Looking for new motherboard - any to stay away from?

[ahearnb]

Hi,

I am planning to buy a motherboard, CPU, case, power supply, and RAM. I really have no idea as to what I should get. I don't need anything really awesome, but I would like it to be reliable and last a long time (i.e. not break). I do plan to play a few games, and have a Gainward Geforce 2 Ti/450 for a video card. I also have a soundcard and LAN card, so I don't need anything integrated unless that's just the way to go. I just looked at pricewatch.com at the mobo/CPU combos and saw that the big jump is between the Athlon XP 2100 and the XP 2200. I don't know if I should go that route, or buy them separately.

I have no problem with spending a little more money and getting something that will benefit me greatly, or has a feature that I "should" have. So, if anyone has a minute or 2, could you maybe list suggestions (specific or non-specific) on what you believe I should get based on the information given? In addition, what RAM should I get? I've just got 256mb of PC133 ram with a 500mhz Athlon right now. Also, if anyone knows of any deals on cases/power supplies, please let me know!

Thanks for your time!

Brad

 

[Vette73]

Here is a good start...

CPU = AMD Athlon XP 1700+/266 FSB Thorougbred $69 at Newegg.com (this is a .13 chip, should do 166FSB)
Motherboard = Epox EP-8K9A2+ It has Raid, serial ata, 6ch sound, ethernet, and overclocks very well $125 at newegg.com
Ram = Some good DDR333 speed
Video Card = Use you old one and hold on to it until the GeForce FX comes out, this will be when other video cards drop in price


But this setup should last a while, and the board should support the bartons when they come out.

 

[rabidpenguin]

Just go to NewEgg and look around. They have the best prices and excellent service. Go with the Athlon XP's and get yourself at least 512MB DDR. Do as Marlin1975 said and wait for the new Nvidia card to come out if you are a gamer. This card will drop the prices on all the GeForce 4 cards.

 

[ahearnb]

Thanks for the responses, guys. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go on pricewatch.com and buy the cheapest CPU/Mobo combo there is? For example, I can get the following for $131 shipped:

810LR ATX Socket A MBoard 2PCI 2SDRAM Expandable to1.0GB Memory Sound & Video Built-In + Athlon XP 2100 CPU

or

Biostar M7VKQ - VIA KLE133, Socket A AMD Athlon/XP CPUs, ATA100, OnBoard Audio, & Video - Combo Kit + Athlon XP 2100 CPU

Are those boards really cheaply made, or what is wrong with them?

Thanks.

Brad

 

[Justus]

Your motherboard is the backbone of your system. Don't even think about buying anything that does not support at least 2700 DDR ram, and either Athlon XP processors or 478 pin P IVs (533 fsb).

The only reason to use older technology is because you have the rest of the parts and want a cheap second system (or one to give to your parents, gf, etc.)

The cost of a relatively new motherboard is still pretty cheap.

Also, check resellerratings.com before you use just any old pricewatch vendor. Some are real stinkers.

 

[ahearnb]

Justus,

Thanks for the reply. Do the motherboards I list support 2700 DDR RAM? I'm just not sure if those are classified as "new" technology or not....Would you have any suggestions of specific motherboards that would meet your requirements? I'm not going to overclock and will not use RAID in my system. I'm just looking for a solid board.

Brad

 

[IFICUDIWUD]

epox 8k5a2... at newegg for 86 bucks.. nice and solid.. u can buy an xp-whatever to go with and 256 mb of ddr ram. youll be good to go.. just look around on this forum and read and you will learn much grasshopper.. No kiddin.. a year ago I built my first system not knowing anything about anything.. A few weeks of reading and research and my sytem is built , up, and running flawlessyly.. You will get good advice and many answers to your questions

 

[LazyBastard]

Originally posted by: Justus
Your motherboard is the backbone of your system. Don't even think about buying anything that does not support at least 2700 DDR ram, and either Athlon XP processors or 478 pin P IVs (533 fsb).

The only reason to use older technology is because you have the rest of the parts and want a cheap second system (or one to give to your parents, gf, etc.)

The cost of a relatively new motherboard is still pretty cheap.

Also, check resellerratings.com before you use just any old pricewatch vendor. Some are real stinkers.

Ditto - listen to everything Justus said. Especially about ResellerRatings.com at the end.


Newegg has great prices and selection of parts, except I don't think they have as great a selection of cheap cases as Directron does.

 

[ahearnb]

Thanks for the help guys. Here's another (hopefully) easy quesiton for you guys. There are 2 different kinds of AMD Athlon XP processors....the old XP one, and the new Thoroughbread ones. What is the difference? Would a slower TB benefit me more than a non-TB that's just slightly faster?

 

[awanSky]

newegg has bunch of refurbs, any recommedation on which to get ?

coming from p3 900, I am out of the game and rusty, also broke.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Just my two cents; the Gigabyte GA-7VAXP, (viaKT-400). About $85
see for yourself @ motherboards.org

 

[DAPUNISHER]

A good reason to not just buy@the lowest price of pricewatch is many of those vendors are shady and have bad reps&service be sure to check them out on resellerratings.com before buying and read quite a few of the negatives to see if the issues are consisant ones. Personally I buy all my boards, CPUs, memory, HDDs and cases between Googlegear, Newegg,and Mwave, I get many of my other parts from them as well but also include SVC for many items at that point. BTW, I suggest buying a reasonably high end system which is probably what you did last time so you can put that next absolutely mandatory upgrade off again for a good while once more, Now while my next assertion will certainly be debatable it's my opinion don't go with a 266fsb AMD setup since you want to have this baby a good, long time because I believe (especially for games) that good bandwidth will be essential and the least expensive 333fsb XP is still close to 300$ and even the current nForce2 chipset isn't likely to give the bandwidth with it that the following combo will provide. I would get a P42.4B (under 200$),and a Granite Bay dual channel DDR based solution to put it in with 2 sticks of 256mb DDR ( 2100DDR is showing excellent bandwidth on the Intel 7205 chipset thus far from what I've seen). Of course you can't get it at this moment but since you've waited this long a month or 2 for the boards to hit and establish their performance and bugs won't kill ya The other plus would be when you feel the force flowing strong within you and feel your skills are complete you will probably get 2.9-3ghz+ from that CPU if like myself you get the C1 stepping and with a higher FSB will really pour the bandwidth and processor performance that will keep you in the game longer, most likely, I say most likely because the true potential for the GB solutions in the overclocking area aren't really know yet but I surmise that several manufacturers will have some winners. Anyways good luck whatever you decide and at least this gives ya more options to explore for a long term solution that won't be crazy, mad expensive to build