Looking for help ins electing a new low cost motherboard

[alazeer]

Not sure if how many of you read my recent thread about my system problems but that's a miute point really because I had sent ASUS the wrong number I thought was the serial number of my board, it ended up being on the back (who knew?).

Anyways today when i was looking at the board I dropped it, it hit the corner of the table perfectly and broke the socket that holds in the cpu, nice huh?

To make a long story short I need your help in selecting a new low cost motherboard that will take an AMD Athlon 64 AM@ 4000+ Chip, Corsair XMS 2 X 1 GB 240 pin DDR2 800 memory and has spots for 2 Sata HDD's a floppy, 2 cd roms and will handle an EVGA Geforce 7950 GT Video Card and will work with my PC power & cooling PSU.

I don't have a lot of money because I'm disabled and I'm having a very hard time trying to figure out what is available to me for motherboards? Every time I try to search for something on Newegg all I find is two Mobo's and from what I read niether of them will work for me?

Seriously, all help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[WR2]

Do you need a socket 939 motherboard? or the more recent AM2 socket?

 

[WR2]

Im guessing that with DDR2 RAM you're needing an AM2/AM2+ motherboard.

sub $50 AM2 motherboards
Are your DVD/CD-ROMS SATA or IDE?

 

[alazeer]

The CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Windsor 4000+, Both Cd's are IDE as they both use a ribbon cable to connect them to the motherboard.

Will any of the motherboars you listed work with the cpu, cdroms, memory and video card I have? What about the information I have on the hard drives? Will that be reachable or is all that lost now to because I screed up the motheboard? I'm really hoping I can at least acces the hard drives so I can pull some files off of them? I do have system mechanic, if I can't get to the hdd' information the regular way, do you think that could pull it off? Thanks again for all the help I;ve been given in here. You guys are really the best place for help and information!

Seems like as my disability gets worse my train of thought and way of thinking is gettig worse .

 

[WR2]

The X2 Windsor nailed it down as an AM2. Previously there were Athlon 64 4000+ in both the 939 (San Diego) and AM2 (Orleans) socket.

All of the motherboards listed will work with your components. All will accept 2 SATA HDDs, 2 IDE DVD or CD drives and a floppy. Some of the boards listed have 4 SATA ports
The Zotac board with free shipping and rebate looks to be the lowest overall cost. And it's NewEgg customer comments look to be in the acceptable range.
The Foxconn A74MX-K also has free shipping. It's layout is a little nicer than the Zotac and has 4 SATA connectors. It's also a newer 740G chipset vs GF 6100 for the Zotac. The Zotac board has the IDE connector laying on it's side vs facing straight up of make sure there is room in your case to fit the IDE cable (most likely not a problem).

Dropping the MB shouldn't affect the ability of the HDDs to boot up.
But were the CPU / RAM / GPU still attached to the MB when you dropped it?

 

[alazeer]

No thank God. Thanks so much for all your help, I really appreciate it

 

[alazeer]

I did fail to mention however that I need the computer for internet, web surfing, email and playing online games like SWG and WOW, will these motherboards also do that? I was readign some of the reviews and now I don't know if they will work for me or not? I know I'm being a P I A but I really don't know and if I spend money on a motherboard that won't do what I need, my wife will have me scewered.

 

[alazeer]

Sorry I was hoping to get the last question I asked answered? I looked at those boards but I'm at a loss as to if they will be good for Internet, Email, Web surfind, MS Office pro 2003 suite and most importantly playing online game such as SWG and WOW. I was also looking at a couple of those Mob's and seen that some people had orderd a new CPU a AMD Brisbane 5200 X2 2.7Ghz 65W dual core; How much faster would this thing be than my AMD 4000+ Windsor?

Also if a motherboard is for an X2/X3 and says 1066 for memory, will it run fine with a X2 cpu with DDR2 800 memory like I have or is that board specific?

Again, I'm looking to replace a bad motherboard and I have like 150 - 299 to spend all together. When I lok at a lot of thiose board that were reccomended, they also have listing for the new CPU as I stated above but also a video card? I know the card listed is low priced, but is it cheap, will it run online games? IS it better than the EVGA Geforce 7950GT that I have? I'll stop there for now, and I really am sorry I have so many (probably stupid questions).

 

[obsidian86]

try to get a 780g/785g board the igp will be better compared to a 7950gt

 

[WR2]

Any of the recommendations shown here will cover all your computing needs .

