motherboard/CPU questions for Vista

[blm]

I planning on building a box to run Vista and noticed that Newegg sells AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPUs in both 65W & 90(i guess)W. What's the difference (other than one sucks less AC power); speed, reliability, durability? and what are the implications for motherboard choice?

Regarding motherboards, I'm overwhelmed by the selection. I'm not a gamer and don't need the advanced SLI or crosswire type dual GPUs. I plan on using this as a "business" system. Having 1394 might be helpful, but isn't necessary.

Does anyone have a mobo/CPU combo to recommend?

thanks!

 

[Dante_Jose_Cuervo]

I planning on building a box to run Vista and noticed that Newegg sells AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPUs in both 65W & 90(i guess)W. What's the difference (other than one sucks less AC power); speed, reliability, durability? and what are the implications for motherboard choice?

Regarding motherboards, I'm overwhelmed by the selection. I'm not a gamer and don't need the advanced SLI or crosswire type dual GPUs. I plan on using this as a "business" system. Having 1394 might be helpful, but isn't necessary.

Does anyone have a mobo/CPU combo to recommend?

thanks!

The difference between 65W and 90W? Um... I'd say about 25W? No, seriously, the difference is that the 65W X2s are probably running on a 65nm process and are also running at lower voltages. As far as reliability and durability... they're about the same. Speed: about the same. Motherboard choices are only limited by the socket of the CPU. Now...

Mobos... well, since you're going for a business system I'd say you could go with a lower-end Gigabyte or Asus board. Now... this still leaves a lot of quesitons open. 1.) Budget? 2.) Are you looking for anything specific, like any specific hardware you're going to be using or is it just software?

 

[blm]

according to Newegg, they're all 90nm, but they could be wrong. I'll check the AMD site later.

my quest is a quiet system so I was considering an Antec P150 case and some sort of quiet CPU fan like a Thermalright XP-120.

other HW specs: 2GB RAM, CD/DVD +/-RW, probably a single 160-250 GB HDD. I'd consider RAID if done in HW vs SW.

budget? I'm a tightwad; a new HP or Dell box with similar specs can be had for $1000-1200 so I'd like to be in that range.

thanks!

 

[Dante_Jose_Cuervo]

according to Newegg, they're all 90nm, but they could be wrong. I'll check the AMD site later.

my quest is a quiet system so I was considering an Antec P150 case and some sort of quiet CPU fan like a Thermalright XP-120.

other HW specs: 2GB RAM, CD/DVD +/-RW, probably a single 160-250 GB HDD. I'd consider RAID if done in HW vs SW.

budget? I'm a tightwad; a new HP or Dell box with similar specs can be had for $1000-1200 so I'd like to be in that range.

thanks!

Hmm... they're 90nm? Then I'm guessing they're the "energy-efficient" ones. The difference is only voltage. All other aspects are about the same. Now... motherboard... here's a decent one that would seem to suit your needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128029

Now it IS Micro ATX, if you don't like that then check this one out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131593R

I know you said you didn't want SLI... but you can use one of those slots for a decent HW RAID controller (PCI-e is way better than PCI) and still have plenty of expansion.

The case: looks good, don't see any reason why you shouldn't get it.

RAM: I'd recommend like... I don't know... 2GB of Corsair or Kingston value RAM (not the "gamer" RAM).

You can get a good lite-on DVD +/- RW drive for under $100. Hmm... an HDD? Anything WD or Seagate... or Hitachi.

Hope this helps, if you need anything else please feel free to let me know.

 

[blm]

Thanks for your suggestions. I have to run now, but will check back into this later today.