I am Making a new just to go online PC for forums,emails etc...

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

Hi ...I am about to make a new online PC,just for browsing,forums & emailing...I have a very small Numan PC case ( has hardly any ventilation and I am keeping it to use for this new pc ) with a 400 watt psu built into the case (very small psu & I do not believe it is really 400 watts),core i5 680,zalman cnps8000a cpu cooler ...I want a motherboard/mainboard that has the onboard VGA,D-DVI,HDMI port on the back of the IO panel ( H55 chipset I will use with my core i5 680 ) ...Which brand name manufacturer & the model & the reasons why I should choose to use that brand name and/or model ...I have owned Asus & Gigabyte in the past,but I am interested also in the comments of those that have owned MSI or Intel & infact other brand names also ...Remember that it is not for overclocking & only for browsing the internet ...

 

[o1die]

I have used 2 different brands; first the biostar TH55B HD free with a frys combo special. It has built in memtest in the bios; overclocking adjustments in the bios or separate windows software (the bios works better). It overclocked my i3 530 to 4.08 but I couldn't run it with the stock heatsink (due to heat) so I settled on 3520 (160 fsb). I found a local combo deal for $100 that included the same cpu with msi H55M-e33, which I use now. This motherboard doesn't overclock my old cpu as well, but has a system fan port in the middle of the board, which my case fan reaches. And the bios has a percentage adjustment for the system and cpu fan. I left the cpu fan at 100%, and the two system fans at 50%, so my system is super quiet. The smartfan setting is on "quiet". I prefer quiet over fan noise. My temps are pretty good with the cpu overclocked at 160. they run 40-55c (in the summer when it's warm).

 

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

I have used 2 different brands; first the biostar TH55B HD free with a frys combo special. It has built in memtest in the bios; overclocking adjustments in the bios or separate windows software (the bios works better). It overclocked my i3 530 to 4.08 but I couldn't run it with the stock heatsink (due to heat) so I settled on 3520 (160 fsb). I found a local combo deal for $100 that included the same cpu with msi H55M-e33, which I use now. This motherboard doesn't overclock my old cpu as well, but has a system fan port in the middle of the board, which my case fan reaches. And the bios has a percentage adjustment for the system and cpu fan. I left the cpu fan at 100%, and the two system fans at 50%, so my system is super quiet. The smartfan setting is on "quiet". I prefer quiet over fan noise. My temps are pretty good with the cpu overclocked at 160. they run 40-55c (in the summer when it's warm).

Hi o1die ...Thank You for the hint...Overall which brand name do you like for motherboards & why ...

 

[o1die]

Can't recommend a specific brand. I just picked up a gigabyte board from frys due to it's low cost and features. It's an old am3, but has the core unlock feature, dual bios (backup in case of a bad flash) and memory multipliers. I set that at 8.0 to get my ram overclocked at 1600. Not bad for a $50 board. Only negative is directx 9 only, but I can use a separate card for dx10 and windows 7. I recommend you narrow your list due to newegg.com reviews, and download some board manuals. It only takes a minute with high speed dsl or cable connection. Check the bios for ram multipliers or ratios, voltage adjustments, etc and warranty. Biostar isn't highly rated, but they got me an rma return in only 9 days, which is super fast. That's a big plus for me, but I don't know if you are in the usa or other countries. In some countries, the warranty isn't enforced. That's another factor you should figure in your selection.

 

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

Can't recommend a specific brand. I just picked up a gigabyte board from frys due to it's low cost and features. It's an old am3, but has the core unlock feature, dual bios (backup in case of a bad flash) and memory multipliers. I set that at 8.0 to get my ram overclocked at 1600. Not bad for a $50 board. Only negative is directx 9 only, but I can use a separate card for dx10 and windows 7. I recommend you narrow your list due to newegg.com reviews, and download some board manuals. It only takes a minute with high speed dsl or cable connection. Check the bios for ram multipliers or ratios, voltage adjustments, etc and warranty. Biostar isn't highly rated, but they got me an rma return in only 9 days, which is super fast. That's a big plus for me, but I don't know if you are in the usa or other countries. In some countries, the warranty isn't enforced. That's another factor you should figure in your selection.

Hi once again o1die ...I actually live in Sydney,Australia which is not known for good customer service at all ...I was thinking of two brand names & they are the MSI & Intel...Only reason is,because I have had Asus & Gigabyte in the past and not many others at all...That is why I was hoping to get a general view at least of what people thought of the motherboard brand names & their products/models also...Anyway thank you for your advice ...