[Dan Edmonds]

Hey guys,

I'm building a system (for the first time) and have been slowly going through choosing parts for this new system. However, I've come to a brick wall where I have to choose the motherboard. I don't know much about motherboards (they seem to be the thing that always gets fried in my computers lol), not as much as I know about other parts of the computer. Below I've listed all the parts I have so far put in a shopping cart for purchase, I just need a motherboard to put it all together:

CoolerMaster Mystique 632 Steel Case Black NO PSU(RC632SKKN1)
Huntkey Vista-Power 500W PSU 12CM 4XSATA
Intel ATX E7400 CORE 2 DUO 2.8G 3MBCache 1066FSB LGA775
Samsung 1TB SATA II 7200RPM 32M
Samsung 22X DVDRW Black IDE Vista Support OEM
PowerColour ATI Radeon HD3850 512M DDR3 2DH AGP
Aopen Cobra AW-850D Deluxe 5.1 Channel PCI Sound Card
Netgear WG311 Wireless PCI Card 802.11G (54Mbps)
Kingston DDR2 4(2x2G)PC6400 800Mhz - KVR800D2N5K2/4G

I think I have all the 'necessary' parts. I pretty much want a computer that runs really well that will play all games on quite a good setting. I want to run multiple applications at once (such as internet, game, word etc) without lag between programs (*minor* lag in games doesn't worry me). So, I need a motherboard to finish the steps. If anybody could recommend a motherboard for me that would 'work' with this system, I'd be greatly appreciated. I'm currently purchasing all bits off www.umart.com.au (I'm Australian).

Thank-you greatly!

[Advertisements]

Hi Dan,

Give me the links to what you have listed, they will provide me with better information. As of right now though, your optical drive you have picked is IDE, which basically is out dated. SATA 2 3.0gb/s is the newest and best. Around the same price too. Check out this one by LG CLICK HERE Also, if you will be gaming it may be more beneficial to spend a bit more and go with a quad core processor like this 2.5Ghz Q8300. Also, I don't like the power supply you have picked, it seems unreliable. Good quality, reliable, and well built PSU's are Antec, CoolerMaster, Seasonic, and the best Corsair. I think there could be improvements on the video card too.

Anyway, With that said, what I really need to know is your budget. Then we can figure out what would be best. If you would like, go ahead and take a look at this $1000 budget rig I have as a public wish list on Newegg.com. Quad Core GTX 260 There a couple cases there and a monitor, an OS too. It can just be a general platform for you.

Let me know your budget, and give me those links. Thanks,

[Ferrari]

Hi Dan,

Give me the links to what you have listed, they will provide me with better information. As of right now though, your optical drive you have picked is IDE, which basically is out dated. SATA 2 3.0gb/s is the newest and best. Around the same price too. Check out this one by LG CLICK HERE Also, if you will be gaming it may be more beneficial to spend a bit more and go with a quad core processor like this 2.5Ghz Q8300. Also, I don't like the power supply you have picked, it seems unreliable. Good quality, reliable, and well built PSU's are Antec, CoolerMaster, Seasonic, and the best Corsair. I think there could be improvements on the video card too.

Anyway, With that said, what I really need to know is your budget. Then we can figure out what would be best. If you would like, go ahead and take a look at this $1000 budget rig I have as a public wish list on Newegg.com. Quad Core GTX 260 There a couple cases there and a monitor, an OS too. It can just be a general platform for you.

Let me know your budget, and give me those links. Thanks,

[Dan Edmonds]

Hey,

Thanks to your advice and others', I've compiled the following system:

Netgear WG311 Wireless PCI Card 802.11G (54Mbps) $29.00
http://www.umart.com...n...=2&sid=5621

Corsair VX-450 ATX 450W Power Supply 120mm fan $119.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=26562

CoolerMaster Mystique 632 Steel Case Black NO PSU(RC632SKKN1) $115.00

Samsung 1TB SATA II 7200RPM 32M $155.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=27641

Samsung 22X DVDRW Black SATA Vista Support $28.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=31299

Sapphire HD4850 512M 256-BIT GDDR3 PCIE2.0 2*DVI TVO HDMI $216.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=32048

Kingston DDR2 4(2x2G)PC6400 800Mhz - KVR800D2N5K2/4G $67.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=33600

Intel ATX E7400 CORE 2 DUO 2.8G 3MBCache 1066FSB LGA775 $181.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=34531

Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L M/B, P43+ICH10, FSB 1600 $155.00
http://www.umart.com...n...2&sid=37366

All-in-all, I decided to stick with the core2duo, mainly because I am familiar with a) intel and b) i don't think I need to go quad or higher end. As recommended, I changed the graphics card to the higher ended one. Also, I changed the PSU (450W will be enough for this system I presume?). I changed my optical to SATA not IDE, and got rid of the sound card.

This is all coming in at $1065 AUD. USD = $764, if you're from the states. What are your thoughts of this system? My budget for the computer all up comes to about $1800, however I have to also take into account speakers, monitor, mouse, keyboard and other essential peripherals. At the same time, I don't want to pay more for something I don't need, for example my choice to probably not upgrade to quad instead of duo.

Thanks a tonne :-)

[Ferrari]

What are your thoughts of this system?

This is shaping up to be a much better system. I like your tastes.

I wouldn't be volunteering my time appropriately if I didn't make more suggestions and try to get you the best parts for the money. I feel quite strongly about going with a better processor. The prices are much much higher with the quads on the site you are purchasing from.(compared to where I can and do buy) I still think you should go with a better Core 2 Duo processor, this is the most important part of the computer and you don't want to settle for less. If you are going to over spend on any part of your computer, it should be the processor-it does all the work, ya know? Here is a E8400 Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz. Not only is it faster in the ghz department, it has double the amount of cache(6mb) and has a faster Front Side Bus of 1333mhz which your motherboard you have picked supports. It is $260 on that site.

