Need Advice Please.

prostocknutt

New Member
Hi Guys, the time has come to pick out an ATX MotherBoard to go inside the new midtower i just picked up, and i need some advice on which motherboard i should purchase. This new computer will be mostly used for gaming and video production, which is why i have chosen to go with the AMD chip. Please read below and help me decide what to do.

#1- I am a Bean Counter, a Tester, a Tinkerer, a Nit Picker, and this part of me annoys the hell out of everyone that knows me. I dont wanna know that something just "works", i wanna know "WHY" it works, and if there is a way to improve. I am looking for a MoBo with all the "Bells and Whistles", and tools to help me learn to OC.

#2- I know nothing about OC-ing, but wish to have a 939 socket MoBo so that i can learn to OC. Yes, I have read the 101 topics on these issues, and read the suggested motherboard list. My issue with that is the fact that i have just purchased an ATI X800XL AGP card not long ago, and at this point cant build this computer with the parts it needs, and also but an new PCI-e video card. So, i need a MoBo with a fast AGP slot, and 3 or more PCI slots.

#3- I have decided to match up a AMD 939 socket 3000+ Venice core CPU with whatever MoBo you guys feel would be right for me, and use this CPU to see how far i can push it without overheating. While learning to OC i think this would be a good chip to use, and later upgrade to a faster CPU a year or so later, unless there are any better suggestions.

#4- I had at first decided on an ASUS MoBo (mostly because there seems to be a lotta extra bells and whistles), but i have been reading all the negative comments on NewEgg about ASUS boards, and even some who say ASUS boards dont work with ATI video cards well. For every few 5-star comment, there is always one that drags ASUS through the mud, and now i am concerned that my buying an ASUS could be a mistake. On the outside i really wanted the ASUS board, but with all the negative comments, i no longer know what to do. Also, there is no 939 socket ASUS board listed in the reccomendation list on the OC 101 post, which makes me concerned.

Because almost all of the MoBo's on NewEgg are less than $200.00, i am not concerned with the price. Also, my choice of the $150.00 3000+ CPU allows me more money to invest in the best AGP Mobo i can find. I need some good suggestions, so which ever board i do purchase, will allow me to learn to OC, and will not "limit" me or cause a bottleneck like i have now. I thought upgrading to the X800XL card would resolve all my slow gaming issues, but i must have a problem elsewhere.

Thanks for your help.
 
^^^^^^^^^
That is a good board, but if you want to ever upgrade your graphics card to a pci-e x16 graphics card you can't. You gotta stay with agp's.
 
skidude said:
Did you look at the MSI board, that one is awesome!

Yes, i did look at the MSI board that you reccomended, and i appreciate your opinion. I have heard good things about MSI stuff, and that board for sure now on the top of my list of options. I do seem limited because of the AGP video card, but i would hate to not use this new card, and i just cant buy it all right now. I really dont wanna buy a new card right now, with rumors of some new ATI cards about to come out, and also a 512MB Geforce just on the horizon.

This MSI board you have shown me, is cheap enough (about $80.00 after rebate), so that i can later go for the DFI Lanparty board, or whatever is the best of that time, when i wanna upgrade to a PCI-e card. This seems to be good while learning about Overclocking, just in case i blow everything up, i dont have that much invested in it.

I really appreciate this Forum, and the many people who know so much more than i do who are willing to help me.
 
BTW- is there somewhere on this forum where i can find ALL of the "101" topics in one place?, if so, where is it?. Looking for somewhere i can find out what SLI is, and what it has to do with Motherboards.
 
SLI Is when you put 2 graphics cards in one mobo, and they act like one. You need a SLI- caoable motherboard to do this.
 
#1- i am a bean counter, a tester, a tinkerer, a nit picker, and this part of me annoys the hell out of everyone that knows me. i dont wanna know that something just "works", i wanna know "why" it works, and if there is a way to improve. i am looking for a mobo with all the "bells and whistles", and tools to help me learn to oc.
and for that we have oc 101.

so, i need a mobo with a fast AGP slot, and 3 or more PCI slots.
which pretty much means any decent AGP motherboard. as for a suggested mobo, that's in OC 101.

#4- I had at first decided on an ASUS MoBo (mostly because there seems to be a lotta extra bells and whistles), but i have been reading all the negative comments on NewEgg about ASUS boards, and even some who say ASUS boards dont work with ATI video cards well.
Newegg and many of the reviews there are retarded so dont take them seriously

For every few 5-star comment, there is always one that drags ASUS through the mud,
Just like every other company

Also, there is no 939 socket ASUS board listed in the reccomendation list on the OC 101 post, which makes me concerned.
Its not a reason to be concerned .. ASUS makes very good S939 boards ... it's just that MSI and DFI make better ones

Read post#1, paragraph 2

if you want a super de duper mobo why not go with an SLI board and pci-express video instead?
Read post1, paragraph3

Yes, i did look at the MSI board that you reccomended, and i appreciate your opinion. I have heard good things about MSI stuff, and that board for sure now on the top of my list of options. I do seem limited because of the AGP video card, but i would hate to not use this new card, and i just cant buy it all right now. I really dont wanna buy a new card right now, with rumors of some new ATI cards about to come out, and also a 512MB Geforce just on the horizon.
That MSI board rocks ... got it myself .. a pleasure to work with ... cant say ive had much better for AGP S939 boards.

BTW- is there somewhere on this forum where i can find ALL of the "101" topics in one place?, if so, where is it?. Looking for somewhere i can find out what SLI is, and what it has to do with Motherboards.
No. And there probably wont be. As for a Video101, that's coming. For SLI, look here http://www.slizone.com/page/home.html

SLI Is when you put 2 graphics cards in one mobo, and they act like one. You need a SLI- caoable motherboard to do this.
Well that could be Crossfire too as well as VideoArray and Voodoo SLI (all in addition to nVidia's SLI)
 
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