First time

[lykele]

I'd like to put together a new computer for myself for the very first time. I plan on an Athlon 1.4 CPU and I'm not an overclocker.

My question is which motherboard would be "plug and play". I've read a lot here about tweaking, but not sure I want to tackle that as of yet. For instance, if I plug in the CPU will the board automatically setup for 266FSB or do all of them require going into the BIOS? Probably good documentation with the motherboard would give me a secure feeling. Gigabyte GA-7DX? Shuttle ak31? Epox 8KHA? another?

Any comments? Be gentle, it's my first time! Thank you

 

[RT2002]

A couple of months ago I was a first time TB 1.4G too. I got a DFI AK76SN because it was cheap and I wanted the AMD Host chipset. I found that taking care of the CPU and FSB was the easy part. Mine came with a manual with diagrams for DIP switches. But I understand that many boards have an auto default setting in the bios anyway. I think that maybe you should be considering some of the other features of the MB. Cost? RAM and PCI slots? Chipset? RAID? Fan and Heatsink (if you're going OEM...people will tell you some are easier to install than others). Powersupply? etc... If you're not going to OC you'll be setting up the CPU and FSB once only. The other stuff can bug you forever if you're not happy with them. Good Luck.

 

[marneus]

Get yourself a DDR board, all current boards are plug & play (just keep UR driver CDs handy)

EpoX 8KHA+ is good, so are the other KT266A boards (for the moment, boards using this chipset are the fastest boards around) boards using the SiS735 are cheap (eg ECS K75SA)& are quite good performance-wise compared to the KT266A and is just as good as the older Kt266, Ali Magik & AMD760 chipset based boards...

And of course if U get stuck, there is always sites like thsi one where U can be assistance... have fun (I have been trying 2 pick a board for the past 2 months... whenever I pick one, a better one comes out...)

---If at first you dont succeed... get a bigger hammer... that'll teach it !!!---

 

[o1die]

There are some plug and play boards available, but they are considered lower quality. The hardest part of a first time build is getting everything to work properly without conflicts. If you go with a kt266a board, I suggest you use onboard sound to avoid possible problems with the via chipset. I also suggest you avoid raid until you get more experience. Find room in your budget for a first class power supply, such as enermax or sparkle, even if you plan to re-use your old case. They will help keep your cpu temps cooler than any other fans you could add to your case. Look for one with vents all over the cover for good airflow. When I finished installing my ak31 version 3.1, I pressed the del key to get into the bios for the first time. The first bios menu selection I entered was the frequency/voltage control section, where I changed the fsb from 100 to 133 (some boards come with a jumper for this). Then, I selected the advanced chipset features, and entered the dram clock/drive control section to change the memory and agp settings to my liking (changing from spd to manual and adjusting the settings will increase your memory scores 15-20%). Im the same section, you want to enable the system bios cacheable and video ram cacheable. These are just a few things you will need to adjust in the bios if you are lucky to make it to post on the first try. Good luck.

 

[cera26]

Most board nowadays set everything (at least the essentials) automatically. Your choice depends on whether you want a DDR chipset or not. If not, you should definitely go with VIA KT133A, and brand name board will do (MSI K7T Turbo is my personal favorite). If you do want to go DDR, you should definitely get a VIA KT266A chipset. As for the settings, don't worry. Most of the basic things are done automatically, then there's the board's manual if you are not sure, and also there's this forum. The worst thing that can happen is that everything is set slower then it can be. (It won't blow up or anything, like i just read in another post

<i>cera</i>

 

[Guest]

the key for the first time builder is a GOOD! manual so before you buy have a look at the manual and see if it covers everything you need! even if you mail order check out some mobo's and there manuals at the local computer store before you order! some of them can be a real pain in the arse!!!!