With your working budget we can upgrade quality of the parts a bit.
At the low end you could easily get by with your X2 4000+ and a new AM2 motherboard. ASRock A780LM AM2+/AM2 (760G) Motherboard $56

That 2.1Ghz X2 4000+ is still a very capable CPU.
But you could get a nice boost in CPU power for not a lot of money these days.
You mentioned the X2 5200 2.7Ghz ($66) and there is the X2 6400 3.2Ghz ($80). In that same price range there is also
the new AM3 Athlon II X2 250 ($76)

Comparing your X2 4000+ to the new CPUs this chart shows the relative power. For the X2 4000+ we know its slightly less powerful than the Pentium E2160 so use that as your X2 4000+ performance. II X2 250 chart and X2 4000+ chart

That Athlon II X2 250 is showing a very good price/performance ratio.
And I've found a great combo deal for $136 and free shipping: Athlon II X2 250 & GIGABYTE GA-MA785G AM3/AM2+ 785G motherboard
The GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM will work with your Corsair DDR2 800 RAM. You could upgrade the RAM from 2GB to 4GB for about $40-45 but it won't have a large impact on how fast your system will be compared to the amount spent.

If you feel you need to upgrade your 7950GT to try some of the newer games on the market you could fit a 9600GT or a HD 4850 into your budget.
THG: Best cards for the money Sep 09

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

I looked at the tier list, and it looks like the 7950 is better than the integrated 3200 of the 780g, same for other one.

ANY AM2 CPU will run in AM2 or AM2+ Motherboards.

Any of those motherboards should allow you to plug in all that stuff, and as long as your hard drives weren't raided the stuff should still be there but you'll have to reinstall windows. If they were RAIDed... good luck with that.

if you WANT TO you can buy a better graphics card and CPU as well. Probably a Regor CPU (you'd need a AM2+ motherboard) and one of the cheaper graphics off of the list.

As far as the power supply goes, you just gave a brand and not how much wattage it is. But assuming you just want a motherboard, and run all your same stuff it should be fine cause you were already running them right?

And yeah in the comments they'll talk about newer components, but that's because they don't just keep making older stuff. That does not mean that your stuff will be magically incompatible.

 

[WR2]

You should probably list the model of PC P&C PSU so you're using. That could limit which video card upgrade you're able to handle.
PC P&C 420W will handle a HD 4850
PC P&C 370 will handle a 9600GT

 

[alazeer]

First I want to say thank you so much for all of your help. The PSU I have is the PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510-SLI ATX12V 510W. Yes it seemd to run everything I have fine.

I'm sold on the combo deal you have there with the AM2+ CPU and the Gigabyte Board. If I go that route I still should be able to use the same memory I have now or do I have to upgrade to the faster 1066 Memory?

I'd like to at least use the memory I have now for at least a month or two.

I'm thinking for this money I could upgrade my main system, then turn around again in a couple of months and then upgrade the old system I'm using now for my kids? Lot's of possibilites thanks to you guys.

Once I get the final memory question answered and if you don't see any red flags with my PSU I'll probably order this today or tomorrow?

 

[lunyone]

You should have no issues with the RAM or with the PSU. I consider getting a 4670 GPU if you want to upgrade the GPU for better gaming. The x2 250 w/the 785 mobo should be a decent combo to get for the $. The 4670 is about $70 or so. The 4850 would be a better upgrade, but it's just about $20 more or so. You could even fit the 4870 into the budget if you want to. What GPU you buy should be based on what your monitor resolution is at. If your above 1680 x 1050 than the 4850/4870 would be a smarter buy. If you at or below the 1680 x 1050 than the 4850/4670/4770 would be a more sensible buy. It's up to you, but that is what I'd consider.

 

[WR2]

It's actually an AM3 CPU and AM3 motherboard The combo should be ~50% increase in CPU power over what you have now. That combo deal is pretty $weet too.
And lunyone is right of course. You have plenty of PSU power and your DDR2 800 RAM should be fine in the AM3/AM2+ motherboard.

I did see a good deal on a 4670 video card GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB $70 and $10 rebate and free shipping. Its a NewEgg 'weekend - while supplies last' deal.

Be sure to let us know how you make out.

 

[alazeer]

I'm planning on ordering the Athlon II X2 250 & GIGABYTE GA-MA785G AM3/AM2+ 785G motherboard Tomorrow but just want to make sure that I will still be able to plug my hdd's, memory and Video card and it will work fairly well?

