Purchasing Processor-Motherboard Combo

[mingyar]

Hello All,

I need to purchase a Processor-Motherboard combo. I was thinking of going with a Celeron 2.2 or 2.4 since I only have aroung $130 to spend but need some processing speed. I have a GeForce4 MX 440 and do gaming sometimes.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a good but affordable mobo brand or a better mobo-cpu combo?

Thanks in advance.

 

[tacticalstrike]

It really depends what your going to do with it its just fine for gaming but the celeron is not made for multi tasking like running multiple word prossesors or painting programs. You might get a few slowdowns but id say a celeron is perfect

 

[mingyar]

Thanks for your advise. Any suggestions on a good but affordable mobo or at least a good mobo brand? My case can hold up to 5 pci slots.

Thanks in advance.

 

[edemiere]

I am partial to Asus motherboards.

I like to go to

http://www.pricewatch.com

and choose 'Motherboard Combos' and then choose the CPU type you are searching for. When that screen loads at the top you will see the 'search criteria' you clicked on, I usually go to the end of that line and add the word asus and then go from there.

You can do that with any brand of course, but again, I am partial to Asus as making the most consistent and compatible boards on earth...

Good luck!

 

[harly]

I think this is an excellent buy.. check it out...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=588557&Sku=MBM-PM10-C2400

 

[ceh4702]

This motherboard has pretty good ratings at

http://www.newegg.com

by the customers.

Never used one myself.

The customers gave it a 4 star rating. The DDR400 gave some people problems. But it is only $65.00. It is a Via Chipset. Shuttle has been selling a lot of bare bones kits so they may have learned quite a bit along the way.

I saw it for sell at

http://www.directron.com

http://www.newegg.com

It has more PCI Slots.

Computer Hardware > Motherboards - Intel > SHUTTLE > N82E16813150031
Shuttle Motherboard for Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron Processors, Model# AV49N
Specifications:
CPU Supported: Socket 478 Intel Pentium 4, Celeron processors
Chipset: VIA P4X400 / VIA VT8235
FSB: 400/533MHz
RAM: 3x 184-pin DIMM DDR400/333/266/200, 3GB Max
IDE: ATA133/100/66
Slots: 1x AGP(8X), 5x PCI
Ports: Supports up to 6x USB 2.0, Audio ports
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201 10/100 Fast Ethernet
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650 6-channel More...


Item: N82E16813150031 Model#: AV49N
Price: $65.00



If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[paparazi]

mingyar, are you a diehard Intel fan? is that why you want the slower Celeron as opposed to a much better performing Athlon XP platform, have you bought into the mighty Intel advertising bandwagon?
You could have a far better performing socket "A" platform for a similar price, every bit as reliable, just as compatible but 20-30% faster than the Celeron (at a guess)
An MSI KT4-VL or
A gigabyte GA7-VA
Both based on the Via KT400 chipset and packed with features such as USB2 and 8x AGP at around £52.00, $65 US? put this together with an Athlon XP2.2+ at around $60, I know US prices are lower than in the UK.
harly, sorry M8, but any motherboard choice based on an integrated solution that uses older SDram is going to be severely compromised in performance, you are much better off going for a basic motherboard model but with one of the newer chipsets and besides the poster did say he already possesed a GF4 MX440 GPU so he doesn't require O/B graphics. Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[mingyar]

paparazi, I'm not a die hard Intel fan. I just have never had any experience with Athlon processors so I don't really know much about them. I'm certanly willing to try them out if I'm gonna get better performance with them. I'll definately research your suggestions and consider them as a potential purchase.

Feel free to post any more Athlon or Intel suggestions.

Thanks,

 

[ceh4702]

There are more options if you would use a Micro-ATX motherboard. Most of the cheaper boards are Micro-ATX.
Asrocks had a couple at

http://www.newegg.com.

Some system integraters have been using these. They are actually made by a company owned by Asus.

Personally, I think that $130 is not quite enough. I think that is not quite enough for a good quality motherboard. Most good motherboards run around $100.00 or so.

There are some good alternatives for that price range for older motherboard. Asus A7N266-VM Nforce chipset motherboards for AMD Athlon/AthlonXP processors can be purchased for about $69.00. They only go up to the 266Mhz Bus processors. That tops out at a XP2400+ Which is a 2 Gig Processor.

I would rather wait than buy a Celeron myself. Celerons were pretty good when they were making the Tualtin Celerons with 256k L2 Cache between 1.2 and 1.4 Gig. They are still a good running processor on a i815ep chipset motherboard.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[mingyar]

Any thoughs on the Asus A7V8X-X?
Here are the specs.

Asus A7V8X-X (PC3200 - AGP 8X - USB 2.0 - 5 PCI) -
8x/4x AGP Slot
DDR PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 Memory Support
KT400 Chipset
5 PCI / 1 CNR / 4 USB (2.0)
Ultra ATA 66/100/133 Hard Drive Support
Integrated 6 Channel Audio
Supports 266 & 333MHz FSB CPUs

Or maybe this one?

Gigabyte GA7 (PC3200 - AGP 8X - USB 2.0 - 5 PCI) -
8x/4x AGP Slot
DDR PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 Memory Support
KT400 Chipset
5 PCI / 1 CNR / 4 USB (2.0)
Ultra ATA 66/100/133 Hard Drive Support
Integrated 6 Channel Audio
Supports 266 & 333MHz FSB CPUs

Any comments will be appreciated.

 

[Treeking]

mingyar: Keep in mind if you are going to change mobo/cpu, that a memory upgrade will probably be needed also. The ASUS A7V8X-X is a great mobo especially with an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton cpu and 512 MB PC3200 memory(Dual Channel XMS by Corsair). In a setup like this, only your hard drive and especially your videocard will be bottlenecks. The mobo is setup to run the new 133ATA, 8MB cache hard drives but IS backwards compatible leaving you upgrade options. Your present videocard will work fine but you have plenty of room for improvement as your wealth increases. We have hundreds of systems out there with this mobo and NO problems.

 

[paparazi]

mingtar,
Both very good choices, most people would go Asus but then the Gigabyte is just as good.
The Via KT400 chipset, although not the outright fastest socket "A" platform ATM is a rock solid choice with all the latest features (8xAGP, USB2 etc) and at this low price point it provides the best platform for the money.
Yes you will need some memory as well (PC2700 333) probably the way to go (same price as the PC2100 ATM)
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.