Of these 4 mobo's which would you recommend for this setup?

socalcyclist · 03-05-2006, 03:24 AM

I'm on a budget and I've already blown it so money is a factor. The computer will be used mostly for web stuff (web design, surfing, etc) and programs like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, and Paint Shop Pro. Also be downloading lots of music/movies and burning them. Also would like to play a current game on occassion. Chances are I'll be doing several of these things at the same time. So, I'm unsure on what mobo to select for the current setup below. I narrowed it down to four mobo's (all NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra & SATA II):

EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail -$85
ABIT KN8 Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $84.99
BIOSTAR TForce4U Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $92
ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $96.99

This link should open up a Newegg comparison of all 4 mobo's.

The Abit was recommended by someone else and it's the least $$ so I'm leaning that direction. If it matters I'm a newbie at this stuff and when it comes time to build I'm hoping for the least amount of problems. Of course I also want to maximize performance and avoid bottlenecks.

Which would you suggest and why? Or is there a completely different one you'd recommend and why? Also, any suggestions or concerns with below setup would be most appreciative.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail - $295.00
eVGA Geforce 7800GT CO SE 256-P2-N516 Video Card - Retail - $285.00
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $96.00
LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - Retail - $41.99.
ENERMAX EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0 420W Power Supply - Retail - $64.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail - $141.50
ASPIRE X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-SS Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail - $58.00
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop Black Wired Keyboard - OEM - $16.00
NEC Beige Floppy Drive Model FD1231H - OEM - $10.00 (free)
newegg Glossy Logo Sticker - OEM - $5.00 (free)
Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM - $93.95

34erd · 03-05-2006, 03:32 AM

Epox makes nice boards. I'd take that.

Yasu · 03-05-2006, 03:32 AM

I would go with the ASUS mobo just because they've been good to me and I haven't had any problems that I couldn't fix. Everything else seems fine.

Mr.Suave · 03-05-2006, 03:35 AM

this is a good mobo. ASUS A8R-MVP-$95.99
and i kno its crossfire but that doesnt really matter since your not going to use it and doesnt look like you want to SLI so ya.

socalcyclist · 03-05-2006, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Suave

this is a good mobo. ASUS A8R-MVP-$95.99
and i kno its crossfire but that doesnt really matter since your not going to use it and doesnt look like you want to SLI so ya.

That's the one I originally picked out and everyone kept telling me it was overkill, plus it's radeon and not sure about problems with video card I selected?

Mr.Suave · 03-05-2006, 04:06 AM

overkill? at $95.99.....then it must be the most bang for your buck mobo. well in Computer Specs 101 it has a setup w/ that board and a 7800gt and ive seen ppl w/ a NV mobo and an ATI GPU so i dont see y it wouldnt work. Also it doesnt state "only works with ATI video cards" or vise-versa for the videocard.

03-05-2006, 03:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
socalcyclist New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 15	Of these 4 mobo's which would you recommend for this setup? I'm on a budget and I've already blown it so money is a factor. The computer will be used mostly for web stuff (web design, surfing, etc) and programs like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, and Paint Shop Pro. Also be downloading lots of music/movies and burning them. Also would like to play a current game on occassion. Chances are I'll be doing several of these things at the same time. So, I'm unsure on what mobo to select for the current setup below. I narrowed it down to four mobo's (all NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra & SATA II): EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail -$85 ABIT KN8 Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $84.99 BIOSTAR TForce4U Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $92 ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $96.99 This link should open up a Newegg comparison of all 4 mobo's. The Abit was recommended by someone else and it's the least $$ so I'm leaning that direction. If it matters I'm a newbie at this stuff and when it comes time to build I'm hoping for the least amount of problems. Of course I also want to maximize performance and avoid bottlenecks. Which would you suggest and why? Or is there a completely different one you'd recommend and why? Also, any suggestions or concerns with below setup would be most appreciative. AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail - $295.00 eVGA Geforce 7800GT CO SE 256-P2-N516 Video Card - Retail - $285.00 Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $96.00 LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - Retail - $41.99. ENERMAX EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0 420W Power Supply - Retail - $64.99 CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail - $141.50 ASPIRE X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-SS Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail - $58.00 Logitech Internet Pro Desktop Black Wired Keyboard - OEM - $16.00 NEC Beige Floppy Drive Model FD1231H - OEM - $10.00 (free) newegg Glossy Logo Sticker - OEM - $5.00 (free) Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM - $93.95

03-05-2006, 03:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
34erd Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Age: 15 Posts: 2,842	Epox makes nice boards. I'd take that. __________________ DFI Lanparty UT nF4 SLI DR Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1 Gig OCZ VX DDR500 DDR BFG GeForce 7800GT 160 Gig SATA HDD CD-RW DVD-ROM Antec NeoPower 480 Thermaltake Tsunami

03-05-2006, 03:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
Yasu Diamond Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: TX Age: 20 Posts: 1,199	I would go with the ASUS mobo just because they've been good to me and I haven't had any problems that I couldn't fix. Everything else seems fine. __________________ CPU: Intel P4 3.0 HT Mobo: ASUS P5P800 RAM: 2x512 PC3200 VC: ATI Radeon X850PRO HDD: 160GB Seagate SATA PSU: 500watt Ultra X-connect

03-05-2006, 03:35 AM	#4 (permalink)
Mr.Suave Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 1,373	this is a good mobo. ASUS A8R-MVP-$95.99 and i kno its crossfire but that doesnt really matter since your not going to use it and doesnt look like you want to SLI so ya. __________________ The Comp: CPU--Athlon64 X2 4200+ Manchester @ 2.5!!!:D HDD--WD Caviar 250GB 7200 RPM SATA MB---DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR RAM--OCZ Titanium 2GB (2 x 1GB) GPU--Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900XTX 512mb SPU--Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PSU--ENERMAX Whisper II 535W all inside a Thermaltake Matrix VX

03-05-2006, 04:06 AM	#6 (permalink)
Mr.Suave Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 1,373	overkill? at $95.99.....then it must be the most bang for your buck mobo. well in Computer Specs 101 it has a setup w/ that board and a 7800gt and ive seen ppl w/ a NV mobo and an ATI GPU so i dont see y it wouldnt work. Also it doesnt state "only works with ATI video cards" or vise-versa for the videocard. __________________ The Comp: CPU--Athlon64 X2 4200+ Manchester @ 2.5!!!:D HDD--WD Caviar 250GB 7200 RPM SATA MB---DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR RAM--OCZ Titanium 2GB (2 x 1GB) GPU--Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900XTX 512mb SPU--Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PSU--ENERMAX Whisper II 535W all inside a Thermaltake Matrix VX

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