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Motherboard ? Newbuild issues...Big Time!

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by rivrbyte

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Hi...ok I'll admit I'm totally confused.

So many opinions on different Motherboards. Works for some, and not for others. Some like to overclock, I don't. I am trying to find a Board with what I want.
I am not a gamer,so does that mean I do not want SLi? if I do graphics like hungry memory programs do I load up the DDR2 memory slots and get a ATI crossfire? What about the chipset...Intel P-35,or Nvidia nForce 650i (SLi) ? See what I mean?

I may want onboard Audio for now,but def finely a PCi-e card like a Geforce 8500GT 512 DDR 2 or Diamond HD 2600 - pro or XT...There's that HD again..do I need it? I am not intending to plug my PC into a HDTV anytime soon. I certainly don't need WiFi either. These new boards come with this whether I want it or not?

Am I paying for these things I will (probably) never use?

A few years ago I bought a barebones from an online retailer,but after two years,the ECS Eliteboard Mobo crashed. I was going to reuse my old ATX case,but I'm going from a 300w PSU to a 500w or 550w because I will be getting a E6600 or E6850 or stay ahead of the curve and just get the Q6600. I just want to eventually do video camcorder tapes to DVD,play my music and do Photoshop, Illustrator,etc., without it hanging up.

I'd stay with WinXP,but the downside is I heard it only recognizes the memory up to 3.5GB's. Vista is 8GB.

So whatever the Power supply,can I ever have too much power? I'd hate to fry another board.

The PSU will no doubt be heavier and I will somehow have to apply another support brace to hold it up..or do I? Maybe just buy a new case...but which one?

Asus,Gigabyte,EVGA??? :4-don't personal preference indeed.

I'm just afraid that I don't know how to put this all together correctly..Mobo/CPU Combos...Is it hard to connect? Static warnings? Do I trash my old CDRW and DVDRW to get SATA connection drives? Hooking up all the peripherals correctly.

I know what your 'e thinking..this poor sap should go to best buy and just buy an HP and call it a day.

Thanks a lot for taking your time to read this.

2 replies

by inachu

Go with a 700W power supply.
SLi.... only need for games and video geeks.

If I were you thikn of trying to future proof your pc.

Most everyone buys a new pc every 2 to 5 years but if you at least get the latest and greatest then you can hold off for a long time and I would also hold off on Vista.

If you asked this 6 months to 1 year from now I would be saying, "Get Vista now!"
All based on the Vista SP1 comming out.

by jamesrl

I've built a few and bought a few. I count 3 Macs and 7 PCs in my time (4 built, 3 bought).

You don't need SLI or crossfire -that makes some sense for a high end gamer (I am but don't use 2 cards) but I can't see any advantage for Illustrator/photoshop.

550 watts should be plenty. You won't overpower a board, but why spend more than you need to. I'd prefer a 550 watt from a well known supplier than a 700 watt from a no name. Thermaltake, Coolmax, CoolerMaster, Enermax all decent PSUs.

Onboard sound is good enough for most people, unless you want to remix the audio on your movies - if you do I highly suggest a "real" sound card from Creative or Turtlebeach.

XP should be fine for what you want to do.

Installing the CPU is the most exacting part, more specifically installing the fan. You should be able to find lots of step by step for this on the web.

Static? I used to use a static strap in the old days, these days I make sure I don't work on carpet and I ground myself before I touch a component.

I personally would use SATA for my HD and IDE for my opticals- in fact I do.

I've used all kinds of MBs. I kinda like MSI for budget stuff, ASUS for high end.

Video cards, either would be fine - I kinda prefer the look of ATI cards - nVidia usually provides faster frame rates and ATI nicer images. You don't need the HD function unless you want to watch HD or Blu Ray movies from your computer.

Hope that helps.

James

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