Motherboard recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter Justin Sane
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Justin Sane

I need some help please!!
I'm looking for a motherboard with sound, network board, and graphic card
onboard. The motherboard needs support for an Athlon64 CPU. I also want 2
SATA connections and if possible a "Suspend-to-RAM" feature.
I found this link, but I don't understand excatly all features of each
motherboard:
http://www.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=3
I like ASUS and ASRock.
What do you suggest?
Thanks,
 
Justin Sane said:
I need some help please!!
I'm looking for a motherboard with sound, network board, and graphic card
onboard. The motherboard needs support for an Athlon64 CPU. I also want 2
SATA connections and if possible a "Suspend-to-RAM" feature.
I found this link, but I don't understand excatly all features of each
motherboard:
http://www.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=3
I like ASUS and ASRock.
What do you suggest?
Click to expand...


That link just goes to the motherboards index, so nobody knows which
motherboard you are talking about. Get the Asus. I've never even heard of
ASRock.

ss.
 
That link just goes to the motherboards index, so nobody knows which
motherboard you are talking about. Get the Asus. I've never even heard
of
ASRock.
Click to expand...

Yes I know, but I don't know which one motherboard to choose, there are so
many :)
The ASRock is quite popular, it's manufactured by ASUS (just like TEAC is
manufactured by Sony, etc...).
 
Justin Sane said:
Yes I know, but I don't know which one motherboard to choose, there are so
many :)
The ASRock is quite popular, it's manufactured by ASUS (just like TEAC is
manufactured by Sony, etc...).
Click to expand...

Do you want PCIe or just want to stick with your AGP graphics card?

Would you prefer the nVidea nForce or VIA chipset?

ss.
 
Synapse Syndrome said:
Do you want PCIe or just want to stick with your AGP graphics card?

Would you prefer the nVidea nForce or VIA chipset?
Click to expand...

Oh, yes, and also, do you want a 939 or 754 Athlon64? The 754 ones are
cheaper, but you may want a 939 board if you plan to upgrade processors in
the next couple of years. They run cooler as well. Whether you do or not
want to go PCIe will determine this for you, but there are a couple of
boards that overlap this in the Asus range.

ss.
 
Do you want PCIe or just want to stick with your AGP graphics card?
Mmmh... I want the graphics card to be onboard, like the NIC and the
sound. I think the nVidia nForce will be fine as they provide drivers for
FreeBSD :) (Though AFAIK, VIA also works fine on FreeBSD)... If possible,
AGP, but that doesn't matter.
Oh, yes, and also, do you want a 939 or 754 Athlon64? The 754 ones are
cheaper, but you may want a 939 board if you plan to upgrade processors
in the next couple of years.
Click to expand...

Maybe 939 then :)
 
I need some help please!!
I'm looking for a motherboard with sound, network board, and graphic card
onboard. The motherboard needs support for an Athlon64 CPU. I also want 2
SATA connections and if possible a "Suspend-to-RAM" feature.
I found this link, but I don't understand excatly all features of each
motherboard:
http://www.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=3
I like ASUS and ASRock.
What do you suggest?
Thanks,
Click to expand...

Don't know anything about the ASUS boards but stay away from MSI
Motherboards, they only recognize a max of 3.6G of RAM unless you select
Fill Memory Hole in the BIOS which doesn't work for Linux. When you select
that option Linux only sees 3G (tried several 64 bit and high mem
32 bit kernels including the latest 2.6.13 release candidate). I don't
know about BSD.
 
Mmmh... I want the graphics card to be onboard, like the NIC and the
sound. I think the nVidia nForce will be fine as they provide drivers for
FreeBSD :) (Though AFAIK, VIA also works fine on FreeBSD)... If possible,
AGP, but that doesn't matter.


Maybe 939 then :)
Click to expand...

Let me suggest looking at the MSI (Microstar) line of motherboards.
They implement the Intel chipset. Call your favorite vendor to get a
recommendation

Might as well have something to compare to.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin
 
Don't know anything about the ASUS boards but stay away from MSI
Motherboards, they only recognize a max of 3.6G of RAM unless you select
Fill Memory Hole in the BIOS which doesn't work for Linux. When you select
that option Linux only sees 3G (tried several 64 bit and high mem
32 bit kernels including the latest 2.6.13 release candidate). I don't
know about BSD.
Click to expand...

3 GB of RAM is absurd unless you have a very special application.

MSI motherboards are quality equipment.

--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin
 
Bob said:
Let me suggest looking at the MSI (Microstar) line of motherboards.
They implement the Intel chipset. Call your favorite vendor to get a
recommendation

Might as well have something to compare to.
Click to expand...

He said he wanted to get an Athlon64 CPU though.

ss.
 
Justin Sane said:
Mmmh... I want the graphics card to be onboard, like the NIC and the
sound. I think the nVidia nForce will be fine as they provide drivers for
FreeBSD :) (Though AFAIK, VIA also works fine on FreeBSD)... If possible,
AGP, but that doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

Forget about onboard graphics. That will limit you to you miniATX boards
mostly. Boards with on-board graphics are meant for the system builders
that make cheap business PCs. Just get a second hand graphics card for now,
or you must have one laying around. I'd personally stick with PCI and AGP,
as I need more than 3 PCI slots and am not prepared to get a PCIe graphics
card yet.
Maybe 939 then :)
Click to expand...

If you want AGP and Socket 939, this is the board you want:
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=68&model=238&modelmenu=1

or the lesser non-deluxe version:
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=68&model=478&modelmenu=1

I love Asus.

ss.
 
Justin Sane said:
Thanks, does the A8V have graphics card onboard?
Click to expand...


No, it has an AGP slot. Just get a nice Matrox G450 from eBay. It's much
better.

ss.
 
Justin said:
I'm looking for a motherboard with sound, network board,
and graphic card onboard. The motherboard needs support
for an Athlon64 CPU. I also want 2 SATA connections and
if possible a "Suspend-to-RAM" feature. I found this
link, but I don't understand exactly all features of each
motherboard: www.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=3
I like ASUS and ASRock.
Click to expand...

I just got my first ASRock, a Socket A mobo, and it seems built better
than average but not quite a good as Asus (empty spots where the fuses
go, yet there aren't jumpers to substitute), and the BIOS doesn't allow
customizing many of the parameters.

I think that it would be a shame to buy something as fast as an
Athlon64 and then hobble it with slow integrated graphics because even
the fastest such graphics (probably NVidia's or ATI's) are so slow that
even many cheap plug-in graphics cards are faster. Also the integrated
graphics I've seen from Socket A mobos with SiS or VIA/S3 chipsets
displayed major flaws.

Some dealer websites, like Newegg's, will let you screen for mobos by
almost every feature:
www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=22

You may want a mobo with PCI Express (PCI-X) rather than AGP because
PCI-X can be faster (probably not -- notice how 8x AGP hasn't helped
much), and graphics cards for it are now common and not really more
expensive.
 
larry moe 'n curly said:
You may want a mobo with PCI Express (PCI-X) rather than AGP because
PCI-X can be faster (probably not -- notice how 8x AGP hasn't helped
much), and graphics cards for it are now common and not really more
expensive.
Click to expand...

PCI-X and PCI Express (PCIe, PCI-E) are two different things. PCI-X are
64-bit expansion slots like found in the Apple Powermac G5.

ss.
 
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