Recommend a good motherboard & CPU

[OlympusMons]

I'll be building a system designed mainly for office and business but I want to be prepared to support 64bit apps and Windows when they come out. Can anyone recommend a good ATX mb and CPU combo? I don't want a entry level mb but I don't necessarily need buy top of the line either. I'm thinking something at least 3GHz and will support 1GB of RAM or more.

I've been looking at AMD and ASUS ..... like this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...ry_slc.asp?Recs=30&Nav=|c:1619|&Sort=1

but that's a little more than I wanted to spend.

I also liked this one (half the price):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...item-details.asp?EdpNo=1350641&CatId=0


Thanks!

 

[kitkat22]

You're likely to find cheaper if you shop around. That combo was about $15 cheaper at newegg. I'm sure zzf or monarch will have more competitive prices as well. What are you looking to spend?

 

[OlympusMons]

Crap. Sorry for the dealyed response. I forgot to subscribe to this thread.

Price is secondary to quality. I was hoping to spend about $500 for the MB and CPU but I'm willing to go up if the quality is worth it.

 

[mOeeOm]

DFI nf4 UT-D with venice 3000+ and HF2 bundle - $371 Canadian

Exactly what you need, solid mobo and exactly the processor you need.

If you must order from newegg, here are the parts:

DFI lanparty nf4 UT-D - $135

3000+ - $146

Really, this is all you will need for ''office and business'', but if you feel it is slower, you can always OC, it overclocks to 3500+-3700+ speeds easy. Oh please don't order from tigerdirec, they are horrible, use ncix or newegg.

 

[KoolDrew]

Don't buy from TigerDirect. I would suggest the Epox board and a 3000+. The DFI board is another option and is a step ahead in terms of overclocking.

 

[OlympusMons]

Why is everyone against TigerDirect? A lot of mark up??

 

[KoolDrew]

A lot of people have had bad experiences with them.
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1983.html

Order from a more reputable vendor such as Newegg, Zipzoomfly, Monarch etc.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: OlympusMons
Why is everyone against TigerDirect? A lot of mark up??

Why their main store sucks

Why their site sucks more

Now lets compare with ncix and newegg...

Why ncix ownz

Why newegg is superior to ncix

Monarch Computers is very good too

Meh, I ordered parts from ncix, 12 parts in total to make rig, all came working fine no RMA needed, nothing missing, built the comp within few hours. I've heard some horrible stories about tigerdirect and they have horrible reviews too.

 

[OlympusMons]

Is DFI considered to be as good or better than say...ASUS?

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: OlympusMons
Is DFI considered to be as good or better than say...ASUS?

Well I can't speak for Asus, but DFI is very popular, stable and overclocks very well.

 

[OlympusMons]

Thanks. I'm not sure I'm interested in overclocking (assuming that it's something I would have to do) being a hardware novice that I am. I'd just assume by a super fast processor and be done with it. So DFI is a well respected MB maker huh?..

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: OlympusMons
Thanks. I'm not sure I'm interested in overclocking (assuming that it's something I would have to do) being a hardware novice that I am. I'd just assume by a super fast processor and be done with it. So DFI is a well respected MB maker huh?..

The DFI NF4 board is the best overclocker, but sometimes it may be a bit of a hassle getting it to work and with RAM compatibility etc. There are a lot of people with the DFI so you could get help, but the Epox NF4 Ultra board is still a good overclocker without all of the hassles sometimes caused by the DFI.

I would probably get the Epox it is still a good OCer.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: OlympusMons
Thanks. I'm not sure I'm interested in overclocking (assuming that it's something I would have to do) being a hardware novice that I am. I'd just assume by a super fast processor and be done with it. So DFI is a well respected MB maker huh?..

You don't have to overclock , yes DFI is very well respected. But if you want a budget build, you can always go for the Chaintech Only $75, it doesn't come with all the bells and whistles the other mobos come with, but it is a very solid board and well give you what you need. Chaintech is very good, but make sure you have a 24-pin PSU for the mobo .

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: OlympusMons
Thanks. I'm not sure I'm interested in overclocking (assuming that it's something I would have to do) being a hardware novice that I am. I'd just assume by a super fast processor and be done with it. So DFI is a well respected MB maker huh?..

The DFI NF4 board is the best overclocker, but sometimes it may be a bit of a hassle getting it to work and with RAM compatibility etc. There are a lot of people with the DFI so you could get help, but the Epox NF4 Ultra board is still a good overclocker without all of the hassles sometimes caused by the DFI.

I would probably get the Epox it is still a good OCer.

Ya I forgot to mention, DFI is very picky on ram, but it loves the OCZ worked fine with mine.

 

[KoolDrew]

The Chaintech is really not a good overclocker.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
The Chaintech is really not a good overclocker.

I know, he doesn't want to OC and he needs a mobo CPU for office and business...the chaintech and venice 3000+ will be enough, yes?

 

[KoolDrew]

Oh. Never-mind then. The Chaintech is a good recommendation then.

 

[OlympusMons]

Well.....I am looking for lots of muscle too. I plan on doing a lot of video editing. Sorry - I should have mentioned that. Even though it won't be a "gaming" machine, it will need to be beefy!

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: OlympusMons
Well.....I am looking for lots of muscle too. I plan on doing a lot of video editing. Sorry - I should have mentioned that. Even though it won't be a "gaming" machine, it will need to be beefy!

Heh, then how long do you want to wait? If that was the case I would wait for the 3800+ X2 to come out(dual core will help you in video editing, and see what mobo is good with it when it comes out), I believe the ETA is August 1st, don't quote me on that, just something I heard.