Need Suggestions for a Solid, Stable AM2 Board

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GoodNews101

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This system I will be building is a non-gaming, non-overclocking rig for the purposes of Window Office work, Windows Publishing, video and picture editing, online banking, DVD burning, internet surfing, downloading music and other things, and other applications such as Quick Books.

I have done a lot of research into AM2 boards but there is so much out there it makes my head spin. Plus a number of them seem to be picky about RAM while some others have issues with certain X2 cores.

Why AM2? To take advantage of AMD's huge price drop in their X2 chips. I figure with what it will be used for it should last me for some time, thus my desire for a solid, steady and reliable motherboard.

I did look seriously into the Asus M2N-E nForce 570 Ultra MCP but I have read online of MANY people having issues with this board even at stock settings.

Desired Parameters:

1. Buget: $75 - $125

2. No onboard video.

3. Can do at least 8 Gigs of RAM (for the future); but 4 Gigs is definitely doable.

Thanks.
 
The onboard video is always able to be disabled pretty much. They wouldn't add a PCI-E slot if it couldn't. Gigabyte make very good boards the price and that is a one he linked, I would go with it.
 
my board:
Newegg.com - ABIT KN9 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
ABIT kn9 ultra with nf4 chipset.
doesnt have onboard.
can do 8gb
under 75 bucks.
for the money, you cannot beat this mobo.
it is not the best overclocker (but its pretty awesome for a 75 dollar mobo). that doesnt matter to you.
it is rock solid at all stock, ie i have NEVER had a single problem with it running stock everything.
i think it will work well for you.
 
nagasama, what RAM are you using? I've read the reviews at NewEgg and it seems that this board is picky with the RAM selection.

Also, the nVidia firewall also seems to cause much BSOD's, but when hasn't it? ;)
 
i use corsair xms2 ddr2-800 C4 version.
it boots fine with the 1.85 volts supplied by the mobo stock, although you should raise it to 1.9 if using 5-5-5-18 timings or to 2.1+ if using 4-4-4-12.
it may be picky with RAM that doesnt post at less than 2.1v. as a rule of thimb, most people who post reviews at newegg dont know sh*t. they're Ram doesnt post at 4-4-4-12 because they havent upped the voltage, which is clearly stated on the corsair website. mostly dumbness.
you dont have to install the nvidia firewall, in fact...i suggest that you do not.
i read that there were problems with it, too...i didnt install it, no problems.
 
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