looncris

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Feb 17, 2003
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i'm builiding my own 1st computer,and i want it to atleast go on for 3/4yrs from the time it's completed.Too many bumps on the way like choosing the best motherboard to work with pentium 4 2,4ghz or amd anthlon 2400+ or choosing between those two!
I'm building a pc that i'm calling "HOME ENTERTAINMENT".video cards and all the rest i have them.JUST SOMEBODY, ANYBODY OUTTHERE HELP ME OUT CHOOSE THRU THESE MOTHERBOARDS.
 

Teq

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Feb 16, 2003
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Well, this pretty much comes down to personal preferences. Everyone has their favorite brands and feature choices.

I like Gigabyte motherboards, myself. I've built a few dozen computers using them and haven't had any serious complaints about them. On one the CPU fan quit, on another the embedded ct5880 sound chip blew... but overall I've seen fewer problems with Gigabyte than any other motherboard brand I've used. I've never had a DOA (dead on arrival) motherboard from Gigabyte.

For the Intel vs. AMD question... go watch the THG video about "What happens when I remove the Heat Sink". It pretty much says it all. The P4 is more money, but it's not going to go meltdown on you, should your CPU fan quit or (heaven forbid) the heat sink gets loose of the chip. Any systems I build for customers are now either Celeron or P4 on Gigabyte boards, no more AMD for me. (Although my personal use system is an AMD/Gigabyte combination.)


I put a lot of value on reliability. It's all nice and interesting to have the fastest this or the most exotic that but, bottom line, it ain't better if it don't work.

If you are looking for a few years from the same design, don't be afraid to sink money into the system. Look for motherboard features you actually need without a bunch of crap you will end up disabling, run a CPU 1 or 2 steps below the motherboard's maximums, pick your video, network and sound cards (etc.) from well proven designs... don't try to predict the future, concentrate on reliability and stablity.

Hope this helps.