MB Choice for a low cost PC

J

Jim

I've been looking at building a number (likely 3) low cost but
reasonably powered PC's. The main apps will be browser, mail package,
WP and spreadsheet (lookup and data entry - nothing heavy). Based on
new (rather than eBay) and available components, my choice so far is
AMD Sempron 2800+ AM2, 512 MB DDR2 PC5400, WD/Seagate 160GB SATA, LG
GSA-H22NB CD/DVD Burner. My reasoning is that the Sempron is very good
value and that AM2 gives me upgradability for a couple of years.

Unresolved is the MB choice: the cheap ones like the ECS C51GM appear
to have problems although 90% of, for example, Newegg, users rate it as
Average or above. Any comments on the ECS recommendations for a cheap
AM2 MB with integrated audio and video.

TIA
 
A

Al Dykes

I've been looking at building a number (likely 3) low cost but
reasonably powered PC's. The main apps will be browser, mail package,
WP and spreadsheet (lookup and data entry - nothing heavy). Based on
new (rather than eBay) and available components, my choice so far is
AMD Sempron 2800+ AM2, 512 MB DDR2 PC5400, WD/Seagate 160GB SATA, LG
GSA-H22NB CD/DVD Burner. My reasoning is that the Sempron is very good
value and that AM2 gives me upgradability for a couple of years.

Unresolved is the MB choice: the cheap ones like the ECS C51GM appear
to have problems although 90% of, for example, Newegg, users rate it as
Average or above. Any comments on the ECS recommendations for a cheap
AM2 MB with integrated audio and video.

TIA
Click to expand...


IMO, the motherboard is a small part of the cost pie. It will have
the NIC, sound, and video and you need good software with it to have a
reliable system.

There are an amazing number of MBs well under $100 bucks. Spend an
extra $20 and get a major brand and model with a large hobbyist user
base.
 
J

Jim

Al said:
IMO, the motherboard is a small part of the cost pie. It will have
the NIC, sound, and video and you need good software with it to have a
reliable system.

There are an amazing number of MBs well under $100 bucks. Spend an
extra $20 and get a major brand and model with a large hobbyist user
base.
Click to expand...

Tks. At present, the MB and HD represent the largest elements in the
pie but there is some choice on MB whereas there is not for the other
components. What brand/model are you suggesting?
 
A

Al Dykes

Tks. At present, the MB and HD represent the largest elements in the
pie but there is some choice on MB whereas there is not for the other
components. What brand/model are you suggesting?
Click to expand...

I'm not current on mobos. I like ASUS. I see lots of them for under
$100.
 
C

Conor

Jim said:
I've been looking at building a number (likely 3) low cost but
reasonably powered PC's. The main apps will be browser, mail package,
WP and spreadsheet (lookup and data entry - nothing heavy). Based on
new (rather than eBay) and available components, my choice so far is
AMD Sempron 2800+ AM2, 512 MB DDR2 PC5400, WD/Seagate 160GB SATA, LG
GSA-H22NB CD/DVD Burner. My reasoning is that the Sempron is very good
value and that AM2 gives me upgradability for a couple of years.

Unresolved is the MB choice: the cheap ones like the ECS C51GM appear
to have problems although 90% of, for example, Newegg, users rate it as
Average or above. Any comments on the ECS recommendations for a cheap
AM2 MB with integrated audio and video.
Click to expand...
Asrock boards are excellent quality.
 
O

OSbandito

Jim said:
I've been looking at building a number (likely 3) low cost but
reasonably powered PC's. The main apps will be browser, mail package,
WP and spreadsheet (lookup and data entry - nothing heavy). Based on
new (rather than eBay) and available components, my choice so far is
AMD Sempron 2800+ AM2, 512 MB DDR2 PC5400, WD/Seagate 160GB SATA, LG
GSA-H22NB CD/DVD Burner. My reasoning is that the Sempron is very good
value and that AM2 gives me upgradability for a couple of years.

Unresolved is the MB choice: the cheap ones like the ECS C51GM appear
to have problems although 90% of, for example, Newegg, users rate it as
Average or above. Any comments on the ECS recommendations for a cheap
AM2 MB with integrated audio and video.

TIA
Click to expand...

ECS shows up on a lot of compatibility lists for AMD but does not have
lots of fans on this board, apparently. There's the $80 Biostar TForce4
AM2 and others listed on this link:

http://www2.amd.com/us-en/recmobo/ResultsHandler/1,,30_182_869_11521^11522~87785,00.html
 
S

Sylvain VAN DER WALDE

Conor said:
Asrock boards are excellent quality.
Click to expand...
My 4th motherboard is an Asrock one (775VIA-MST), and I'm very pleased with
it, _at the present time_. My three previous boards were Asus ones. I've
given up on the cheaper Asus motherboards.

