Seems like S939 - trouble is good mobo, AM2 - trouble is compatible RAM

[yacoub]

Thinking about building a cheap s939 or AM2 setup but uncertain which way to go. Hard to find a good s939 mobo since NForce4 boards are the only realistic option and most of them are flakey or have a little fan on them that will die quickly and is noisy.
AM2 seems to have some better boards with passive cooling but are very picky about RAM.

What's the best RAM to get for AM2 boards?

Alternately, what is a stable, passively-cooled s939 board with onboard sound that's under $100?

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: yacoub
Alternately, what is a stable, passively-cooled s939 board with onboard sound that's under $100?

Abit KN8 SLI (there's also meant to be a passive version of the Ultra but I've not seen it appear in any of the common stores in the UK/USA).

You could also look at the 6100/6150 boards if mATX is OK for you as most of those are passive.

 

[yacoub]

I wonder if the passive boards for s939 run a bit too hot or not. Sort of as if they're first-gen passive boards of such a high-end nature and maybe passive cooling on the AM2 boards are done better and run cooler?
I read a lot of reports in reviews (like on NewEgg for example) where folks complain about how hot the passively-cooled s939 boards run.

 

[alex123]

Alternately, what is a stable, passively-cooled s939 board with onboard sound that's under $100?

See how many people are using this 939 MSI mobo, $96 CANADIAN DOLLARS ... I am actually one of those people. No problems whatsoever, and an instant X2 overclok from 2.0 to 2.5 GHz on a stock cooling.

Here it is:The *Official* MSI K8NGM2-FID GeForce 6150 Motherboard Thread

just read the first post, it sums up the whole thread

 

[Mark9]

I have to second alex123's suggestion...In the past couple weeks I've added two MSI K8NGM@-FID based systems to my "fleet"; with a third board on the way. If you are into heavy gaming you'll need to add a gamming video card; BUT, if routine playing/computing is your norm then use the on-board GeForce 6150 graphics (even has 2 video outputs if you're into that kind of thing). The one item I would suggest addding to the northbridge is a small 40mm fan - just in case; although most people don't do this - I'm the overly cautious type......