Cheap Integrated Video Mobo required

[River Side]

My power supply on the old computer died (Enermax Whisper.. guess they are just as likely to die as the no name stuff) and I have decided to do the CHEAPEST reasonable upgrade as I can. Replacing mobo, cpu, ram and of course power supply.

So I've been eyeballing parts but I can't find a decent integrated video mobo that will take core 2 duo and is under $50.. any recommendations?

So far i've identified Foxconn G31AX-K.. is there anything out there that beats it for less?

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: River Side
So far i've identified Foxconn G31AX-K.. is there anything out there that beats it for less?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813135064

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813186138

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813135066

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813186145

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813500005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813186140

 

[River Side]

Thanks! so time for a stupid question.. would I need to rig up something to get the microATX boards fit my ATX box?

 

[Zap]

No. Most (99%?) ATX cases can fit mATX motherboards. Just not the other way 'round.

Regarding cheap motherboards, if you don't already have the CPU and live near a Frys...

As for the links that tcsenter listed, they should all do the trick. If you want better 3D performance (not enough for serious gaming, but can do older games and Vista Aero reasonably well) then the Nvidia chipset boards would be your first choice. Otherwise, I'd get the Intel chipset boards because you'll have faster non-3D performance due to dual channel memory, which the Nvidia chipset boards do not support. The performance difference is barely measurable, but if you don't use it for 3D then you may as well get that 1-3% extra oomph.

 

[River Side]

Thanks,

that's reassuring. I should broaden my search to mATX boards then..

 

[River Side]

After much deliberation I think we have a winner..

ECS GF7100PVT-M

Many thanks for all the suggestions

 

[tcsenter]

If it is an option, this would be superior to any integrated graphics currently available short of AMD 780/790G:

ASUS Radeon HD 3450 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 - $27.00 after rebate

This is a fairly good deal given it is low profile ready and, unlike most cards advertised as 'low profile', includes the low profile bracket. AMD 780/790G is currently the best performing IGP available and is roughly on-par with R3450.

One caveat about Intel 945G or G31 is that neither can support memory remapping required to utilize all 4GB under 64-bit OS. At most, you will be able to utilize around 3.0GB ~ 3.3GB RAM, no matter the OS used. This is an actual hardware limit.

This *may* be true for GF7050/7100/7150 as well, since NVIDIA specs for all three variants is 4GB max, but I haven't been able to confirm whether the chipsets can support memory remapping. The AMD variants do, but I'm not sure about the Intel ones.

Originally posted by: River Side
After much deliberation I think we have a winner..

ECS GF7100PVT-M

That would have been my choice on this budget. :thumbsup:

 

[River Side]

wow looks like a good performer at an awesome price.. no wonder it's out of stock!

well i'm gonna go ahead and order the mobo..

thanks y'all u're the best.

 

[River Side]

Apologies if you thought you'd seen the last of me bugging the hell out of y'all.. but that ECS mobo was a *&&^%%$#@$%^%^ piece of garbage..

ok.. *deep breath* .. not entirely, the layout was acceptable, better than some others, the specs were great.. but it had to come at some price.. right.. yes.. I spent half a night trying to install XP professional on it.. it would just hang in the middle somewhere.. finally gave up, moved the drive to my other rig.. installed XP on it there, brought it back and was able to see the system run.. so far so good.. right? ... not quite.

Next thing I discovered was that the BIOS options are SEVERELY limited.. if u are planning to OC even just a bit.. fageddaboudid.. mobo will force you to some freq and timings that are built into it. No problems.. I was going to overlook that as it is a PC for my kids.. all I want for it is to run without glitches and shutdowns.. But that's what happened.. after spending another half night installing all the crap that I have on my computers.. it just refused to power up.. NOTHING.. no beep, no smoke.. no nothing..

RMA'ed to Newegg for a REFUND.. not a return.. took a beating on shipping both ways but i'm done with ECS..

*phew*

/end rant