mother board questions

[osnola]

hello again cf,

i am in the process of looking at different components that computers need to be able to run. in other words i am writing down a list of the products i am getting for my first pc build.

as i scroll down the list of items i need i come across the mobo. so i figure this wont be hard ill just go on new egg type in "motherboard" and ill pick it out. but upon doing this i have run into a problem.......the problem is i have no idea what i am looking for, what i am looking at, and what is up the the price ranges.

so i guess i am asking: what are the differences?
what should i be looking for?
how are some better than others?
why are some $300 and some are only $100?

thx in advance

,nick

 

[bluecity]

Newegg has a option to choose Top sellers and also your price range, You should read the customer reviews allways.

 

[Rocko]

It depends on what kind of expandability you are looking for.

Some factors that influence motherboard pricing are-

-The Chipset- Integrated chips on the motherboard that refer to the Northbridge and Southbridge on your motherboard. The Northbridge handles faster computations such as talking to your RAM and your Graphics Card/Controller. The southbridge handles slower things such as Ethernet, USB, Audio, expansion slots (other than your PCI Express x16 slots).

- Processor Socket type (AMD/Intel), also within those companies they have different socket shapes/pins.

- Processor compatibility also contributes. Some motherboards may fit a certain processor, but they may not operate with it in a software sense. For example, a AM3 processor by AMD may fit in an AM2+ socket, but the stock bios on the board may not support the Processor.

-Random Access Memory DIMM slots- some motherboards have 2 DIMM slots (slots the RAM modules fit into) and some have more. The standard is four for a normal, reasonably priced motherboard. The amount of memory you want to run will determine the slots you will be looking for.
-RAM speed- you will probably see DDR2 or DDR3 compatibility on those mobo specs, DDR2 is a bit slower, but still very viable, depending on the purpose of your computer. (movies, surfing, light gaming) DDR3 is the new kid on the block and has a faster access time than DDR2 ram. THESE RAM SLOTS WILL NOT SUPPORT EACH OTHER, that is DDR2 will NOT work in a DDR3 slot or vice versa.

-Peripheral connections- Two main connection types are used in computers with one on its way out. S-ATA, or SATA is the newer, faster technology used to link your motherboard to your Hard Drives or CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Drives. This is what you should* use in your new rig. Make sure there is enough SATA connections to run as many Hard Drives/CD/DVD drives you wish to install. That is, you dont want 3 SATA connections on your Mobo and have 4 Drives you wish to use.

-Expansion Card Slots- Last but not least by far. These slot will allow you to install crucial components such as a nice graphics card . Be sure that you compare what kind of expansion slots the motherboard has to whatever components you wish to install. Today, almost all high end cards utilize the PCI Express x16 expansion slots, so be sure that your board has at least one if you plan to use 1 graphics card. If in the future you may run Dual Graphics cards, you may want to Make sure your board supports the dual graphics card architecture (Crossfire for ATI and SLI for Nvidia). These dual card set-ups will require Two PCI Express x16 slots obviously.
Lastly, there are other expansion slots you may want to look at for other components such as sound cards or raid controllers. These usually use standard PCI slots or PCI Express x1 slots.



And thats pretty much it. Sorry for the length, but there is a lot to say about different motherboards.