can get the cheapest possible of course. I have a tower, a 350 watt power sourse, dvd writer, just looking to upgrade. Need an onboard video card, or advice on how to go

[jeremiah]

Help, just need some advice I can trust. The guru at the local store wants to sell me a complete unit, the other store wants to sell me what they have on the shelf...one motherboard is it.

[RedBeaconNY]

you know all the parts you need, ya?

Try Newegg.com Buy a generation back... Socket 754 for a MB (the most current's a 939). That way, you get better than they stick in those gateway boxes for cheaper.

[RedBeaconNY]

For a processor, I'd go AMD Athlon.

[ShadowAce]

When you upgrade MB and processor, be sure the RAM you have will fit--also a new MB may not have the same power connectors as your old one.

[TomGuy]

Check Tigerdirect.com

You can get from build-your-own up to full systems and very competitive prices.

[AmericaUnited]

Get an AMD Athlon X2 dual core CPU. If funds are tight, get the 3800. You'll LOVE IT!!!

[Antonello]

I prefer a motherboard that does not have onboard video. I'd rather keep the resources free and be able to add/upgrade the card of my choice.

That said, a 64 bit AMD board gets my vote.

[jeremiah]

I know very little. I currently have a 478 socket, 1.80 mhz p-4. I either need an onboard video card, or advice on what motherboard and card to get. I assume my DDR memory sticks will fit, and hoping my sound card will too. I just see no reason to buy an entire unit, when my tower and power unit is strong, dvd burner, cd player etc are still good.

[FastCoyote]

"Buy a generation back... Socket 754 "

Nooo. If you want to buy a screamer for relatively cheap that you can upgrade later, get a 939 board and a low end amd dual core. Screamer.

[July 4th]

You may need new RAM if you buy a new board, so be sure to look for boards that take the same RAM. I would also consider adding a cheap video card, rather than using the onboard video. It really does make a difference in what you see.

[dennisw]

I'm all set otherwise I would buy one of these newest nforce boards with video on board. Are you aware that many new motherboards require a 24 pin connector on your power supply? There are adapters for you on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Pin-to-24-Pin-Power-Connector-Cable-ATX-Power-Supply_W0QQitemZ5836114562QQcategoryZ45342QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Your power supply is likely 20 pin connector

[RedBeaconNY]

since i bought mine in august, prices have gone down a bit. I would go with a 939... you can get one for $100 or less... it seems like FastCoyote knows a bit. I've gotta run, so see what he thinks.

[Para-Ord.45]

My new board is an MSI KT6V ( FSB 400/DDR 400 up to 2GB Memory/MSI CoreCell chip/AGP 8X (doubles graphics bandwith 2.1 GBs)/ A socket for AMD +1500 to +3200)

No graphic accelerator card if you want premium video graphics but for 50 to 70 bucks for it,couldn`t go wrong.

[dennisw]

I'm all set otherwise I would buy one of these newest nforce boards with video on board ----> http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=GO&Range=1&bop=and&description=6100&InnerCata=22

[lormand]

AMD

[Paladin2]

Go to www.arstechnica.com and then go to guides and look at "budget box" to find their recommended m/b, processor (& memory).

[jeremiah]

That sounds good, now talk down to me and tell me what to do sensai.

[corlorde]

That's what I just did. I went with the K8NSC 939 nForce3 Socket 939 Mobbo, with the Athlon 64 3200(2.00 GHz) processor. I just transferred my CDRW, DVD Rom drives, and floppy to the new case I picked up at Comp USA. All in all, it was about one hour of build time, and an additional hour to tweak the installation of XP to my liking. Oh yeah, I also went with a SATA HD. All totaled, 500 bucks. And I get to keep all the documentation, driver Cd's, and other assorted stuff they never send you with those over priced rip off boxes the big companies send you.

[FastCoyote]

What I'm running is a Gigabyte 939 motherboard with a sata drive, a gig of ram and the 3000 64 bit single core, but the dual cores have dropped since then. If you are really into it, save some space on your hard drive and dual boot 64 bit Fedora 4 Linux.

[dennisw]

So you have a Pentium 1.8 GHz? I would download sisoft sandra lite and see how your processor stacks up against say a 2800+ Athlon XP and 2800+ Athlon64-->> http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_3264&langx=en&a=

As far as I'm concerned it's not worth the upgrade to an athlon 2800+. But upgrading to a dual core processor is a meaningful upgrade. Will you give a meaningful boost.

2800+ Athlon XP and 2800+ Athlon64 are pretty much the same in performance