Chipset choice overwhelming

[HondaF1]

Hi,
I will be building a new computer soon. the computer will mainly be used for things like media, not much of games, a little bit, something like a medium graphics intense game, and things like a nice video card, nice sound card, and things like media editing and video input and a TV tuner card. I am looking for as much USB ports as possible.

the choice of chipsets out there are overwhelming. I have great experience in building a computer, but mainly all the ones I have built are from scrap parts and dumped motherboards, so I really had no choice as to the chipset.


But this time I will be choosing a chipset. Can someone pelase list in no specific order, the manufacturers out there that make chipsets,just the oens that make good chipsets, like Intel, as it is a good idea (is it?) to look at the chipset first, then the motherboard.





Note: I apologize if this topic is too general and boring, but I have tried searching everywhere and cannot find a decent answer.

Note: I am confused as to get a legacy free board or not, as I will be using things like wireless keyabords, and those things, Ps2 ports are useless.




Or wait, please just tell me the manufacturers that make legacy free boards and what is the best chipset available now?

 

[HondaF1]

And another question, this will help me greatly in my choice of motherboards. WHich manufacturer makes the most motherboards and has the greatest experience, and which one makes the most motherboards, all from the simplest to the best one, and which manufacturer has the largest selection?

 

[HondaF1]

And another question, this will help me greatly in my choice of motherboards. WHich manufacturer makes the most motherboards and has the greatest experience, and which one makes the most motherboards, all from the simplest to the best one, and which manufacturer has the largest selection?

 

[Connoisseur]

Although I understand you are overwhelmed, you have to be more specific about your requirements. What is your target price? Are you willing to consider AMD or are you strictly in the Intel camp? Will you be overclocking this system?

For AMD: Since this isn't going to be a hardcore gaming system, I suggest an Athlon XP. Great performance and it won't cost you nearly the amount of money as an equally rated Intel chip. Also doesn't have the premium of the new Athlon 64's. If you're going Athlon XP, then I suggest sticking with an NForce 2 Ultra board. These are the most stable and feature rich chipsets available for Athlons. If you're into overclocking I suggest an Abit NF7-S rev.2. If you're going for straight stability at default speeds, just about any nForce 2 board will do (EPox, Shuttle, MSI, Biostar, Asus etc.) since they're all based on the reference design. You won't really find a board that's free of PS2 (keyboard and mouse) ports. However, nForce 2 boards generally come with at least 4 rear usb 2.0 ports and connectors on the chipset to enable 2 front 2.0 ports. For firewire, you have to rely on an audio card or use the connector on the mobo to hook up to a firewire port. Also, firewire pci cards are pretty cheap and add IEEE1394 support.

For Intel: You generally have a choice between Intel, Sis, and Via boards. I suggest sticking with intel since they seem to make the most stable boards for their own chips. If you're overclocking I suggest getting a P4 2.4C which can hit speeds of around 3.2Ghz on the default heatsink. Once again, if overclocking go with Abit. Otherwise, you can go with any other board (Asus, Epox, Shuttle etc.) since they're based on the Intel ref. design. As far as features go they're the same as I listed above for the AMD board.

For memory: If you're overclocking, I recommend Corsair XMS, Mushkin Black, OCZ Plantium, or Kingston HyperX. If not you can go with lower priced alternatives which are still extremely stable at default speeds such as Kingston ValueRam, Crucial, Mushkin Blue etc.. I suggest getting at least PC3200 and at least 512mb.... 1 Gig is preferrable.

For graphics: I would personally suggest a radeon 9600 pro or a Radeon 9800 Pro depending on your budget and gaming needs. Get the Radeon 9800 if you want to play intensive games...Otherwise, the 9600 will do just fine. I believe both come with TV out

For TV-tuner: What quality do you want for the tuner? at newegg they're selling the feature rich Leadtek Winfast TV2000xp deluxe tuner card for $42. This should take care of your PVR needs. however, if you want to go with higher quality, you should look to a hauppague PVR250 or PVR350...these come with a hefty premium tho.

For Sound: For best overall sound, you should stick with a Sound Blaster Audigy 2zs.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to be as clear as possible. I apologize for not being so clear about the Intel boards but I frankly don't know much about them since I'm an AMD fan . Hope this helps.

 

[HondaF1]

I will figure out the Video card, sound card, and Tv Tuner parts myself.


*****The main focus of this compter will be for mainly stuff like multimedia, and such a computer should be able to play medium graphics intense games I believe*****


As for the procesor, I think I will stick with the Intel P4, because I believe it is better for multimedia stuff? (Correct me if I am wrong please) Or with my focus described above, do you suggest I stick with the Athlon XP?


Fro the benchmarks that I have seen, I realy cannot figure certain things out, all the close results of teh different processors are just too close.


Another question: Do AMD boards come with Intel 8xx chipsets?????

 

[jerome12345]

amd processors use non-intel chipsets
intel processors use intel 8xx or other company chipsets

 

[Schadenfroh]

brand wise, the ones i go for are as follows

on AMD system: nvidia chipset
on Intel system: Intel chipset