Recommend a CPU/MOBO?

Question

Looking to get an AMD CPU and mobo for under $200 total. Usually like to buy from Newegg if possible. Mostly do desktop publishing work. Micro-ATX case. I had a P4 3.0 Prescott and would like something comparable in speed. Already have two sticks of 512MB each and would like to reuse those (184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200/0.

Answer 1

I seriously agree to go with an AMD CPU, seeing as Intel's Netburst architecture has lead them downhill this generation (AMD's cpus tend to be cooler, less power consumption, and due to the onboard memory controller, just plain better performance) Look for a 3500+, it runs cool and works great, and at $99 on newegg, you can't go wrong. If you need the $14, you can grab a 3200+ and overclock it (see the DFI mobo below) to reach 3500+ speeds very easily (on stock cooling). I do this with mine and i stay below 47 at a full torture test (like ~32 idle).

For a MicroATX motherboard, it really depends if you have an AGP card you can use. If at all possible I'd go with PCI-E, but not if you have an agp card lying around and you don't do video intensive games, or encoding or whatever. For AGP i'd look at the pretty inexpensive ($55 Newegg)Asus A8V-MX, I have had mine for a year and its great and i haven't had any errors, and it'll run your 512s in DDR fine. It also comes with onboard graphics if you don't have/want to buy a graphics card.

For a PCI-E Mobo (recommended) I'd go with a DFI RS482 ($88 newegg) which also has onboard graphics/sound if you need them, and being a DFI you can be sure of a good set of BIOS options (overclocking, anyone?). It also sports 4 DDR Sdram slots compared to the 2 provided in the Asus above, and has builtin gigabit ethernet, while the asus has 10/100. This board also has firewire onboard, where the Asus doesn't.

So I would honestly go for the 3500+, its a very good processor and can handle a lot, plus it runs cool (overclocking potential + stability) and the DFI board is far superior, and looks well worth the price. So with this combo I put you at $197, very efficient use of $200. Good Luck with your decision making, and i recommend looking at the CPU benchmarks at tomshardware if you are curious about your dollar/performace ratio. (Links Below).

Answer 2

MACHSPEED!
Very nice MOBO and they all have a lifetime warranty!
I have a very nice albatron but it is a P4 board. I think that it is the best board I ever owned! it has 7.1 sound and an 8X graphics slot (I know that pci-express is the new IN thing, but there is almost no visible benefit so I think it is not worth the expense!)
Tiger direct has some incredible blowouts going on right now (I am not affiliated with them)
You could get a killer for less than $300 (after rebates) if you reuse your old case!
AMD XP3400 for $40, 300 GB HD for @$60, you have memory get a dual layer DVD burner @$50
8X graphics card with 256MB @$70
Have fun!!!

Answer 3

a CPU and mobo for under $200 can be tricky. You see, you can get an ASUS A8N5X mobo for about $80, but finding a socket 939 chip for $120 is nigh impossible. My advice, go ahead and spend an extra $70 on a AMD X2 3800 processor to go with the mobo.

Answer 4

If you're familar with NewEgg, find a MB that takes that kind of ram. I like Asus boards myself, but there are other good ones. If you like AMD, I'd look at the dual core X64 chips.. it's the wave of the future

Answer 5

i would recomend and asus motherboard and an intel pentium 4 chip (or a pentium d if you can find one cheap enough) make sure the motherboard has 800 front side bus, and the processor has at least a frequency of 2.8ghz

Answer 6

athlon 64 x2 + motherboard combo from tigerdirect.

Answer 7

Try these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135191

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531

All under $200

Answer 8

Try http://www.tigerdirect.com

Answer 9

See if this will fill your needs.




http://www.mwave.com/mwave/Shoppingcart.asp?scriteria=MB%2DBA21810&UpDepts=BUNAMDCPU&DName=Motherboard+Bundles+By+AMD+CPU&Back=CPUBUNDLES-A64X2&Bname=AMD+ATHLON+64+X2+%2D+939+BUNDLES