What motherboard should i go with?

[mizner07]

I am building my very first cpu and i trying to make sure that i dont mess it up. I have decided to go with a AMD 64 X2 4200 2.2 Ghz for mr processor. Now i am trying to figure out motherboard i should get to go along with my AMD processor. I am looking to spend around 200-250 dollars on the motherboard. I am looking to play lots of games, photoshop, and downloading on my cpu. So if i could get some imput that would be allsome.

These are some of the motherboards i hvae been looking at, Gigabyte M59SLI-S5 NVIDIA, Asus M2N32, do these look like some good picks? Also are there any brands that i should not go with?

 

[an51r]

sckt 939 or am2, i have the biostar 6100-939 and its got lots of oc options if ur interested in oc plus its been super stable but its only 70 bucks

 

[Phrantic]

Alright first things first, the term 'cpu' is not equivalent to 'computer' but it in fact means central processing unit, so in short, your processor.

And secondly, I think 9 out of 10 people here will recommend you an Intel Core 2 Duo instead of an AMD processor. They're cheaper and much better. Why exactly have you decided to go with the AMD?

 

[mizner07]

The "cpu" typing was a miss print, my bad. Because AMD's are now cheaper now because of the release of Intels core 2 Duo cpu's. So i can get a faster processor for less, also alot of people have tould me that is a good choice. Do you think it isn't? If you think i should go with Intel Core 2 Duo, then please tell me what motherboard i should go with if i decide togo that way.

 

[Phrantic]

Well your AMD 64 X2 4200 would cost you $174 at newegg.
The cheapest Core 2 Duo, E6300, would cost you $181. So you can hardly say that the AMD processor is beneficial in price.

This article sums up pretty much how powerful this processor is. A very striking and all-saying line can be found on the sixth page of that article; "Conroe only won 35 out of the 37 tests! I am sticking with AMD."

On top of that, it's been said that the E6300 overclocks very far, up to a whopping 200% of its clock speed (with an aftermarket cooler).

The most commonly used 775 motherboards on this forum are Gigabyte DS3 ($135), Asus P5B-E ($151) and P5B Deluxe ($183) and the nForce 680i SLi ($250). All fitting within your budget, and overclockable to ****.

 

[Nagasama]

the 4200 is a good choice (see my sig heh heh)...i frikkin love mine. and if intel came out with a chip 3x as fast, i would still love it...ftw!
but, from ground up, you would be better to go with the conroe. at least, if you plan to overclock....if not, go amd. their stock cpu's are fantastic.
by the way, a x2 3800 will provide you with generally (and i'm not talking benchmarks or framerates or overclocking or blah blah blah...but what you can actually see as you are using the computer in an everyday situation) the same performance (slightly less maybe...4200 > e6300 > 3800) as an e6300, and it costs 40-50 dollars less. so, no phrantic, they're not cheaper (maybe better lol). if you are on a budget 40-50 is a substatial difference. plus, with the 3800 you will get almost the same overclock as a 4200. granted, you will not get the same overclock results, i.e 800+mhz, with amd as i am reading about with these conroe chips (unless you get the screwed up one, lol).
in any event, they're both great cpu's (c2d and x2).
if you decide to go with amd:
that much bread you can get whatever board you want. i've heard that dfi's are the best overclockers. gb and asus both good brands from what i gather.
if you decide to go with c2d, you will probably like it as well.
plus, i heard that you get a big piece of cardboard and breakdancing instructions when you order one. sweet!
good luck!

 

[mizner07]

i have decided to go with the intel core 2 duo E6400, because of the performance difference. I still havent figured out waht motherboard to go with. I am looking very hard and i just cant figure out what motherboard i want for around 100-200 dollars. Also if you have any suggestions about a graphics card that would be great.