tran0322

What is the best motherboard brand? I've heard good things about gigabit, and have had a bad experience with asus. i traded it, and got another crappy motherboard to replace it.

Does chipset really matter? i've heard bad things about via.

what is a good cpu for multitasking, and video editing? i have an amd 1.6 GHz, and my sister has an emachine with 2.66 Ghz that she got for $400 at walmart and it's better than mine.

also i think one of my problems was with compatibility. My computer friend scoffed at me when he saw what was inside my computer. I want to rectify this, but $$ is scarce.

my budget is about $300 or less for those two items.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

ceewi1

That's a controversial question. Despite your bad experience, Asus are generally considered to be one of the best around. DFI make superb boards for overclocking. It's difficult to generalise based on a brand, though, and better to look at the individual boards in question.

Yes, the chipset does matter. nVidia's nForce chipsets are about the most popular, for AMD at least. The VIA chipsets are generally not great, but again it depends on the budget.

In single core chips, the Pentium 4s will outperform the AMDs in this area. If you budget can facilitate it, though, it's highly advisable to go with a Dual Core CPU (the Pentium D 805 really isn't expensive, anyway). In this case the Pentium Ds are great at the budget end of the spectrum. The AMD X2s generally perform better, but also cost more. Take a look at Computer Specs 101 for some systems advice (even if you don't get the whole computer, you can at least take a look at the mobo and CPU recommendations in different price ranges).

Your other system specs will be necessary for us to determine that. Your RAM should be standard DDR, so you'll need to get a board that supports that. Your video card (if it's not integrated) will likely be AGP. If it is integrated, your new board will also have to have integrated graphics, unless you want to buy a graphics card as well. Your PSU may also be inadequate.

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Greggie Boy

For video editing and multitasking. INTEL 3.0 or bigger with HT
I would always use an Intel mobo with Intel cpu or AMD mobo with AMD cpu.

hells3000

Or use them mobos that support both cpu's

MadCow_VS_BirdFlu

Id go with Intel 3.2 with HT technology

SlothX311

first of all, you want to stay away from an Intel based machine if you want to stay under 300 bucks, theres no reason to buy an Intel P4, they are over priced as well as outdated, another thing to take into consideration is that the Intel boards are very expensive, because the good ones use Intel chipsets like the intel 845, or 865pe for 478 systems

if you want to stay under 300 i would recommend an AMD 64 with an ASUS, DFI, FIC, or ECS mobo.... although ECS and FIC are not considered a "gamers board" ive had very very good experience with both, and they are really inexpensive.

youre ASUS problem was probably 99% caused by the VIA chipset, theyre basically junk, and i recommend an nForce chipset

heres my answer to your system:

MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135175

(i have installed that board before, easy setup, it was for my grandpa)

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103572

(not the best AMD 64 but better than any other CPU for the same price or less)

wasisnt

We have used a lot of Gigabit MBs at workand have had good luck with them. Ive had good luck with MSI myself.

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