Things To Cconsider...
<div class="IPBDescription">when buying a mobo?</div> Ok, I'm finally going to get off my a** and make some money to buy a new mobo. I know most of the basics about getting one: CPU support, DDR RAM, and AGP 8x. But what are some other things I should look for when buying a new mobo?
The size of my case, my hard drive, and socket type? Do any of these things matter? And if so, where can I find information about them? If there are any other things I should look for when buying a mobo help would be much appreciated, thanks.
*Gah, messed up my title of all things. Oh well.*
The size of my case, my hard drive, and socket type? Do any of these things matter? And if so, where can I find information about them? If there are any other things I should look for when buying a mobo help would be much appreciated, thanks.
*Gah, messed up my title of all things. Oh well.*
Comments
You'd want these for commodity:
-5 PCI slots (that's about the usual)
-Raid support (if you plan on having multiple hard drives)
-Serial ATA (new standard for hard drives; raptor hard drives)
-Number of ram slots. You'd want at least 3 (for evolution)
-on board ethernet. If possible gigabit lan.
Other things that matter (speaking from experience only here):
When put into your case, will any important parts of the motherboard (RAM, CPU, BIOS battery, card locations) be blocked from easy two-handed access? My current mobo requires me to remove 2 PCI cards just to remove the BIOS battery to reset it when something screws up. A proprietary machine I've worked on (I forget if HP or Compaq, doesn't matter by now) purposely had the entire power supply and more in the way of the CPU and RAM in order to discourage home upgrading/diagnosis. Just to add one stick of ram meant I had to half-dismantle the case; when I put everything back and tried booting I realized I hadn't pushed the RAM in far enough (I'm the gentle sort), so I had to do it <i>again</i>. Don't put yourself in a position where the only person to blame for this sort of thing is you -- check what stuff blocks other stuff.
When put in your case, is anything large/tall on the motherboard near the drive bays? I can't use CD/DVDrom drives in the lower half of my large drive bays because a pair of particularly tall capacitors would get broken off if I put the drives in to be flush with the front of the case.
Does it have enough PCI slots for you? Sound, network, auxiliary video or modem if you want it, other stuff?
Can you disable the onboard stuff you don't want? (Can you disable the onboard audio, video, sound, or network if you've got better brand-name cards to do these things?)
What's the max amount of RAM possible? 2 gigs? 3? 4?
What's the max speed of DDR ram it can take? Max CPU speed? (Example: my current mobo can't take faster than Athlon XP 2000+...meaning if I want to have a faster processor, I'm going to need a new mobo, thusly probably needing a different type of RAM, at which point I might as well build a new machine)
<a href='http://motherboards.bizrate.com/marketplace/search/search__cat_id--419,prod_id--7385393.html' target='_blank'>Mobo</a>
And here is the computer I own now:
<a href='http://www.emachines.com/support/previous.html' target='_blank'>Comp</a>
Yea, it's not that great but my parents gave it to me, so it was a freebee. Better then the one I used to use. So do you think the motherboard above would work with my computer?
*Edit* My model number is T2682. *Edit*
<img src='http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socket478/p4sdx/P4SDX_l.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Given the picture of that motherboard, I can see that the things in the bottom right corner (which, if your case is standard, will be up and towards the computers front "face") are two of the RAM slots and what I <i>think</i> may be your IDE channel plugs. I say "I think" because I can't even find such a plug for a floppy cable. [edit]It may be the thing in the bottom left set parallel to the board inself.[/edit]
I haven't got time to search for a picture of your case, but if it's small enough, you <i>will</i> have your drives in the way of both your IDE cables, perhaps even half of your ability to upgrade your RAM. Be careful.
<img src='http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socket478/p4sdx/P4SDX_l.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Given the picture of that motherboard, I can see that the things in the bottom right corner (which, if your case is standard, will be up and towards the computers front "face") are two of the RAM slots and what I <i>think</i> may be your IDE channel plugs. I say "I think" because I can't even find such a plug for a floppy cable. [edit]It may be the thing in the bottom left set parallel to the board inself.[/edit]
I haven't got time to search for a picture of your case, but if it's small enough, you <i>will</i> have your drives in the way of both your IDE cables, perhaps even half of your ability to upgrade your RAM. Be careful. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Also if you note to the right of the vertical RAM slots, the PSU connector majig is right by them. Not good.
<a href='http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0518057348.1074467748@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccckadckfiglllkcflgceggdhhmdfif.0&chain=PC_World&channel=WEB&browserName=ie&browserVersion=6&platform=pc&firstrun=yes&page=Product×tamp=11:15:47&sku=691687&page=Product&chain=PC_World&channel=WEB&browserName=ie&browserVersion=6&platform=pc×tamp=11:15:47&sku=691687' target='_blank'>Pic</a>
Not a good picture but it's the best I could find. I'll try to get some photos taken from my own PC soon.
