Motherboard for a not-so-serious Gamer

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Because both Crysis & COD4 are available for the XBOX360, which will only cost you $200 these days. And it's going to cost lots more than that to build a PC truly capable of pushing those games as well as they will run on the X360.

Does anyone know what settings correspond to options in the PC version? I know the XBox 360 is limited to 1080p resolutions (1920x1080). Does the console versions run any AA or any other settings that can be cranked in PC version?

Originally posted by: kpburd
That is an excellent choice except for the price. That makes me believe I'm not going to get what I want for $100.

You want a micro ATX motherboard under $100 that can take a 9600 GT graphics card, DDR2 RAM of various speeds and can handle a Core 2 Duo E7400, right? Newegg lists over 50 choices. If you don't need more than 4GB total RAM or more than two RAM slots, I'd go with the Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 board.

Originally posted by: TidusZ
I'd personally rather use a atx mobo and no case (or cardboard/makeshift case) than use a matx motherboard.

"It is bigger, therefore it is better" only works for monitors, fans and monster trucks.

I'd venture to guess that for most people if you surreptitiously replaced their ATX motherboard with a suitable micro ATX motherboard without telling them (assuming Windows doesn't die from the swap), they would not know unless they peeked inside their case or went out of their way to examine monitoring software.

 

[kpburd]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Closed with a DP FTW!!

You'll have to enlighten me Denithor. I know Military and Law Enforcement Acronyms but I don't know Anandtech Acronymns as I just joined this site. What's DP FTW?

 

[kpburd]

Originally posted by: Zap
You want a micro ATX motherboard under $100 that can take a 9600 GT graphics card, DDR2 RAM of various speeds and can handle a Core 2 Duo E7400, right? Newegg lists over 50 choices. If you don't need more than 4GB total RAM or more than two RAM slots, I'd go with the Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 board.

You are right. The hangup I had was because I read just enough about chipsets that I believed I had to have a P45 and a ICH10 for my application and that made it impossible to find what I needed for around $100.
I found a review on TomsHardware.com that set me straight and what I need, all the chipsets provide so I guess the manufactuer decides what extras (like Raid 0/1) they want to include on the board.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: kpburd

Originally posted by: Denithor
Closed with a DP FTW!!

You'll have to enlighten me Denithor. I know Military and Law Enforcement Acronyms but I don't know Anandtech Acronymns as I just joined this site. What's DP FTW?

DP = Double Post
FTW = For The Win

As for the board, the reason the P45 is recommended so much is stability first and foremost, especially if there are plans to overclock. And on what Zap said, there's an easy way to get only Micro ATX boards with the specs you want on Newegg, try using the advanced search in the mobo section, only modify the ones you need/want and it'll check and see if any boards match the description.

 

[kpburd]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt


Closed with a DP FTW!!

You'll have to enlighten me Denithor. I know Military and Law Enforcement Acronyms but I don't know Anandtech Acronymns as I just joined this site. What's DP FTW?[/quote]



[/quote]DP = Double Post
FTW = For The Win

As for the board, the reason the P45 is recommended so much is stability first and foremost, especially if there are plans to overclock. And on what Zap said, there's an easy way to get only Micro ATX boards with the specs you want on Newegg, try using the advanced search in the mobo section, only modify the ones you need/want and it'll check and see if any boards match the description.



Got the Double Post now, but still don't know what "For The Win" means.
I've been using the specs sidebar on the Newegg site but when you specify P45 and Micro, the pickings get slim. Now I know better, thanks.

 

[kpburd]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
9600gt is definitely not mid range. 4850 is midrange, 9600gt is relic, will soon be antique.

I'd personally rather use a atx mobo and no case (or cardboard/makeshift case) than use a matx motherboard.

TidusZ, I will assume responsibility for not making myself very clear. I am replacing my old matx with a new matx because that is all that will fit in my aftermarket cube.