A computer components & hardware forum. HardwareBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » HardwareBanter forum » General Hardware & Peripherals » General
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

What's the difference with motherboards?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old February 21st 05, 03:35 AM
OM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What's the difference with motherboards?

I'm confused with the array of motherboards available.
What's the difference between a =A320 one and a =A3100+ one?
OK... I'd expect the more expensive one to have better capabilites.

But the thing is... there seem to be a million different motherboards
priced from =A340 - =A360: what's the big difference in these models.

OK... I do know a bit... like some motherboards are for Intel, while
others are for AMD??

BUT... even then... there seems to be a plethora of options available!

How do I choose?
What should I look out for?

Is a =A3100+ motherboard ever worth buying?
(Heck... I might as well buy a dual processor one for a bit more!)

I know about SATA - but even still, I'm confused about the number of
options available!!
Are there other things that are relevant?

Am I right in saying that the cheaper motherboards come with onboard
VGA and the more expensive ones don't?

AND... what makes should I go for when buying?
AND... which should I avoid!?

Any enlightenments would be helpful.

Thanks.


OM

  #2  
Old February 21st 05, 03:56 AM
GFree
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

OM wrote:
I'm confused with the array of motherboards available.
What's the difference between a £20 one and a £100+ one?
OK... I'd expect the more expensive one to have better capabilites.

But the thing is... there seem to be a million different motherboards
priced from £40 - £60: what's the big difference in these models.

OK... I do know a bit... like some motherboards are for Intel, while
others are for AMD??

BUT... even then... there seems to be a plethora of options available!

How do I choose?
What should I look out for?

Is a £100+ motherboard ever worth buying?
(Heck... I might as well buy a dual processor one for a bit more!)

I know about SATA - but even still, I'm confused about the number of
options available!!
Are there other things that are relevant?

Am I right in saying that the cheaper motherboards come with onboard
VGA and the more expensive ones don't?

AND... what makes should I go for when buying?
AND... which should I avoid!?

Any enlightenments would be helpful.

Thanks.


OM


I'm not sure how much of a problem it is these days, but...

Avoid: motherboards that have intergrated VGA, but no AGP or PCI-E slots
for you to upgrade the video subsystem if you require something better
later. Big mistake I made once.
  #3  
Old February 21st 05, 08:54 PM
Zotin Khuma
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"OM" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm confused with the array of motherboards available.
What's the difference between a £20 one and a £100+ one?
OK... I'd expect the more expensive one to have better capabilites.

But the thing is... there seem to be a million different motherboards
priced from £40 - £60: what's the big difference in these models.

OK... I do know a bit... like some motherboards are for Intel, while
others are for AMD??

BUT... even then... there seems to be a plethora of options available!

How do I choose?
What should I look out for?

Is a £100+ motherboard ever worth buying?
(Heck... I might as well buy a dual processor one for a bit more!)

I know about SATA - but even still, I'm confused about the number of
options available!!
Are there other things that are relevant?

Am I right in saying that the cheaper motherboards come with onboard
VGA and the more expensive ones don't?

AND... what makes should I go for when buying?
AND... which should I avoid!?

Any enlightenments would be helpful.

Thanks.

OM

I guess one could write a book or at least a long chapter
about what to look for in a motherboard. One group of
factors is stability, reliability and support. Obviously, no
manufacturer will come out and say that their model xyz
is not very stable or may not last over a year. For this
aspect, reviews in magazines and websites and personal
experiences in forums and newsgroups will be helpful.

The second factor is about features. Overclockability may
or may not be important to you. If you never do anything
more demanding than word processing, playing music
and surfing the net, then a good onboard video will be
perfectly adequate. But if you're into gaming, then an AGP
or PCI-Express slot is a must. Do you need Firewire ?
Wi-Fi ? Are you likely to want to cram in a lot of expansion
cards ? If so, you have to go for a full ATX mobo with
lots of PCI slots. SATA support, RAID, Gigabit LAN.....
Do you want 7.1 audio or are you going to install a high-
end sound card anyway ? What chipset ? nVidia chipsets
are generally regarded as the best for AMD systems, with
VIA chipsets coming a close second. These are all features
that determine the price class.

