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1st time builder on a budget!

C

Camberwell

Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
961
Hi, I am looking for a micro ATX mobo for the (boxed) E4500 cpu that I have. Initially I was looking at the Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H, but I have been put off by the fact that it has single channel memory rather than dual, and although for now that's not a big issue, I was looking for a mobo that could be upgraded later so I'd rather have one that is dual.
I also don't need DVI right now, so long as I can add a PCI card later. Overclocking is not a necessity, but if it is easy to do then I will use the feature. DDR2-800 is a must, as is quad support. I won't have too many peripherals either, and I won't be gaming much with it.

A friend of mine has a new boxed Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H, which he will give me at a good price (EUR 60), but I have read mixed reviews about it and since he doesn't have the reciept anymore I won't be able to return it if there is a problem with it.

Can anyone here give me any info, or maybe suggest an alternative? I can go to about EUR 80 (I live in The Netherlands), around $120, but importing from the US is too expensive!

Thanks very much!
 
Here's the spec page to the Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H. The page says that the board will support the Core 2 Quad, but it operates at a 1066MHz FSB, and, due to its chipset, it won't support the new Penryn processors. Here is a review from Hardware Zone about the motherboard.

I really can't offer any better suggestions, as I'm afraid that whatever that I could offer would be too expensive (e.g., boards based off the G33/G35/P35, which could run both the current and new Core 2 Duo/Quad processors) or too underpowered (outside the G965 series boards) for your taste.
 
I bought a board that didn't support quad core, because I figured that a new socket would come out before I needed it. I think Intel is moving the memory controller to inside the CPU later this year, so I think a new socket will come out then.
 
tiraides said:
Here's the spec page to the Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H. The page says that the board will support the Core 2 Quad, but it operates at a 1066MHz FSB, and, due to its chipset, it won't support the new Penryn processors. Here is a review from Hardware Zone about the motherboard.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I did see that Hardwarezone review, and I have checked and the new Intel drivers are available to make it DirectX 10 compatible, and also new BIOS updates are available.
What put me off a bit was the user reviews on Newegg.com, where some had problems with the board straight out of the box, like the need to adjust the cpu voltage and flash the CMOS (which I don't feel that comfortable with, still a noob!)....a shame, otherwise I think this looks like a good contender. As for the Penryn processors, I think that by the time I can afford them, I can (hopefully) afford a new mobo!
 
OK, according to the reviews that I have read, the MSI G33M-FI and the Gigabyte GA-G33-DS2R don't work as well with 800 MHz FSBs like the E4500 that I have, so my choice will now be the Asus P5K-VM (slightly above my budget, but not by much). Also, the Asus seems to be more plug and play than the other two, and since I am a total noob I don't (yet) want to have to mess around with voltage settings etc until I get more experience.
My question now is, will the Kingston Value RAM (2x1 Gb DDR2-667) I already have work with this mobo? By the end of the year I will be able to get some better DDR2-800 RAM.
Also, I need a good PSU to go with it, I was told that the Antec EarthWatts EA430 would be a good choice, is this true?
Thanks for any advice!
 
Apparently the ASUS website is down so I cant check their cvl list for the ram but those Earthwatt power supplies are considered pretty good. You dont mention what video card you plan to use but I imagine that unit will be fine. Might want a 500w unit though if you plan to run high end gaming cards in the future. Gives you some expansion room. The Corsair HX520w is a superior unit though compared to the Earthwatt.

Edit: Finally got through to the ASUS site. They dont have anything listed for 667 ram. Just 800 and 533. Here's what they have listed for Kingston modules.

DDR2 800

DDR2 800 512MB KINGSTON K4T51083QC 5 SEC SS KVR800D2N5/512
DDR2 800 1024MB KINGSTON Heat-Sink Package 4-4-4-12 N/A DS KHX6400D2LL/1G
DDR2 800 1024MB KINGSTON Heat-Sink Package 4-4-4-12 N/A SS KHX6400D2LLK2/1GN
DDR2 800 1024MB KINGSTON V59C1512804QBF25 N/A N/A DS KVR800D2N5/1G
DDR2 800 1024MB KINGSTON Heat-Sink Package N/A N/A SS KHX6400D2ULK2/1G
DDR2 800 2048MB KINGSTON Heat-Sink Package N/A N/A DS KHX6400D2ULK2/2G


DDR2 533
DDR2 533 256MB KINGSTON E5116AF-5C-E 4 ELPIDA SS KVR533D2N4/256
DDR2 533 512MB KINGSTON HYB18T512800AF37 4 N/A SS KVR533D2N4/512
DDR2 533 1024MB KINGSTON D6408TPAGGL3U N/A KINGSTON DS KVR533D2N4/1G
DDR2 533 2048MB KINGSTON E1108AB-6E-E N/A ELPIDA DS KVR533D2N4/2G
 
Thanks Skott. Could you please give me the link for that? I have looked at the Asus site, and it says in the specs that it supports DDR2 667, 800 and 1066 (OC), but I can't find the section for RAM support.
I won't be using a seperate graphics card this year..
Thanks!
 
Camberwell said:
Thanks Skott. Could you please give me the link for that? I have looked at the Asus site, and it says in the specs that it supports DDR2 667, 800 and 1066 (OC), but I can't find the section for RAM support.
I won't be using a seperate graphics card this year..
Thanks!
Click to expand...

The ASUS website can be a pia to navigate through if you are not familiar with it and also if you dont have much info about the product in question. A lot of drilling down can be involved.

Anyway, here is the link for the page you need to work from. You'll see that its the overview page for the P5E-VM HDMI. Thats how you get to the QVL with ASUS mobos. You gotta go to the 'Overview' page from the first page. Anyway, See the 'QVL Download' link on the left upper part? Click on that and it brings up a pdf file. (Note: the cursor doesnt turn into a hand, arrow, or anything special just a normal cursor line when it hovers over the link) That'll show you all the 'qualified' ram listed for that mobo. You might need Adobe or something like that to view the pdf file. I hope that helps.

Note: I should point out that just because a module isnt shown on the QVL list doesnt mean it wont work. Those are just the ones ASUS has tested and proven to work. They dont test every RAM availble though.

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=584&l4=0&model=1912&modelmenu=1
 
Fantastic, thanks Skott. I found that if you Google the P5K-VM and go to the Asus site through that link, you can get the QVL link specific to that board, and it does list the Kingston 667 ram that I have - good news for me!
I already have a Seagate 250Gb SATA HD (7200) and a dvd/cd writer, so I will be purchasing the P5K-VM and the Antec I mentioned above, to go with the 667 ram and my E4500 cpu - should be a great setup for my first build (fingers crossed!!).
Any tips for the build itself?
 
The P5K-VM is a good mobo. I have used it in my last two builds and I'm quite happy with it. :D
 
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