Curse

ducktape · Apr 23, 2008, 05:09 PM // 17:09

My old AGP-based system had the AGP port die so now I need to gut and replace my system. I don't really care what I buy as long as it will run:

a Radeon card
a Core2Duo
some Corsair memory
and my IDE drives.

Also needs to be affordable, like under $150 if possible. Any board that would not constantly be on the verge of melting due to high temperatures would be a big plus as well. I do not overclock so I don't need anything loaded with bling. I just want something that will be reliable.

I was going to buy an ASUS but apparently they suck horribly now unless you are spending over $200. Lots of reports of ASUS boards that randomly reboot or won't ever boot the first time and need several boot attempts each day, as well as having compatibility problems from crap BIOS releases that also are apparently good at completely killing boards when you update. Guess I don't want an ASUS?

I was looking at MSI boards but apparently all their decent ones use the Nforce chipsets, and I'm not sure if the 'haet ur radeon' problems got worked out so that you can have system stability running a Radeon on an Nforce board. Nforce boards seem to be the best in general for non-uber boards, but I am not sure if that would work for me to use.

Any suggestions and advice are really appreciated, my eyes are going to fall out from reading so many forums and reviews o_0.

Big John Thomas · Apr 23, 2008, 07:20 PM // 19:20

I've used Asus for years now and never had any problem at all,currently on a P5B deluxe.A good choice for a budget system would be http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Mo...ProductID=2779 which you can get for about £45 in the UK so should come in well under $150

Maverick2201 · Apr 24, 2008, 04:05 PM // 16:05

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059

FTW - best customer rating on newegg and has an IDE socket for up to 2 drives...

ducktape · Apr 25, 2008, 05:50 PM // 17:50

Thanks! I hadn't thought of Gigabyte, and when I looked at that one I couldn't find the Corsair ram that was on their QVL list so I was kinda pissed. Then I went to the Corsair site and they had a nice dual channel kit listed that they had successfully tested with that Gigabyte board so I was happy then. Now I just have to wait until monday for my stuff to get here, probably gonna miss all the birthday stuff in GW this weekend :/

eggrolls · Apr 26, 2008, 12:44 AM // 00:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by ducktape

My old AGP-based system had the AGP port die so now I need to gut and replace my system. I don't really care what I buy as long as it will run:

a Radeon card
a Core2Duo
some Corsair memory
and my IDE drives.

What exactly are you salvaging from your AGP based system? Is your "Radeon card" AGP or is it a new PCI-e card you already bought? Is the "some Corsair memory" from your old system or new sticks? Are they DDR or DDR2?

The way I interpreted your post is that all of that stuff is from your old computer. In that case, some things may not be compatible...

ducktape · Apr 28, 2008, 05:40 PM // 17:40

No, the only thing I'm keeping from the AGP system is the hard drive and dvd drive. I know my other old stuff won't work, that's why I had never gotten around to upgrading my stuff, I didn't feel like replacing everything unless I had to. Now it's broken so I -have- to! XD. Was just looking for recommendations on a motherboard.

Thanks again for the people who recommended the gigabyte board, can't wait to put my stuff together when it gets here today.

Snograt · Apr 28, 2008, 06:35 PM // 18:35

I wouldn't use the salvaged HDD as the sole drive or boot drive. Just use it as a slave.

DVD writers are also ten-a-penny, you will find even a modestly priced system will likely come with one that's better/faster/does-very-odd-lightscriby-things.