Motherboard for Kids PC

[wvercimak]

I plan to give my 11 year old daughter my old computer for Christmas. But it needs atleast a new motherboard. I'd like some advice on which option to go with detailed below. She plays Sims 2 and a few online kids website games like toontown.com. We also webcam each other so it needs to be smooth (we use Skype). We have atleast a 3Mb/s cable modem high speed internet connection.

What I currently have for build:

Memory: 3 GB DDR2 667 Mhz
(2) Corsair (CM2X512-5300C4) XMS2 512 MB 667Mhz Memory
(2) PNY (64AOTFTHE-HS) 1 GB PC2-5300, 667 Mhz RAM

CPU: 3.4 GHz Single Core
Intel Pentium 4 650 (Prescott) 3.4 GHz LGA775, 800 FSB, 2 MB L2
Zalman CNPS7500-Cu LED

PSU: True Power 480 Blue
Antec PlusView II Case

Video: PCIe, DVI
Asus X850 (EAX850XT-PE/2DHTV/2)
Logitech Webcam Pro 9000
Sony 19" LCD

Windows XP Pro

Would like to limit spending under $200.

Option 1: Stay with Intel and use existing parts

Buy a GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard for $85, install existing parts above. Done. (Or some other P35, P45/G45 board.) Range $85-$140.

Option 2: Go with AMD solution : Around an Athlon 64 x2 4800+, AM2+ motherboard. New CPU Cooler needed? Range: $150-$200.

Not sure if performance would be dramatically better with a dual core AMD over the Intel CPU I currently have. Is it worth the extra cost considering what she uses the PC for?

 

[homerdog]

I like option 1, and I can personally vouch for the DS3L. However, it might be overkill for what you need. Even an old P965 board would make a great home for those parts for ~half the price.

 

[rubix_1011]

I have an ASUS P5LD2 P965 if you want...I had my old 640 on it. Just need the SATA driver on install.

To be honest, I probably have the driver disc and some other extras still laying around as well...

I'd be willing to part with it for $25 +shipping.

 

[Onus]

No doubt you have a virus scanner, perhaps a firewall, perhaps some anti-malware app on your daughter's PC. I think she'd really like a dual-core CPU for that PC.
An AMD 780G chipset board would be a great choice. Its integrated video is actually decent for her needs (as good as what she has; better for movies), and in a few years you can add a better GPU to it.
Try this solid-cap mobo:
BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $70 after $10 MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138105
and this CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - $66 with free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211

The mobo has 4 RAM slots, and will take the RAM you have, and the CPU will offload all that background crap onto another core so whatever she's running won't skip and stutter.

 

[evongugg]

For the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ you need DDR2-800.
Sorry, need to upgrade memory too for good performance.

 

[geofelt]

Any mobo that holds your old parts would be ok. Performance with a P4 3.4 should be fine. 3gb is plenty. The DS3L would be good, but you might look on e-bay for an older mobo for a lot less.

 

[wvercimak]

Question: From the replies, am I hearing correctly that my 3 GB of DDR2 667 memory should be retired? Granted, the Pentium 4 650 CPU I have can operate on a 800 FSB. Also, Evongugg suggests that going with an AMD solution such as the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ would also benefit from DDR2 800.

Is the current memory a to big a miss-match for anything past a P965 board? (i.e. should I not think of using a P35/P45 or AMD motherboard with DDR2 667 memory?)

I realize memory is cheap. e.g.
Newegg sells 2 GB Corsair DDR2-800 memory TWIN2X2048-6400C4 for $33 after MIR.

Please note that my kids live 12 hrs from me. Once this is built its done. I won't be able to go back and update any hardware for atleast a year.

 

[homerdog]

^In that case it might be wise to go ahead and do the AMD thing. You'll want DDR2-800 to get proper performance out of an AMD setup, but as you are aware DDR2 is incredibly cheap these days.

 

[geofelt]

In my opinion, having enough memory is much more important than the speed that the memory runs at. Keep the 3gb.

 

[MrManO1]

you don't NEED DDR2-800 for the X2 5000+, it is a want. The 3GB of 667MHz will probably perform better in everyday applications (especially in Windows Vista) than 2GB of 800MHz

 

[evongugg]

For Intel, your DDR2-667 is fine.
For AMD you need you need DDR2-800.
Explanation: 14/2=7
2800/7=400
400*2=800

 

[homerdog]

you don't NEED DDR2-800 for the X2 5000+, it is a want. The 3GB of 667MHz will probably perform better in everyday applications (especially in Windows Vista) than 2GB of 800MHz

No, you don't NEED DDR2-800, nor do you NEED a new CPU or GPU or more memory. These are all thing we want for legitimate performance related reasons. With RAM so cheap these days it's hard not to justify an upgrade to some noticeably quicker DDR2-800 on an AMD platform, maybe even 4 gigs of it. The stuff is just dirt cheap, and it ain't gonna get any cheaper.

 

[royalcrown]

Your current setup Would do just fine, but the AMD 4400 would grow with her.The stock cooler works great btw. I don't get why everyone automatically throws them out when they don't even oc.

 

[wvercimak]

Ok, based on feedback from everyone I have decided to do the following which will allow me to still stay under $200 and build a more fluid system.

- Use existing 3 GB DDR2 667 memory
- The HD3200 graphics provided by the 780G chipset should be sufficient and provide room to grow. Installing the X850 may not be necessary.
- Buy an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+ Brisbane (3 GHz) $95.99
- Buy the BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $70 after $10 MIR.

Total: $166

MrMan01 I'm in agreement with you. I can't see that big a gain in performance going from DDR2 667 to 800 for what she will be doing. She probably only needs 1 GB of RAM for her use so 3 GB is already more than enough.

Also, I used the Pentium 4 650 CPU for 3 years and only recently upgraded to an E8400/8800GT/4GB config because BF2142 stuttered when I played in Titan mode and Bioshock needed pixel shader 4.0. Expensive habit. Anyway, the CPU/memory gives great performance for anything I can forsee that she would be doing. It doesn't take alot to play Barbie online.

jtt283 points out the real issue that I want to ensure doesn't happen. Currently she uses a Sony Vaio 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 with 512 MB DDR. Its constantly idling high as she complains often about it. I'm currently trying to repair it remotely using logmein so she has something till Christmas for us to webcam with. Mailed out the System restore disks yesturday and if SP3 doesn't fix it I'll be restoring. However, tts her moms laptop so she has very restricted use and I have little desire to fix my ex's problems.

So, for Christmas I want to ensure her personal PC's general use such as web browsing, remote admin, web browser games, virus scans, interaction with the OS GUI are smooth. I'm not worried about getting 5 fps faster with Crysis on this PC. She will never play such a game.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[royalcrown]

I have 1 thing to add, the 3200's graphics are not that great, you may want a cheap 8600 gts or x1900 or something, I know, i used the onboard for a month, and it'd be okay for online games, but anything mildly 3d...like super bratz action girl will kill it !