- Oct 30, 2004
- 11,442
- 32
- 91
Welcome to the "Help WhipperSnapper Find His Mobo Mojo" thread.
Well, now that I've purchased my video card, I need to work on the mobo, CPU, PSU, HSF, and assorted case accessories.
I just received my Connect3D x800 GTO ($139 shipped AR, w00t). I think I'm probably going to go with the Sparkle (Fortron) 550W EPS power supply with the 36 A on a single 12V rail simply because I've heard so many good things about how rock solid Fortron PSUs are (eWiz has it for $85 + shipping). CPU will probably be an Opteron 146 cooled with a Thermalright 90 and an Arctic Cat fan. HDs will be plain ol' PATA drives (one 160 GB Maxtore and one 120 GB "Best Buy McBucks" Seagate).
Also, I foolishly purchased 1 GB (2 x 512) of PC 3200 Corsair Value RAM back in March when the prices were dropping from their previous prices of $160. (When NewEgg did a $10 off coupon, I thought $98 shipped was a good deal compared to the previous price of $160, but I was wrong.)
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OK. So I'm looking for the right Socket 939 nForce4 motherboard, preferably at a good price. It should come with all of the standard nForce4 features including a Firewire port and preferably a parallel port since I have what used to be an expensive laser printer connected in serial with a cheap flatbed scanner. (Absent a parallel port I'll need to get a USB-to-parallel cable.) Obviously, since I'll be using an ATI card SLI isn't really a big deal though it wouldn't hurt to have it if it didn't increase the price by any more than, say, $5 or $10. (Who knows, maybe I'll stumble upon a once-in-a-lifetime 7800 GTX clearance two years from now and kick myself for not having the option to do SLI.) Most motherboards have all of that, so the differentiating characteristics are:
(1) Must be a decent Opteron overclocker. It would also need PCI, PCI-E, SATA and PATA overclocking locks.
(2) Must get along well with Corsair Value RAM (or is that vice-versa?).
(3) An nForce Ultra should probably be fine, but SLI would be a nice option to have for a slightly increased price. However, I'd probably take the Epox Ultra ($105) over the MSI K8N Neo4 SLI ($125) because of the $20 price difference.
(4) Being a tightwad FatWalleter type, preferably it should be a good deal, but I understand that when your talking about a crucial central component you need to focus on getting the best one for your needs (within reason).
Well, have at it. Epox Ultra? DFI? MSI? Albatron SLI?
Well, now that I've purchased my video card, I need to work on the mobo, CPU, PSU, HSF, and assorted case accessories.
I just received my Connect3D x800 GTO ($139 shipped AR, w00t). I think I'm probably going to go with the Sparkle (Fortron) 550W EPS power supply with the 36 A on a single 12V rail simply because I've heard so many good things about how rock solid Fortron PSUs are (eWiz has it for $85 + shipping). CPU will probably be an Opteron 146 cooled with a Thermalright 90 and an Arctic Cat fan. HDs will be plain ol' PATA drives (one 160 GB Maxtore and one 120 GB "Best Buy McBucks" Seagate).
Also, I foolishly purchased 1 GB (2 x 512) of PC 3200 Corsair Value RAM back in March when the prices were dropping from their previous prices of $160. (When NewEgg did a $10 off coupon, I thought $98 shipped was a good deal compared to the previous price of $160, but I was wrong.)
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OK. So I'm looking for the right Socket 939 nForce4 motherboard, preferably at a good price. It should come with all of the standard nForce4 features including a Firewire port and preferably a parallel port since I have what used to be an expensive laser printer connected in serial with a cheap flatbed scanner. (Absent a parallel port I'll need to get a USB-to-parallel cable.) Obviously, since I'll be using an ATI card SLI isn't really a big deal though it wouldn't hurt to have it if it didn't increase the price by any more than, say, $5 or $10. (Who knows, maybe I'll stumble upon a once-in-a-lifetime 7800 GTX clearance two years from now and kick myself for not having the option to do SLI.) Most motherboards have all of that, so the differentiating characteristics are:
(1) Must be a decent Opteron overclocker. It would also need PCI, PCI-E, SATA and PATA overclocking locks.
(2) Must get along well with Corsair Value RAM (or is that vice-versa?).
(3) An nForce Ultra should probably be fine, but SLI would be a nice option to have for a slightly increased price. However, I'd probably take the Epox Ultra ($105) over the MSI K8N Neo4 SLI ($125) because of the $20 price difference.
(4) Being a tightwad FatWalleter type, preferably it should be a good deal, but I understand that when your talking about a crucial central component you need to focus on getting the best one for your needs (within reason).
Well, have at it. Epox Ultra? DFI? MSI? Albatron SLI?
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