What motherboard for a 775?

[Wichita]

I'm getting a "Intel P4 630 Supporting Hyper-Threading BX80547PG3000F".
What's the best ATX (or Mini) motherboard ?? given that I'd like
=this kit to last for several years
=uses - websurf, office things, photoshop, record burn edit mp3 and
maybe video later
=good onboard video to start, maybe add a card later
=good onboard audio to start, maybe add a card later
=decent lan
=several USB2
=IEEE 1394 nice but not essential
=front panel connectors useful
=quieter nice - prefer only cpu fan
=may reuse current case with 250watts supply
=i have a gig of ddr memory
I've heard reasonable things about Asus, but am open to suggestions
based on experience

Many many thanks -

 

[DaveW]

The 250 Watt PSU is too small. You'll need at least a 350+ watt PSU.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

I suggest using the "power search" feature on mainboards at www.newegg.com.

You may have a little trouble coming up with a board that meets all your
goals. Most newer Socket 775 boards use DDR2 memory, for example. (That's
240 pin, and incompatible with 184 pin DDR.) I don't know whether it's a
requirement of the Intel 945G chipset (onboard graphics), but it appears to
be the usual choice with it.

"Good onboard video" is an oxymoron in the context of 3D gaming, but it may
be OK for the applications that you list (all 2D).

I doubt that your 250W power supply will be adequate. It probably also is of
the 20 pin ATX type, while the newer boards will want a 24 pin ATX 2.0
connector. (It may not be absolutely required, but it may be preferred.)

Have you considered the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+? It's more expensive than the
P4 630, but the X2 is a dual core CPU. That's useful for Photoshop and video
editing. You could keep your DDR RAM, if it's PC3200 (DDR400). A board with
an nVidia 6150 chipset (onboard video) is one possibility. An Asus A8N-VM
CSM might work for you, although the user reviews at Newegg seem mixed. I've
had good luck with Asus mainboards, although I may have benefited from
always having gotten a board that had already been through a few BIOS
revisions.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Dave]

I'm getting a "Intel P4 630 Supporting Hyper-Threading BX80547PG3000F".
What's the best ATX (or Mini) motherboard ?? given that I'd like
=this kit to last for several years
=uses - websurf, office things, photoshop, record burn edit mp3 and maybe
video later
=good onboard video to start, maybe add a card later
=good onboard audio to start, maybe add a card later
=decent lan
=several USB2
=IEEE 1394 nice but not essential
=front panel connectors useful
=quieter nice - prefer only cpu fan
=may reuse current case with 250watts supply
=i have a gig of ddr memory
I've heard reasonable things about Asus, but am open to suggestions based
on experience

Many many thanks -

Based on your listed requirements, I think you will LOVE the following:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121309
It supports your processor and RAM, has DECENT on-board graphics and audio,
plus a PCI Express slot for a future video card upgrade. It also has decent
LAN built-in, 4 USB2 connectors, and is passively cooled (quiet). Beyond
that, it is an Intel-branded board, and reasonably priced. I think you are
going to have a tough time finding a better fit than that.

As someone else wrote, your power supply is inadequate, and will not support
the CPU you have chosen. Unfortunately, it is tough to find a decent power
supply that is reasonably future-proof and cheap. But the following should
work nicely:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194002
It's SLI compatible which is overkill, but it's 400W (plenty, for what
you've planned, including future upgrades), a good name-brand, has PCI
Express video connectors (for when you buy your video card upgrade). It
should help your system run fast and stable, which is what you need. -Dave

 

[Bob Knowlden]

An interesting choice: an Intel mainboard that uses an ATI chipset.

There are a number of other choices that pop up at Newegg with DDR (not
DDR2) memory, if you're willing to forgo the built-in Firewire. (That could
be added with an inexpensive PCI card, if needed.) I wouldn't be surprised
if the graphics with the ATI chipset are better than all the Intel 915G
offerings.

 

[Wichita]

Many thanks to all for advice. Newegg's a bit far for me as I'm in UK,
but it is a very useful site. Cheers!