need help finding budget mb-cpu-ram combo for son's pc

[tommyncal]

I'm having trouble finding a mb that will fit in my son'd existing system. Trying to keep the cost down also. He's not much of a gamer, only plays a couple of old games and just needs a stable system.
His existing system:
PSU: Seasonic s12-380w
Video: ATI 9600xt
HD: WD 250GB IDE
DVD: Plextor 712 IDE

So, would like to find a AM2 board with a AGP slot for existing video card plus at least 2 IDE slots...if not..a 939 board, he wants to stay with AMD. Then a CPU and 1GB Ram to match...any suggestions?

 

[jpeyton]

mobo $45

cpu $85

cpu cooler $10

1gb ram $60

total: $200

 

[Frintin]

That AMD X2 3600+ chip is definitely a "Best bang for the buck" chip! It is a 65nm cpu (cooler, lower power use) that is fast and can be overclocked should you want to.

Not a fan of MSI but it stems from way back in the day and a video card problem when they were first starting out and had terrible customer service. That board recommended is a full featured board for cheap!

 

[tommyncal]

thanks for the suggestions...I probably should have mentioned he has a Lian Li PC-7B plus II case, and in the specs it shows MB compatibility as 12" x 9.6" ATX. Does this mean that a micro atx board won't fit in it?
Also, in that msi motherboard there is only 1 IDE/PATA connector. He would have to master/slave the HD and DVD drive? Will that slow the HD down very much?..thanks for your help?

 

[Frintin]

Having a hard drive and optical drive on the same IDE channel not as bad as it used to be, but if you are doing some serious video encoding and file moving in Windows Explorer etc you prolly going to notice slowdowns or hiccups still.

A microATX motherboard will fit in his case technically but you want to take a look at the IO panel configuration and motherboard standoff locations maybe.

 

[pkrush]

I have had trouble getting my MSI VIA chipset motherboard to work properly with any ATI card (tried a 9550 and a 9800 Pro) It would constantly lock up after about 30 seconds in 3D no matter what I did to it. This actually seems to be a pretty common problem. I'd recommend that you get a Geforce 6100 (single-chip version) or the AMD 690G chipset instead and simply use the onboard video of that instead, since a 9600xt isn't going to be very much better, and there aren't ANY cards coming out for AGP anymore.
A good example choice for a motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130068
Also, a MicroATX board will fit fine in a normal ATX case.

 

[tommyncal]

thanks for the replys guys...hmmm....if I don't use the 9600xt video card and use onboard graphics, then I could get a full size ATX board. So, any suggestions for a stable AM2 board whose onboard graphics would be close to or equal to the 9600xt?

 

[herbiehancock]

Originally posted by: pkrush
..... and there aren't ANY cards coming out for AGP anymore.

Where do people get such stupid beliefs and information? I guess the RECENT release of the Radon X1950 Pro video card in AGP interface doesn't cont, eh? While it's true that some cards won't make it to AGP, they still continue to produce them and actually introduce NEW cards in that format.



Personally, if I were upgrading his computer, and wanted to keep AMD, I'd do some of what you were looking to do with these changes:

Go ahead and get a decent AM2 full-sized motherboard and make the move to PCI-e graphics. While he's not into gaming right now, making the move to PCI-e graphics will pay off in the end.

If you want to stick with AGP graphics, your options for AM2 motherboards are a bit more limited, but there are a HOST of AGP graphics cards out there, many quite new and powerful.......AGP cards include the X1950 Pro, the X1650 Pro, 7600GS, 7600GT, 7800GS...so they are available and fairly current gpu's. Newegg alone lists over 120 AGP video cards.

(the X1650 Pro AGP card is $95 after rebate, the 7600GS is $113, the X1950 Pro is, unfortunately, $195..but all are comparable to current PCI-e cards and prices.)


I'm not a fan of MSI motherboards myself, preferring Gigabyte, Asus, sometimes Biostar to MSI. There are lots of full-sized AM2 boards out there, but moving to AM2 will require moving to DDR2 RAM, right? Most, if not all, AM2 motherboards moved to DDR2 RAM, making your upgrade a tad more expensive....if I'm reading your original configuration correctly.

If you want to reuse your DDR RAM, you'll have to stick with socket 939 boards...and they are starting to disappear as are the socket 939 cpu's.


Honestly, I'd make the move over to AM2, DDR2 RAM, a PCI-e video card and be done with it now....a bit more future-proof than 939....by a long shot.

 

[Showtime]

The Frys ad should be out soon. If you have a local frys, their combos can be some of the best deals around. Some combos are also available on outpost/frys.com. Check the hot deals forum tomorrow morning for any combo deals.

 

[Zepper]

Hey tommy...

Full ATX mobos seldom come with integrated graphics as they have plenty of room for slots for graphics cards. I'd be surprised if you can find any on a Socket AM2 board.

Here are my suggestions:

Mobo Asus M2NBP-VM CSM

CPU AMD Athlon 64 x2 3600+ 65nm or the 3800+ as that PSU can easily handle the 65W and a lot more.

Memory (two of these) SuperTalent DDR2 667

Total under $300. (maybe a bit over with the 3800+) shipped unless you have to pay sTax.

.bh.

 

[tommyncal]

Herbie,actually, the original plan was not to use the DDR RRAM Or CPU and replace them both with a new AM2 board, new CPU & new DDR@ RAM. But find a board that still had an AGP slot.
'jpeyton' posted that MSI micro atx board suggestion which I might get. Only has 1 IDE slot so I would have to master/slave my HD & DVD drive.
then 'pkrush' stated he had issues with the MSI/VIA chipset board with ATI video cards, and suggested onboard graphics on a newer board might be close to equal to a 9600xt card.In which case I could opt for a full size AM2 board, with onboard graphics, and not use the 9600xt card at all. So, I'm searching for a stable AM2 board with onboard graphics that would be close to the 9600xt performance.

 

[Zepper]

Actually you can use an IDE to SATA adapter (under $20 shipped) to hook your HDD to a SATA connection. Rosewill packages a nice one. And Syba does too - I like it better as it is enclosed. Most of these adapters are great with HDDs but iffy with burners, so hook his burner to the PATA connection. The parts I mentioned above are fully Vista Ultimate ready - not that I care about that.

.bh.

 

[Showtime]

If you're going to go AM2, you might as well go intel instead. There's $160 combo at frys right now that should be faster than any amd combo at the same price.

 

[Zepper]

Intel may be faster now (in this case the diff hardly matters), but it's a matter of principle (and time is near that Intel will be second again)...

IAC, I can't locate the combo you mentioned at Fry's. Linky?

.bh.