Sylvain.
 
D

Dave

Asrock boards are excellent quality.
My 4th motherboard is an Asrock one (775VIA-MST), and I'm very pleased
with it, _at the present time_. My three previous boards were Asus ones.
I've given up on the cheaper Asus motherboards.

Sylvain.
Click to expand...

You know asrock is the budget line made by asus, right? -Dave
 
B

BuySmartShopping

What do Ebay, QVC, and Finger the hut have in common?

They aren't at all ready?!

Feel Free To use BuySmartShopping.Com for all of your internet
shopping.

After all it is the original Internet Mall & one of the first secure
sites to offer Drop Shipping.

Http://BuySmartShopping.Com will make you never want to shop anywhere
again!

Perfumes, Candles, Big Screens, Small Appliances, ALL the gear you
could use for your car, truck, or boat.

Forget the big wigs! Start a new internet shopping Life with
WWW.BuySmartShopping.Com!

Pro-rated Proxy Labeled Guarantee Delivery and Secure Ordering Via
Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover and Paypal. rds are
excellent quality.
 
D

Dave

BuySmartShopping said:
What do Ebay, QVC, and Finger the hut have in common?

They aren't at all ready?!

Feel Free To use BuySmartShopping.Com for all of your internet
shopping.

After all it is the original Internet Mall & one of the first secure
sites to offer Drop Shipping.

Http://BuySmartShopping.Com will make you never want to shop anywhere
again!
Click to expand...

http://www.cari.net/acceptable-use-policy.html

"The following activities are expressly prohibited, and may result in
account suspension or termination: ...
Making Usenet postings which advertise a Web site, e-mail account, or other
service provided by or through Cari.net, to any newsgroup whose charter does
not specifically allow such advertisements...
Harrassment, whether through content, frequency, or size of e-mail or Usenet
messages..."

Tracing route to buysmartshopping.com [216.75.17.24]

over a maximum of 30 hops:
(snip)

whois for 216.75.17.24 :
OrgName: California Regional Intranet, Inc.
OrgID: CALI
Address: 8929A COMPLEX DRIVE
City: SAN DIEGO
StateProv: CA
PostalCode: 92123
Country: US

ReferralServer: rwhois://rwhois.cari.net:4321

NetRange: 216.75.0.0 - 216.75.63.255
CIDR: 216.75.0.0/18
NetName: CARI-4
NetHandle: NET-216-75-0-0-1
Parent: NET-216-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Allocation
NameServer: NS1.ASPADMIN.COM
NameServer: NS2.ASPADMIN.COM
Comment:
RegDate: 2005-09-07
Updated: 2006-02-01

RTechHandle: IC63-ARIN
RTechName: System Administration
RTechPhone: +1-858-974-5080
RTechEmail: sysadmin (guess) cari.net <-----this line slightly
altered

OrgTechHandle: SYSAD5-ARIN
OrgTechName: sysadmin
OrgTechPhone: +1-858-974-5080
OrgTechEmail: sysadmin (guess) cari.net <-----this line slightly
altered

# ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2007-01-05 19:10
# Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database.
 
J

Jim

Dave said:
You know asrock is the budget line made by asus, right? -Dave
Click to expand...

I didn't know that! So how do the asrock MB's rate in general?
Locally, the ASRock AM2NF6G is slightly more expensive than the ASUS
M2V-TVM.
 
J

JAD

Sylvain VAN DER WALDE said:
My 4th motherboard is an Asrock one (775VIA-MST), and I'm very pleased
with it, _at the present time_. My three previous boards were Asus ones.
I've given up on the cheaper Asus motherboards.
Click to expand...
um that's funny stuff right there...................
 
S

Sylvain VAN DER WALDE

Dave said:
You know asrock is the budget line made by asus, right? -Dave
Click to expand...
Yes. I've been told that by others, too. However:
My latest Intel CPU, D930 (Dual Core) 3.0 GHz, runs very well on the Asrock
motherboard. The same CPU would not run at all on an Asus P5P800 SE one,
although Asus states that the two are compatible.

P.S. The Intel D805 CPU _does_ run OK on the Asus board.

Sylvain.
 
S

sdlomi2

Jim said:
I didn't know that! So how do the asrock MB's rate in general?
Locally, the ASRock AM2NF6G is slightly more expensive than the ASUS
M2V-TVM.
Click to expand...
Jim, might get flamed on this belief : at one time, at least, ECS/Elite
mfg'd the AsRock mobos, maybe for Asus. It actually sticks in my mind that
I've seen ECS stamped on AsRock mobos. Older, yes; newer, I have little
experience. s
 

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