I can then over time buy new 1066 memory or additional 800 memory and a video card. I really hate to let the GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB $70 and $10 rebate go but in order for me to buy this I'd have to wait until thursday or friday to order it and by then both deals will probably be gone, won't they? If not then I'll wait until Friday and order both of these. From what I've read here in the replies, I would be upgrading my total performance by at least 50% for about $200 bucks, not bad at all! Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

[lunyone]

The $10 MIRc offer is good until 9/30/09, so your covered on the MIRc for the GPU. That doesn't mean that the price will be the same, but more than likely it'll be good for a bit.
Looking under the Storage information on the mobo I see:
Storage Interface South Bridge:

1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
5 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors supporting up to 5 SATA 3Gb/s devices
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port on the back panel supporting up to 1 SATA 3Gb/s device
Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD
iTE IT8718 chip:

1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive

This should easily cover what you need.

If there is anything else you have a question about, please let us know.

 

[alazeer]

Thanks guys I just ordered the Athlon II X2 250 & GIGABYTE GA-MA785G AM3/AM2+ 785G motherboard
I'll let you know when it comes in and how it works once I get it in and everything I have hooked up to it. I'm hoping that within the next couple of months I'll be able to order a new video card and faster memory. I'm still a WinXP pro user and have no inclination of going to vista, at least for the forseeable future. Aain, this could have never happned without the help of all of you in here who contriibuted to helping me.

 

[lunyone]

Your DDR2 800 mHz sticks are just fine. The 1066 mHz RAM is usually just OC'd 800 mHz chips anyway. Why pay for something you can do yourself. IMHO you don't need to buy any 1066 mHz RAM. You would be better off with stock voltage (1.8v) DDR2 800 mHz RAM at CAS4 timings (4-4-4-12) than getting 1066 mHz RAM at CAS5 timings (5-5-5-15). I'd just upgrade to 4 gb's of RAM, if you think you really need it. Usually 2 gb's of RAM is just fine with XP. If you upgrade to Win7 you might want to consider getting more RAM, but honestly you would probably be fine with the original 2 gb's of RAM anyway. Win7 looks to be a slimmer and trimmer Vista, which is a good thing!!

 

[alazeer]

First I want to say that Newegg is without a doubt the best place to get computer parts there is, Bar none! I ordered the new motherboard and CPU combination yesterday and today at 10:35 AM EST the UPS guy was dropping it off on my front porch.


Now to the bad news, after hooking everything back upi and hitting power, nothing happened. I went through everything and even called Gigabyte tech support who also walked me through the trouble shooting to finally come to the conclusion that the power supply is what's bad, not the old motherboard.

That being said I need help in finding a good low cost at lest 550W power supply that has ATX12V2X4, in lamans terms (for my sake) the power supply need to have 2 atx 12v connectors for the CPU as well as the 24 pin main motherboard connector.

Not sure if this matters or not but I need connectors for the two SATA Hdd's, a video card etc.. If you guys could come up with something that has free shipping and is around the $60 - $75.00 mark I'd love it. I'm going to go look now but I'm sure I'll get lost as I look because I always do . Thnaks for all your help in the past and for this., As for my computer problems this has to be the fix for it? right? lol

 

[alazeer]

I was just looking on newegg and found this one: Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

What do you think? Think it will work for what I need?

 

[lunyone]

That PSU would work. Here's a list of the one's to consider:

$80 shipped. 35A on the 12v rails and comes with 1 x 6 pin & 1 x 6+2 pin PCI-e power connectors for your GPU and has 4 & 8 pin CPU power connectors.
PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500D 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail

$65 shipped! Your selection has 32A on the 12v rails and also has the 6 pin and 6+2 pin PCI-e power connectors and 4 & 8 pin CPU power connectors.
Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

$68 shipped! Has 34A on the 12v rails and has 2 x 6 pin PCI-e power connectors and 4 & 8 pin CPU power connector.
SeaSonic SS-500ET 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - OEM

You could run on a 400-450w PSU with what you have, but you'll just need to get an adaptor from 2 x 4 pin connector to a 6 pin PCI-e power connector. Usually they come in most GPU boxes when you buy one. If you have one, than you could save a little $ and get a quality 400-450w PSU. This option will limit your upgrade paths a bit, but it will save you a little $ now and you can upgrade later, if you need to.

Suggested PSU's in the 400-450w range:
$50 shipped! Has 30A on the combined 12v rails and comes with 1 x 6 pin PCI-e power connectors and 1 x 4 pin CPU power connector.
Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

$50 - $20 MIRc = $30!! Has 30A on the 12v rail and comes with 1 x 6 pin PCI-e power connectors and 4/8 pin CPU power connector.
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

Now just remember which power connections you need (PCI-e/CPU) and select the right PSU for your needs. Any of these PSU's will work for you, just remember that you will need a 2 x 4 pin to 6 pin PCI-e power connector on the 400-450w PSU's, if you go that way. This "Y" connector should've shipped with your GPU, so check that out in your shipping box and see if you want to go that way.