Time to upgrade my home pc. It's been about 4 years. I'm not a gamer but do alot of stuff with audio, pictures, some video, and stuff of that sort. I have been out of the pc loop for quite awhile.

Not partial to Intel or AMD. What is the best bang for the buck mobo/cpu combo for around $200?

Main concerns are it needs to be stable, reliable, and easy to install. I will not be overclocking.

Thanks
James

Newegg has a special combo on the e7200 and GA-EP35-DS3L for $219.98:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115052

Fry's.com has the e6550 Intel core2 duo 1333 fsb for $115; they also have some p35 chipset boards; at newegg the p35 boards start at about $75. For onboard video, get a g31 or g33 chipset board. If you must use ddr memory, asrock makes some boards with ddr support for 1066 core2 duo cpus; 3b tech has one for only $33 shipped but no accessories. Asrock america will send you a backplate for $5 shipped. Newegg also has open box boards with no accessories very cheap.

Thanks for the quick response guys.

I've decided to go with onboard video for the time being. I'll also be buying new memory.

No one in the AMD camp anymore? The Athlon 64 X2 5000+ looks pretty attractive at around $75.

I'll be making a purchase tomorrow so more help will be awesome. I've got the bug.

Later
James