Need Motherboard Advice

[Jackster]

I've been planning on upgrading my computer over the next several months. One major aspect I'm interested in is the video card. From what I have read, the new video cards are moving toward PCI-Express, and I have AGP8x.

In the future I'm planning on getting an ATI card (perhaps x1800 or x1900 when it comes out) with 512mb of memory on it when the prices drop on Ebay Since this requires a PCI-Express slot, I need a new motherboard.

I need advice on which motherboard I should buy that would be compatible with my future video card and my computer as a whole.

My specs: Pentium 4, 2.8ghz Prescott, HT; 450watt power supply; 120gb hard drive; 2x512mb Elixir dual-channel 400mhz RAM. I have a Gateway tower.

Thanks,
Jack

 

[ink]

motherboards

well i am an amd fan not intel, so i cant help u with that other then i have had a few mobo's. i gave my shuttle board to my dad, great board for him cuz he dont OC. then i got a dfi lanparty nf2, a really awsome board for a oveclocker that has the patcience. my wife and my kid r both using msi boards they work well overclocked or not. my bro uses a msi and overclocks and it runs great. my new board is the dfi lanparty ut nf3 250gb and i must say it is totally awsome i have a 1.8ghz amd mobile 3000 dtr running at 2.7ghz. if u want to overclock alot then id say get a dfi. if u want to run it all stock or with a slight overclock then id have to go with a msi board. anyways that is just my 2 cents, i would do a search and find reviews on the boards u r thinking of and see what 1 offers what u r looking for. hope this helps.

 

[DragonFury]

depends on what u using it for gaming or other . gaming i go Amd other intel ( other meaning graphic editing video editing and the likes where u will be using multiple windows ) for intel boards i go Asus or Dfi from what i been reading try not to use Nf4 for intels stay with the intel chips . Amd Platforms Epox , Abit , Msi all are fairly stable and easy over clockers .

 

[Ruder]

If you want an ATI card - go for Intel based mobos ... socket 775 with either VIA or Crossfire chipsets.

I agree with Asus or DFI. Don't skimp on the mobo - you want an upgrade path, you want speed, and you want stability.

 

[Xtra]

ASUS is one of the boards that i got great performance so I will recommend you ASUS Mainboards.

 

[MetalX]

Get an ASUS motherboard preferably the P5VD1-X (http://www.asus.com/products3.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=206&slname=VIA PT880 Ultra)
It is a strange board because it supports PCI-E and AGP. The PCI-E "16x" slot only runs at pci-e 4x speed but that is still 2gb/s (equal to agp8X) and the bandwidth of AGP 8X wouldnt even be completely used by a 7800GTX 512mb (in other words, 2 gb/s is wayy more bandwidth than you wil need in the near ffuture. In maybe 2-3 years but by then, u will probably be in a new upgrade cycle anyway.

 

[pathlight]

I had an ASUS Intel mobo for a video editing system. It suddenly died for no apparent reason after about a year and a half. I've since had a Supermicro dual Xeon board for almost two years and it's been great.

I want my next board to support AMD dual core and have PCI Express. Which manufacturer, I'm not sure yet, but it won't be ASUS, given my previous bad experience.

 

[DragonFury]

well its not common for asus boards to up and quit they are decent boards . i would check asus and see if a rma is in order some boards do carry a 2-3 year warrenty ...

 

[pathlight]

Thanks. I'll look into the ASUS warranty. It died almost two years ago, after about a year and a half of service, so would be outside of even 3-year coverage.

I guess I should have pursued it with my dealer when the ASUS board died. But I decided to upgrade to dual Xeon processors to improve video editing performance. The Supermicro board at the time looked like the best solution.

Now I'm thinking dual core AMD, likely later this year.

 

[David Alexandru]

MB equal Pci-x +Lga775 or
equal Agp8x +s478