Regarding brands, Asus and Gigabyte are among the
top ones, but there are other very good ones. I'm perfectly
happy with a less prestigious Biostar M7NCG-400 with
its onboard nForce2 integrated video running an Athlon
XP 2000+, though I've built a lot of computers with mobos
by Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, DFI, Leadtek, Kobian, Intel,
AsRock, even the notorious pcChips. My children use the
same mobo with an Athlon XP 2600+ and a GeForce4
Ti4400 graphics card. If they do well in their exams,
I'll buy them an Athlon 64 system with a 6600GT
graphics card, but it will still be with a motherboard
without a lot of extras.

Cheap = highly integrated ? Often but not always true.
Highly integrated mobos with onboard video and only 2
or 3 PCI slots are intended for people who don't need
all the extra features of the more expensive models. They
are not necessarily of lower quality.


  #4  
Old February 21st 05, 10:32 PM
philo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

OM wrote:
I'm confused with the array of motherboards available.
What's the difference between a £20 one and a £100+ one?
OK... I'd expect the more expensive one to have better capabilites.

But the thing is... there seem to be a million different motherboards
priced from £40 - £60: what's the big difference in these models.

OK... I do know a bit... like some motherboards are for Intel, while
others are for AMD??

BUT... even then... there seems to be a plethora of options available!

How do I choose?
What should I look out for?

Is a £100+ motherboard ever worth buying?
(Heck... I might as well buy a dual processor one for a bit more!)

I know about SATA - but even still, I'm confused about the number of
options available!!
Are there other things that are relevant?

Am I right in saying that the cheaper motherboards come with onboard
VGA and the more expensive ones don't?

AND... what makes should I go for when buying?
AND... which should I avoid!?

Any enlightenments would be helpful.

Thanks.


OM


I build and repair lots of machines and have not had too many "problem"
motherboards... I'd say *avoid* PC Chips !... but even some of the lower
priced boards i've tried have been fine.
as mentioned...avoid on-board video

  #5  
Old February 22nd 05, 02:59 AM
Joe
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"philo" wrote


as mentioned...avoid on-board video


Why? I would say this all depends on the use of the computer. If I were
building an "office use" computer I would likely use about a $60 all
inclusive nvidia nforce 2 board with built in Geforce 4 graphics and it
would serve that purpose just fine.

Joe


  #6  
Old February 22nd 05, 01:21 PM
Curious George
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 19:59:11 -0600, "Joe" wrote:


"philo" wrote


as mentioned...avoid on-board video


Why? I would say this all depends on the use of the computer. If I were
building an "office use" computer


or a server. There's nothing wrong with integrated graphics on an
separate pci bus esp when there is an AGP slot in addition.

IMHO there's nothing to be gained with PCI-E. By the time there is a
large selection of cards for that bus that are "mature" it'll be time
to upgrade the beast anyways. Who knows how PCI-E implementations
will be tweaked or "fixed" by then? For now AGP 8x & PCI-X already
offer a ton of bandwidth.

I wouldn't go out of my way for SATA unless fixated on ATA raid. SATA
offers nothing for a generic 1 or 2 disk PC. That being said - smoke
'em if you got 'em.

Start with the most stable & mature chipsets you can find that meet
your current performance needs allowing for some growth. Don't get
caught up on bells 'n whistles. Focus on brands that deliver
consistent, better supported, more cohesively designed products rather
than "which is a tiny bit faster" or "this one has one more feature
than the other" type brand/model comparisons.

I don't think it's too controversial to endorse Supermicro, Tyan,
Intel, & Asus (in that order). To a lesser extent Gigabyte, MSI, & a
few others.

Just my $0.02
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Multiple motherboards not powering up Isaac Grover Homebuilt PC's 5 November 17th 04 09:27 PM
OK does RAID make a difference or not for non-servers? [email protected] General 5 May 31st 04 10:58 PM
PIII motherboards Bob General 13 April 3rd 04 04:34 AM
Who import SYNTAX motherboards? [ste parker] General 1 March 3rd 04 09:22 PM
Memory Difference? Smith General 2 December 9th 03 12:33 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:47 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 HardwareBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.