Is this motherboard any good?

[Kyle_13]

I am looking at a Dimension 5150 motherboard

comes with
mobo
3.0ghz cpu
power suply
cooling fin and fan

mobo is sata. ddr2 mem. 3.0ghz cpu

Thats the information he gave me. Would it be good for gaming? What kind of proccer would I need?

Thanks

 

[capt_taco]

If it's the same as this one, then no. It sucks the big Gonzalez.

http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=MB4DELRD203&eq=&Tp

It looks like it supports socket 775 CPUs -- which was the last generation -- and only the early 775's at that. You'll probably be stuck with a Pentium 4, Pentium D, or at best one of the earliest Core 2 chips.

It also only takes DDR2 RAM (also last-generation) and -- you guessed it -- is limited to the slowest speeds of DDR2. And a maximum of 4GB, while most modern boards support 8-16GB and up.

Basically, if you buy this board, it looks like you'll be stuck using parts that are 3 or 4 years old, and you'll struggle with any modern game.

 

[Kyle_13]

So it wouldn't even be good with something like for ex: World of warcraft? Im building a computer for The old republic which isn't out yet and I would have to think it would be around the same requirements

 

[Kyle_13]

as the old republic I mean

 

[Kyle_13]

I emailed him and he said this back

its good for games like wow.
on board video isnt the best but it takes pci-e vidio card for higher performance,
it takes all sata (for hd, roms)
ddr2 memory 6gb max with 4 slots
it comes with a 3.00ghz cpu dual.

 

[Kyle_13]

What do you think? Is it worth $120?

 

[capt_taco]

What do you think? Is it worth $120?

$120? You've got to be kidding me. The guy either doesn't know what he's talking about or is trying to rip you off. That board is a piece of junk from a machine built in like 2005. You can get a brand-new board for an i7 chip and DDR3 memory for half that price (example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135256)

Also, a few things to remember:

- All SATA ports are not the same. That board is old enough that the ports are probably SATA1, which transfers data at 1.5gb/s. The current standard is SATA2 at 3gb/s, and in the next few months it'll be SATA3 at 6gb/s.

- DDR2 memory is the last-generation technology, and that board only takes up to 533 mhz. Decent speeds of DDR2 are 800, 1066 and 1200. If you're getting a new motherboard, you really ought to get DDR3; it's the current standard and is only going to get cheaper and faster.

- Also, I am not sure how you can support 6GB of RAM in 4 slots, since there's no such thing as a 1.5GB stick. Every board I've heard of in that range is 4GB or 8GB. I guess it's conceivable two of the slots could max out at 2GB apiece and two could max out at 1GB, but that would be really unusual. Plus, the specs for that board say 4GB.

- Onboard video almost always sucks for gaming. And just about any board is going to accept a PCIe x16 card. Plus, there are two PCIe x16 technologies out there, PCIe 1.0/1.1 and PCIe 2.0 -- which is the newer standard that transfers data faster. Guess which one this board probably is? (hint: It's not the newer one).

So basically ... yes, this board and CPU will probably be OK for LIGHT gaming (wow is not particularly intensive) but they won't even be THAT good at it, and as for more modern games, it'll absolutely suck. Your upper limit with this board is basically going to be a machine from 2006. If he's throwing in a CPU for the $120, that makes it only slightly less terrible of a deal -- for $140 or so, you can get a combo deal on Newegg for new AMD triple-core with a lot better motherboard.

You can do much, much better. Don't buy this board, and tell the guy to leave you the hell alone. You would benefit from shopping around. A lot.

 

[Kyle_13]

Thanks so much capt_taco you were a big help. I had a feeling he was trying to rip me off. The $120 included the motherboard and 1GB of ram lmao and I was like oh I was thinking I would pay $40 for it and he said are you nuts. Lol well thanks to you I realize that he was ripping me hardcore lol. I will check that out on newegg thanks again