Getting a new Motherboard

[Cerveza]

My son's PC has been acting up. Mouse freezes up randomly. I noticed a while back that his Northbridge fan has stopped, so probably associated with that.

I'll be upgrading my PC and giving this one to him.

I'll need a Motherboard, CPU (with cooling), and RAM. I have a case, ps, cd-rom.

Motherboard must have surround built in, I have an old SoundBlaster something gold.... but it'd be just as easy if there were SB support on board. Must also have LAN stuff on board. Video is ok without, by old 6600GT still works fine for what I play.

I'm trying to go frugal, not necessarily cheap, but not water-cooled top of the line either.

Suggestions? BTW, I've always used AMD and had decent luck.

[Xclio]

Can I get an idea of actual $ amounts for your price range?  Would help in setting something up for ya

[Cerveza]

Well.... I'd like to get MB + CPU + RAM for around < $500. I don't need the absolute best, I know I can put together a decent system for like $300.... Maybe get an idea for a good motherboard that can support a range of CPU's and just go up the CPU chain till I hit a $ mark I can live with.

[TrailMyx]

The AM2+ motherboards give you a really good way to upgrade.  You can have anything from one of their single core Athlons up to the AM2+ Phenoms quad cores.  They are pretty cheap too.  I just put together my system just before the AM3 was released so I'm limited with DDR2 memory.  However, I've loved this system so far!  I paid $180 for the CPU (2.8G/quad), $80 for the motherboard (AM2+) and $100 for 8GBytes.  So $360 about 6 months ago now.

[Xclio]

You can do the same thing that TM did with an LGA775 socket Intel setup as well but if you are an AMD fan then AM2 is the way to go.

[TrailMyx]

One of these days I'll have to give Intel another go.  After their debacle of the original dual cores (of which I was an early adopter of 2 systems), I haven't purchased a system since based on Intel.  Even the AMD-dual I bought as my server is still running, but both the 2.8G and 3.0G motherboards are sitting gathering dust on my shelf. 

[Cerveza]

That's exactly what I'm looking to do... get a MB that can support a wide range... so I can jump in cheap, then later just upgrade the CPU.

What RAM do these Phenom things run with? So I'm looking for an AM2+ Motherboard?

[TrailMyx]

For the AM2+, that would be DDR2.  At Fry's, I picked up 8GB for $99.  (with rebate).  If you only have WinXP, then you'll only need 4GB; 8GB with a 32 bit OS is a waste since the additional memory cannot be addressed.

[TrailMyx]

Just double check the motherboard you are looking at.  There are some cross-over motherboards that handle both, but then you are limited to the CPU.  So just check and be sure you are all compatible.

[Cerveza]

Ok so what should I be looking at?

AM2+/AM2 Motherboards

or

AM3/AM2+/AM2 Motherboards

[TrailMyx]

The AM3/AM2+/AM2 motherbaords will give you the greatest flexibility.  Check what memory they require, though.  If you are purchasing memory, then it's no big deal.  But if you already have existing memory, then you need to be mindful of it.

[UOMaddog]

Definitely stick with AMD unless you're willing to fork over the big bucks for an i7 Intel system. RAM is dirt cheap these days (I bought 8GB for my system for under $70). If you want to save money, just stick with an AMD X2 dual core processor since most stuff is not even compatible with quad-core processors yet (programs are barely compatible with dual core!) Here are some samples of what you can get...

If you want to save a little: ($219 + RAM)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4681928&CatId=2621
OR ($209 + RAM)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4843684&CatId=3586

If you want to go all-out: ($419 + RAM)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4685733&CatId=4297

RAM:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3228139&CatId=2264   (This is what I have in my system)
OR
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4319025&CatId=2264   (But make sure this will fit with the processor fan!)

Any other questions, just PM me and I can help you out! I've built PLENTY of computers and used just about every brand out there so I can definitely recommend which to go with and which to stay away from!

[rana70]

OFFTOPIC:

I can't tell you how much I miss tigerdirect and newegg 

[Cerveza]

Hey, thanks Dawg! That gives me some really good resources to look around at. Every system I've bought, I tried to get a MB that could support faster CPU's, then I never get around to the faster CPU LOL.

I'll check those out for sure. Thanks again.

[TrailMyx]

OFFTOPIC:

I can't tell you how much I miss tigerdirect and newegg 

Where are you at in Germany now?  That's the part I couldn't stand about Germany was most stores on the weekend are closed and mostly they all close at 5PM.  Drove me nuts!!