Time to get a new mobo!

[Battleofcarnage]

I had a ASRock939-dualsata2 board that i had gotten refurb from newegg and the pci-e slot didn't work (talked about in my last post) so i sent it back. Now i have a 3700+ skt 939 cpu but no board to use it in. I would like input on which board i should get. I would like a passive cooling solution for the board and don't want super cheap brands like foxcon etc (no offense). Trying to stay under $100 dollars for the board. Will be purchasing a 7900gt most likely but still have my 9600 thats why i went for the asrock board. I was thinking of going with the same asrock board again because believe i just got a bad one last time (it happens), but would like input on what you think. Thx

Oh and bye the way i will be using my computer for almost everything but mostly gaming and homework for college.

 

[Rugger]

I've heard good things about the 939Dual and it's about the ony option if you want AGP and PCIe. If you're willing to make the jump to PCe now, then I have the Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9. Quiet, very stable and solid performance for around $75. I Fold 24/7 with a 15% OC and it does it without flinching.

 

[Battleofcarnage]

Thanks for the suggestion, don't have to have agp just would be nice. Was pretty much thinking on going with the dual anyway just wanted to see what others thought on the subject.

 

[Anoobis]

Well your choices are a little limited. You'd be better off trying a NEW Asrock (which is the "cheap" brand of ASUS). I've heard ECS makes a board (passively cooled as well) that supports both AGP and PCI-E, but ECS could be considered a "cheap" brand as well. I wasn't able to find any reviews of the ECS (ECS K8T890-A) so I couldn't really give you a good opinion of it. However there are several fairly postitive reveiws available online for the Asrock board.

The other route, and I'm sure to catch heat for this, is getting a board with onboard graphics. You do plan on getting a new 7800GT anyway. You could get onboard, sell the 9600 on eBay, and then get the 7800GT a little sooner. However, if you plan to overclock anything, I'm not sure how a board with onboard video will overclock since they're generally entry level boards and not meant for overclocking. Not sure about finding one with passive cooling either.

 

[Battleofcarnage]

I was thinking about getting a board with onboard video but was wondering if just having the onboard video would hurt my normal video once i get a 7900gt. Even if it was turned off. Any reviews for this? Also the only ocing i will be doing is with my video card. Though i will be setting my rams latencys different because they are high but don't loose speed when set lower lol darn geil lol.

 

[carpcmelee]

i heard of this gigabyte sli mobo that costs $85. wow.

 

[Anoobis]

Well, I don't think you'll have problems as far as it interfering with the new 7800GT once you get it. I would suggest maybe looking at one of the integrated nVidia solutions. I've had better luck with them than SIS or VIA. Most of the major brands have some verison of it. Do a little research and start comparing them. See if you can find reviews from hardware sites (like Toms, not the reviews on Newegg). Again, don't expect maximum performance from these styles of boards.

 

[carpcmelee]

this is it. it was a sale, but o well only 5$
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA4830969

 

[Battleofcarnage]

Yeah i had a via board back when i had 754 and i hated it and there is no way i am going sis. That leaves me with a choice of either nforce uli or ati and since i am going to get a 7900gt i was not really wanting to get ati. I know the 6100 chipset from nvidia is pretty good but as before im not sure it won't cause conflicts with a installed card. Wish i could find a review that they used one of these 6100 boards with and without a card and compared it to others with a card. If anyone knows of one tell me, if not thx anyway.

 

[Battleofcarnage]

Ok with much long and hard research i did find that the onboard video that i was looking at does not effect later putting in a card. For other peoples reference that may have same problem is a link to xbit labs where they show and talk about the main onboard video chipsets.

Link to onboard video review

 

[Newf]

For an integrated video solution:
Asus A8N-VM CSM 939 microATX nF6150/430 $79+5 3/06
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131570
Advantages: Rock solid, stable, Asus quality, free graphics, fast northbridge, 4 dimm sockets, good sound, passive cooled, uses value-ram CL3 memory.
Disadvantages: MicroATX, NO voltage adjustments in BIOS (not for overclocking), only 2 fan connectors, not SLI.

Also you may want to check out this EpoX board:
EpoX EP-99NPA3Ultra 939 nF4 Ultra $85+5 3/06
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123258
This is a good board that's better for overclocking and is also full size.

There are lots of good options out there. Focus on the features you really need and then we can help you narrow the choices down.

 

[Newf]

...Wish i could find a review that they used one of these 6100 boards with and without a card and compared it to others with a card. If anyone knows of one tell me, if not thx anyway.

Reviews will compare a 6150 board with other integrated graphics boards in terms of video performance. There is no downside to using the PCI-E slot here though.
Asus A8N-VM CSM review 12/05
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2626

 

[Battleofcarnage]

Thanks for the help i decided on getting a msi K8NGM2-FID. Its the same as the ASUS but is better all around in performance, stability (the asus seems to have good and bad variants alot), and features. The only problem is finding one because so many people are going for them. There is a topic on Anandtech forums devoted to just this board even. Go check it out if you would like to learn more. Peace.

 

[Newf]

Looks like a good choice. Just being able to adjust cpu and dimm voltage is a big advantage...