2007-12-12 07:41:31 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
I'm building one from scratch and this is the only part I'm really confused on - there's so many to choose!
2007-12-12 07:42:09 · update #1
Building a computer from scratch - not a motherboard ;)
2007-12-12 07:42:25 · update #2
Gaming, graphic design, 3D animation etc.
2007-12-12 07:54:18 · update #3
Well that just wouldn't be as fun now would it bert.
2007-12-12 09:01:27 · update #4
Well if youre only confused about the board then you must know what other hardware you plan on using. Make sure your board will accomodate the hardware you plan on using. Not all boards have firewire ports so if you have external firewire hardware youd want a board with a port. Same thing is you have an SATA external hard drive. youd need an e-SATA port on the board. For raid youd need a board with a southbridge chipset that supports raid. A lot of boards have 2 or 3 PCI slots and sometimes one of them is covered by the video card. If you have a PCI sound card, TV tuner and modem, for example, your need 3 accessible PCI slots.
If you plan on running SLI or Crossfire you'd need appropriate boards. If you plan on overclocking you'd want an overclocking board that has features a normal board doesn't have. etc etc etc. With the X38 boards out now there are some really sweet deals on the P35 boards. I use Asus in almost all my builds. You may want to go to sites like tomshardware and anandtech and read their reviews and comparisions of various boards. They're the best in the biz.
To do the things like that 3D animation I suggest you get an Intel Q6600 quad and a board that supports it.
2007-12-12 08:04:37 · answer #1 · answered by s j 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Let's cut to the chase shall we?
You say that the only thing you're confused with is the MOBO, Hah!
That just happend to be the nitty-gritty of the problem, if you're not sure of the "guts" of a comp., I can't imagine why you would want to take a chance on building one, especially if you are wanting a top-notch gamer (3D, graphics & stuff).
You may not have noticed that a top-line gamer can be had for between $500-1000. If you build your own, you will probably end up spending more plus risking installation errors, is it worth it?
I wouldn't do it and I've built many comps as a supervisor in a computer assembly plant.
Read some info on just what is required to build your unit, price the items, and then look for a bargain from a retailer, at this time of year, you should be able to find a good deal, (after Christmas).
;-)
2007-12-12 16:36:47 · answer #2 · answered by Bert H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First Decide on which processor you want (intel or AMD). That cuts your choices in half.
After that it comes down to front side buss. (how the processor well communicate with everything else). Usually you try to get the higher the better, next would be RAM speeds. What type of speeds does it take?
After that everything else is kind of the same. PCI express (how many) Either how many SATA ports it has, or IDE ports you need. Does it sport RAID (if you want that). How many USB ports, Firewire? One board graphics....
Once you narrow it down to a couple try to read some reviews on the net about them. They usually well show you pictures, and let you know of any concerns there are for the motherboard.
Good Luck.
2007-12-12 15:52:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would buy one with pci express, and 1 that uses ddr2 ram. ddr2 is faster and less expensive than ddr. SATA hard drives are faster and quieter than EIDE, but most mobo's support both. I like 4 ram slots but 2 is probably enough. Make sure the socket is right for the type of processor you want. Higher fsb numbers are better for gaming. Checkout--Pricewatch.com--for good prices. They also have mother board and cpu combos that work together well. Have fun building it. A cpu with a higher cache number is best for gaming also.
2007-12-12 16:22:18 · answer #4 · answered by Nemo the geek 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make sure it fits the tower you want to buy. If you have a Microtower case you'll need a motherboard that fits in it. Also make sure it's compatible with your processor. Safe bet is to buy a motherboard, processor combo kit. That way you'll know the two will work together.
The tower will tell you what types of motherboards it supports, then make sure you get one that is on the list.
2007-12-12 15:46:35 · answer #5 · answered by Joe D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
their are alot of things you should be looking for to start with:
what processor are you wanting to use?
What tower are you planning to buy?
are you a gamer or a more of an office user?
2007-12-12 15:49:14 · answer #6 · answered by Paul S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends on if you're building a gaming pc or a workstation pc
2007-12-12 15:45:22 · answer #7 · answered by Hugh_G_Rection 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