MB options?

[Keith]

Looking to build a new AMD system, using 939 socket. Probably will go with
a dual-core CPU and 2 gig RAM.

In the past I've always been I diehard ASUS fan, but looking at the ASUS
message boards, I'm seeing stability and performance issues that worry me a
little. Maybe all 939 boards have these problems, so I figured I'd ask. I
do like the ASUS board with the heatpipe solution to keep the noise down,
although I'm willing to consider any MB from any major manufacturer (I've
heard a few good things about the DFI LanParty board).

I dont do hardcore gaming, so I'm not sure I need SLI (a PCI-E type video
will probably meet my needs, or even a halfway decent onboard video). I'm
not an overclocker, I just want something that performs well and is
extremely stable. I prefer that the board come with all the built in things
like 6+ full speed 2.0 USB, built in 10/100+ LAN, and SATA. Built in
wireless, bluetooth, and/or sound (something halfway decent) would be nice
as well. I don't need RAID, but it doesn't hurt if it is there anyway. I am
likely to run 2 monitors, so if the board has built-in video I would need 2
ports or would just end up buying an add-on card anyway. I'll probably
upgrade to LCD monitors, so I'll be paying attention to analog vs digital
ports.

So in addition to stability and the basics, I'd want to avoid any boards
that have chipsets with problems that affect memory, USB, or anything else.

I'll be doing some programming with a resource-hog emulator (VS2005 &
mobile emulator), some video encoding and editing, and some major number
crunching (some of my files take hours to crunch on my AMD750).

I appreciate your suggestions of boards to consider.
Thanks,
Keith

 

[John Edmister]

Keith,
I just built a system with the Asus A8N-SLI Premium <the one with the heat
pipe>. I put an FX-57 CPU and 2 GB of OCZ performance ddr400, with an XFX
7800 GTX video card. And it is rock solid.
I heard alot of mixed reviews as well, but, from what I have read, nearly
every motherboard is having mixed reviews. It seems that they either work,
or, they die. I guess it's just in the luck of the draw.....
If you're not a gamer, and you're not an overclocker, I would suggest saving
your money though, and get a more basic, budget motherboard. the ASrock
board seems like a good board, and quite honestly, I almost went budget and
got that to keep my ATI 9800 pro card for a while, and do small upgrades.
But, I decided to go all out and build myself a system that would last a few
years.
Upgrading is a difficult process Keith, and there are so many choices to
make, so many products to choose from. The best thing to do, is just read
the forums, and, go to a site like Newegg and check out products, read the
reviews, LOTS of the reviews, and make your choices that way. Thats what I
did. I decided on my motherboard only 2x before settling on this one, CPU's
I kept going between the fx-57, X2-4800, and 64-4000 <single core>. Power
supplies are hard too.... the choice to spend $150+ on a "good one" or less
on ones that seem to have it all. I read somewheres, cant remember if it was
in a forum, or in MaximumPC that some of the "cheap" power supplies are just
AS GOOD as the expensive ones. and alot of the expensive ones are NO BETTER
than the cheapies.
Anyhow, I'm rambling, check out that ASrock mobo its a decently priced
budget board and will probably serve your needs without spending alot of
money.

John

--
Asus A8N-Premium
AMD FX-57
2 GB OCZ PC3200 performance
Seagate Baracuda 300 GB SATA II
FX 7800 GTX 256

 

[John Edmister]

I've got about $2400+ into it right now.... that's mobo, cpu, memory, video
card, power supply, win xp pro cd, and a new case.

 

[roy]

will probably serve your needs without spending alot of
money.

John

Long before I have the money to spend, all this will be so far out of
date. But if you don't mind, what would a thumbnail estimate for cost be
for the system you just built?

I am just looking to put it in context with the one I just put together,
which would in all likelyhood, make me an object of derision here if I
said what it was.....

Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

 

[John Edmister]

No problem Roy I play alot of games, so I went high end with
everything.. Asus A8N Premium mobo<$265>, Athlon FX-57 CPU <$820>, XFX
Gforce 7800 GTX <$470>, 2 gb of OCZ performance PC4000 ddr <$225>, 300 GB
Seagate Barracuda SATA II hd <$120ish>, 550 watt Enermax Liberty power
supply with modular cabling <$130> XP pro w/SP2 <$139>, and a Sunbeam
Transformer case <$98>.
It was built for gaming, so I wanted to get what I thought, and found to be
the highest performance stuff I could get for the best buck. If you're not
into gaming, you can build a decent rig for a hell of alot less than what I
spent. Just think, I only got ONE video card too, alot of guys go SLI and
install 2!!! <thats over $900 in video!!!!> I still have bruises from my
wife beating me for spending what I did...... lol <JK> But she did cut me
off for a week hahaha.

John

 

[roy]

I've got about $2400+ into it right now.... that's mobo, cpu, memory, video
card, power supply, win xp pro cd, and a new case.

thanks.
FYI I just spent about $375 for mobo, cpu, 1 gig memory, video, 80G SATA.

and I am certain yours would run circles round mine. but it will likely
be the fastest I have owned.

again, thanks.

 

[General Schvantzkoph]

Looking to build a new AMD system, using 939 socket. Probably will go with
a dual-core CPU and 2 gig RAM.

In the past I've always been I diehard ASUS fan, but looking at the ASUS
message boards, I'm seeing stability and performance issues that worry me a
little. Maybe all 939 boards have these problems, so I figured I'd ask. I
do like the ASUS board with the heatpipe solution to keep the noise down,
although I'm willing to consider any MB from any major manufacturer (I've
heard a few good things about the DFI LanParty board).

I dont do hardcore gaming, so I'm not sure I need SLI (a PCI-E type video
will probably meet my needs, or even a halfway decent onboard video). I'm
not an overclocker, I just want something that performs well and is
extremely stable. I prefer that the board come with all the built in things
like 6+ full speed 2.0 USB, built in 10/100+ LAN, and SATA. Built in
wireless, bluetooth, and/or sound (something halfway decent) would be nice
as well. I don't need RAID, but it doesn't hurt if it is there anyway. I am
likely to run 2 monitors, so if the board has built-in video I would need 2
ports or would just end up buying an add-on card anyway. I'll probably
upgrade to LCD monitors, so I'll be paying attention to analog vs digital
ports.

So in addition to stability and the basics, I'd want to avoid any boards
that have chipsets with problems that affect memory, USB, or anything else.

I'll be doing some programming with a resource-hog emulator (VS2005 &
mobile emulator), some video encoding and editing, and some major number
crunching (some of my files take hours to crunch on my AMD750).

I appreciate your suggestions of boards to consider.
Thanks,
Keith

I have an MSI K8N Neo4 with an X2 4400+, 4G DDR 400, 250G Seagate SATA-II
drive, Thermatake Case and Cooler, Enermax 535W supply, GeForce 6200
PCI-E graphics. It's been running 24/7 since July, no problems so far. Got
it from MonarchComputer, cost around $1800. I don't use the graphics on
this system (it's a compute server, I connect to it with ssh and run
X-emacs remotely) so I got the cheapest graphics card they had at the
time, you might want to get a slightly better graphics card but the rest
of the system is probably what you want to get.