some motherboard advice

[jfkcotter]

Can someone give me some motherboard advice?

My current ECS motherboard is dying s-l-o-w-l-y
I know I will need a new motherboard soon.
I don’t want another ECS but I want to use as many of my parts as possible.

So can anyone suggest a motherboard that supports:

Slot 775 – I have a Pentium 4
AGP – I have a Matrox 750 dual head
DDR522 – I have 2GB
Gigabit Ethernet – I would like that build in.

After that I should be ok

Any help appreciated

[FastGame]

Thats hard to answer without more info.

What model MB do you have now ? is it full size ATX or Micro ? AGP micro boards are easy to find, full ATX are getting scarce.

What brand & model memory do you have ? will it be compatible with new MB ?

How much $$$ do you want to spend ?

[jfkcotter]

Thanks for the reply.

Current Mobo is ECS PT880PRO-A
See : http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWeb/Products/ProductsDetail.aspx?DetailID=529&MenuID=22&LanID=9

Memory:
I have 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz CL5 2x1GB

Cost$$
Between $100-$160

[FastGame]

Other than the ECS boards and the Micro ATX boards I can't find anything in AGP that I'd recommend.

Now if you upgrade the vcard to PCI-Express, there's a bunch of good boards, some pretty cheap.

My knowledge in INTEL is limited, sorry.

[jfkcotter]

Ok. I'll move over to a PCI-Express video card.

Motherboard sggestions?

[bhxtyrant]

I would look into the following-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130059
MSI 945P Neo3-F LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard
PCI express and 4PCI slots
Supports your processor and up to 4GB on your memory type
Supports Sata and IDE but only 2 devices so if you have a bunch of older IDE devices could be an issue without buying an IDE expansion card.
Onboard sound and LAN and USB 2.0 x 4
Price $78

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127015
ABIT IL9 Pro LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard
Just about exactly the same as the above board but price is a little higher at around $85 i havent used this brand before though so perhaps someone else can give an idea to which is better product between MSI and ABIT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131048
ASUS P5LD2 R2.0 LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard
This one would be my board of choice althought the price is higher at $105 but i've had nothing but great luck with ASUS boards.
Unlike the others this has 3PCI slots,3 PCI-E x1 slots and one PCI-E x16 slot.
Also has 4 USB ports onboard LAN and support 4GB of memory.

All the above board also support the newer Core 2 Duo's so should make future upgrades a breeze.Hope this helps you out man.Good luck

[jfkcotter]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131048
ASUS P5LD2 R2.0 LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard
This one would be my board of choice althought the price is higher at $105 but i've had nothing but great luck with ASUS boards.
Unlike the others this has 3PCI slots,3 PCI-E x1 slots and one PCI-E x16 slot.
Also has 4 USB ports onboard LAN and support 4GB of memory.

Great recommendation - Thanks a lot. Got one on craigslist last night - $78. Picking it up Saturday.

Can I ask which PCI/e video card you'd suggest for this rig?

You have been a great help.

[FastGame]

What are you looking for in video card ? for what reasons did you choose the Matrox 750 over the other's in the begining ?

[jfkcotter]

Re Matrox 750

1. It was the only one that had twin DVI heads. I always use two monitors
2. It wasn't ATI - ATI always give me problems
3. Price was right :)
4. I had a Matrox 450 in my office setup.

Thanks

[bhxtyrant]

Re Matrox 750

1. It was the only one that had twin DVI heads. I always use two monitors
2. It wasn't ATI - ATI always give me problems
3. Price was right :)
4. I had a Matrox 450 in my office setup.

Thanks

What are your main uses of your system?Do you use alot of heavy graphical programs like 3D animation or design,or plan to use it for gaming and things of that nature?

[jfkcotter]

Office work and Videos.

No 3D, no gaming.

[bhxtyrant]

Office work and Videos.

No 3D, no gaming.

Video's as in just watching?or also editing and encoding?

[jfkcotter]

Videos - Watching but the occasional short clip work with Movie Maker and Nero for Youtube.

[bhxtyrant]

This one looks like it would suit your needs well and from what i read about your previous card is a good big step above in performance as well.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2412163&Sku=P450-7868
XFX GeForce 7600 GS / 256MB GDDR2 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card

Has dual DVI imputs and HDTV/S-video
2048 x 1536 @ 85Hz (Analog) max res
256MB GDDR2 onboard ram
PCI-E 16x
Also support SLI which is a nice plus and only $70

[jfkcotter]

Nice card. Never seen that befoe. I'll order it as soon as I get home.

You guys have been a great help.

I'll have this up and running by next week and I'll report back.

Once again, big thanks

[Grim]

I'm sorry to be the Make shift Nijna I always am, but I cant help it ;p

Dude, what makes you say your motherboard is dying slowly? What component of it seems to be going?
Perhaps you could.. fix it. :|