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Need Help Picking Cheaper AM2 Board

N

n3cr0

n00b
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
39
Hey Guys,

It's about that time again where the family computer needs a rebuild. They're going from an old p4 2.8c on a p4c800 which still is pumpin great @ 3.36, just showing signs of age and will be used as another system in an old case. We are trying to do this on a tighter budget. It needs to be a responsive, reliable computer capable of video editing, and playing recent games once my little brother gets enough money for a better vid card (an old 7900gs is going in for now).

Since we're on a budget I've decided to go with AMD and heres what I'm thinking..

AMD Athlon 64 5000+ Retail 59.99
GSkill 2GB (2 x 1gb) ddr2 800 27.99 with combo
Antec Earthwatts 430w Retail 39.99 on sale

With the combo and sale deal through newegg, that brings the total to 127.97 with just the mobo left to go, so I was wondering..

Whats something relatively cheap, with good OC features, and would be trustworthy? Once I do this build, I wont be around much to fix any problems.

I'm not really trying to spend more than the 50-100 dollar range, but would if anyone thinks its really important. I'm planning on doing a mild overclock for them to like 3.0ghz on the stock cooler for now, but will prob end teaching the lil bro and pushing the envelope later on better cooling.

Thanks a lot guys, always appreciated.
 
I also have the TA 790GX A2+ MB and if I was doing it now I would choose the Foxconn board over the Biostar. Foxconn put the graphics slot (primary) where it belongs and has a decent Mosfet cooler as well. The Biostar has no heatsinking on the Mosfets at all and placed the primary Vid slot on the bottom so any decent video card covers the two available PCI slots thus rendering them useless. Just my two cents.
Fiream
 
Yeah, I added a mosfet cooler made from a chunk of old heatsink and I don't know of any "decent" video cards that take up 3 slots.
 
gigaxtreme1 said:
Yeah, I added a mosfet cooler made from a chunk of old heatsink and I don't know of any "decent" video cards that take up 3 slots.
Click to expand...

Take another look. Any average video card has a two slot cooler. Place a card, any card, in the third slot and the air intake for the video card is blocked. Not just slightly but completely. If this works for you, great. Unfortunately, vid-chip cooling has become an issue. If on-board sound and video is sufficient then this won't matter but if you have a recent average to high-perf video card and have any need for a PCI slot then you will have a problem. Period. Same with the PCIe slots. Unless the card in the second PCIe slot is short and low profile a significant amount of air will be blocked to the vid card cooler.
 
OK Standard configuration Master at the top:
Here's your master
a TV card in the x1 slot
The cards actually touch but a rubber standoff solves that and the intake from the 3870 actually cools the ATI chip on the back of the theater card. And you loose no slots. PCI cards would be maybe Wireless network, capture, sound and there are a lot of low profile variety around. That's why they call this business systems integration. I'm not going to hijack this guy's thread anymore
 
Same here. I'm not interested in debating a moronic issue even a one eyed moron can see. I'm not anyone's fanboy. I call them as I see them. These are easily measurable physical constraints. The OP asked for input. Fanboy considerations aside, he should be aware of the potential shortcomings. If he chooses to pick components that will fit the board by physical characteristics that's his choice but he should be aware that this board is non-standard.
If it fits his requirements, great. He made clear in his original post that he's looking for the most economical option. If he chooses to upgrade a video card in the future then the physical constraints will have to be taken into consideration.

I don't know what you mean by "Standard configuration Master at the top" because this boards PCI x16 "MASTER" slot is on the BOTTOM. The top slot will function with a discrete vid card but it will only run at 8x not 16x.
Where did you find this board advertised as "business systems integration"? How many "business systems" run Crossfire? I deal with business systems every day and virtually never run across one that runs Crossfire, SLI, or anything remotely like it.

Again, I'm not going to debate this boards merits. The OP asked for info and he deserves to have it. For +~$24.00 he can have a board that conforms to expected standards WITHOUT having to jury rig a heatsink or he can save a few bucks and settle for the Biostar, it's his call.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Very helpful, and space constraint definitely is a concern. I will be installing a capture card, as well as a future sound card, in addition to a dual slot video card. (I have an 8800gts 512 that i'll prob sell to him eventually). So thanks for pointing that out, I think I will go with something with a bit more more for upgrade but stick to 790gx :D thanks again
 
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