Found a motherboard that might work, also found out that my current mobo is a Micro ATX which makes it alot easier to find one that will fit without a hitch. The only problem is Micro ATXs seem to cost a little more and have a little less power then ATXs. Here's the <a href='http://www.coolerexpress.com/syins8in84ma.html' target='_blank'>mobo I'm looking at</a>. It looks almost exactly like the mobo I have (which fits great, nothing is blocking any RAM, AGP, or PCI slots) except mine has 4 PCI slots and no AGP. I'm going to look for another one that has 8x instead of 4x though.
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=1' target='_blank'>Two more mobos that look like they might work.</a>
how many expansion slots are in the rear of your case? if theres only two or four then it will be too small for one of these full ATX sized boards. youll need a mini. P4p800-VM then would be a good idea if you can find it, or p4s8x-vm.
looks like youll need a mini board, id reccomend buying it locally instead of online in case it doesnt fit and you ahve to return it. i'm told newegg is good with returns, but nothing beats a real store.
-5 PCI slots (that's about the usual)
-Raid support (if you plan on having multiple hard drives)
-Serial ATA (new standard for hard drives; raptor hard drives)
-Number of ram slots. You'd want at least 3 (for evolution)
-on board ethernet. If possible gigabit lan. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I do not have a single used PCI slot in my PC. Ethernet is onboard, sound is onboard (pretty good quality, but you could get a PCI one if you want). Everything else will be onboard most likely too. More slots isn't important here.
Raid 0 can actually be done via software emulation in windows 2k/XP, so it doesn't matter too much here.
<i>Definately</i> SATA support and a good number of ram slots. I'd also try to find a board that has front USB slots (2.0 ideally).
If you're going to use this PC as a heavy gaming machine, I'd recommend a board in the NFORCE2 chipset. Good stuff.
If you do in fact require an mATX motherboard, stop looking at ANY SiS chipsets. They may save you a few dollars, but the true price you pay is performance and crazy amounts of headaches trying to deal with them.
There really is only 1 choice for mATX Intel chipset, the 865G. Great integrated features, 800mhz FSB, hyperthreading support, etc..
So, to me, the best and ONLY choice are the following:
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-160&catalog=280&depa=1' target='_blank'>Abit 865G mATX for $70.99</a>
There are others at Newegg, just do a search for mATX boards with the "Intel 82865G" Northbridge chipset. Abit make terrific motherboards and this one is the cheapest...
Processor...
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-157&catalog=343&depa=1' target='_blank'>2.4C @ $164</a>
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-159&catalog=343&depa=1' target='_blank'>2.6C @ $175</a>
Either of these are great choices. The "C" means they are 800mhz FSB, which is a must. The 2.66ghz chip you talked about is only 533mhz FSB, and the change is <u>very</u> noticeable. The 2.8C is ~$215, which puts the 2.4C and 2.6C are the "sweet spot" in the price breaks. The 2.4C and 2.6C are also Hyperthreading CPUs, while the 2.66 is not.
Really, you don't have many options. Assuming the parts listed above are within your price range, theres really no reason to hesitate. There's nothing out now better then these for price/performance in the Intel mATX world.
Celeron will work fine on it. Both are s478, and any mobo which supports s478 will support both. Celeron is just a P4 with its cache cut down to limit it's performance. But, it really, really, really does limit its performance. A Celeron 2.4ghz performs along the lines of what a P4 ~1.3ghz would do, or even worse! If you're buying a new Celeron, I'd advise against it, but if you already have the Celeron, then by all means stick with it until you have the $$$ to upgrade.
*Edit* New question, I have an 80GB Ultra DMA HD right now, is it compatible with ATA motherboards or do I need one that supports only DMA? *Edit*
oh yeah, never buy another celeron now that youre getting into building your own computers. a p4 1.8 ghz outperforms a celeron 2.6ghz, for similar price.
Damn. the problems just keep adding up, I just found out that my mobo isn't an ATX and isn't an mATX but rather a uATX, some special version Intel created. (damn them) This makes my search much, much, much harder. I think it is going to be almost impossible to find a mobo with the specs I need, much less want. If you know any place that I can find a uATX with P4/Celeron support, an AGP slot 4X or 8X, DDR RAM, and 2-3 PCI slots <i>please</i> tell me. I'm starting to get desperate, I don't want to be stuck with Intel Extreme Graphics.
Oh, and is that little piece of the back of a computer case that has the printer, mouse, keyboard, ect. plugins with symbols replaceable? I've found some mobo's that <i>might</i> work but the ports aren't in the same areas. Once again, thanks for any help.
newegg.com sells cases for $20 and less. They look crappy, but if you want to invest a minimum amount of money they might be just what you need. For $25 you can get some fairly good looking cases, and most of them are standard ATX form.
both of them have integrated video, which may make up for the price difference of just getting a new case and a standard sized mobo. look carefully <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->