The memory that you have picked has a speed of DDR2 800mhz, your motherboard can support DDR2 1066mhz. This helps with gaming tremendously. Some of the name brands you can pick from that are reliable and good for gaming are Patriot, OCZ, G. Skill, Corsair, and Kingston is probably the best bang for your buck. Some of these brands have pretty high prices, some would be about $30 more for the 1066mhz speed. Also, if you see timing like 5-5-5 that would mean the cas latency is .5. The lower this number the better. You may also see this rating as "CL" or "C". Hope that helps. And definitely stick with 4GB of RAM(Needed for Gaming). Also, if you purchase a 32bit OS, and not 64bit Operating System it will only recognize about 3.5gigs of RAM, just so you know.

Your power supply may be right on the edge. Your video card requires a 450 watt PSU, but that can be a little misleading. Go HERE and use there free PSU Calculator and see if 450watts is enough. If you are near the border i.e. 425watts, you really should go with a higher power supply i.e. 550 or 600watts for cushion. Fill that calculators form out with everything you will eventually have on the computer, not just what you are buying now. Just let me know what it says, cause there are other factors like the amps per rail that can come into play too. You may only need a 450watt with a high amp per rail, instead of going to a 600watt with a low amp per rail. See? Again, just tell me what the calculator says for wattage and we'll go from there.

Ok, everything else is perfect. It's easy for me to recommend more expensive parts, but I feel they are worthy of recommending. I'd rather see you go with a less expensive keyboard or monitor or something than get a slower processor, or not be happy with your video card, ya know? I hope you find my suggestions helpful. Sorry for the long post. Talk to you soon,

[Dan Edmonds]

Ferrari, thanks so much for your peer reviewing skills here. It's really helpful.

Firstly, wattage comes out at 308w. I double checked over everything and all my current components PLUS I put in about 5 USB devices, however probably won't even use more than three at a time (not including keyboard/mouse, probably just speakers and printer would be plugged in at all times). (For records, I'm now using the HD4890 video card, which wasn't in the list of cards, so I chose the next best with the HD4870).

As for CPU, a rise to $259 from $181 is $80, which is a bit when it all stacks up. I'm not planning on gaming a lot, I'm only a casual gamer. That CPU is already higher than what most of my friends have in their computer which are pretty [bleep] good, so I'm biased to sticking with it. However, if you have any compelling evidence that I should spend the extra $80, let me know and I can reconsider.

Again, the same goes with the RAM - from $67 to $109 is $40, so not that much, so I am considering it. However, as I said, I'm not a heavy gamer, I just like my games to run smoothly when I do play them. Other than games, will getting the extra RAM make a considerable difference on my system?

But definitely let me know on the PSU. Will having a lower PSU than necessary wreck the system, or will it just render the system unusable? I would prefer to be on the safe side. I'll just tell you the fields that I filled out so you can make sure I got it correct.

System Type: Single Processor
Motherboard: High End - Desktop
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2800 MHz Wolfdale-3M
CPU Utilization (TDP): 85% TDP

RAM: 2 Sticks DDR SDRAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870
Video Type: Single Card

SATA HDD: 1 HDD

DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive
Additional PCI Card (avg): 1 Card

USB: 4 Devices

Fans
Regular: 2 Fans 120mm;

Keyboard and mouse: Yes

System Load: 90 %


Recommended Wattage: 308 Watts

Again, thanks for all your help on this.

[Ferrari]

As for CPU, a rise to $259 from $181 is $80, which is a bit when it all stacks up. I'm not planning on gaming a lot, I'm only a casual gamer. That CPU is already higher than what most of my friends have in their computer which are pretty [bleep] good, so I'm biased to sticking with it. However, if you have any compelling evidence that I should spend the extra $80, let me know and I can reconsider.

Again, the same goes with the RAM - from $67 to $109 is $40, so not that much, so I am considering it. However, as I said, I'm not a heavy gamer, I just like my games to run smoothly when I do play them. Other than games, will getting the extra RAM make a considerable difference on my system?

For some reason, I had thought you were more of a serious gamer, The RAM and CPU you have picked will do you just fine then. I was trying to help you get the most out of everything for gaming. Sorry. Keep in mind for possible future upgrades that your board supports 1333 FSB Core 2 Duo's and Core 2 Quad's socket 775.

The PSU you will be just fine. I wouldn't go any lower than 450watts, and like I have said, Corsair's are very reliable and stable PSU's.

Will having a lower PSU than necessary wreck the system, or will it just render the system unusable?

Basically three things can happen, 1. Your computer won't even turn on because the components are drawing too much power. 2. Your computer turns on but you keep getting Blue Screens or the system shuts it self down. 3. Unlikely, but it is possible 1 or more components would have such a strain on the power supply it could result in that component(s) going bad and in the process cause everything in your computer to fry. Kind of think of it as a big shock to every component in the computer, like a short circuit. So with that said, you always want to have an adequate, stable, and reliable power supply. Always remember those name brands I gave you.

I think you are pretty set, and you will enjoy this computer.

[Dan Edmonds]

Thanks for all your help Ferrari. Sorry, I probably didn't make it clear that I was a *serious* gamer, but that I just like my games to play really well when I do get around to playing them.

Enjoy your day :-) Am sending the order for this computer away today.

[Ferrari]

Good Luck,