ATX Motherboard and CPU Suggestions Needed

aforonda · 2006-05-03, 19:39

This is the first HTPC i've ever built, It's gonna be a full sized computer. I need to know what motherboard/cpu I should get for it, your thoughts are greatly appreciated i'm in the usa.

I've got a cheap NGC atx/at ready full tower case that comes with a 450w power supply.

EVGA e-GeForce 7600 GS Nvidia vid card

Haupauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit with NTSC TV Tuner and Media Center Remote Control

DirectTV customer.

Thanks,
Adolfo

Efros · 2006-05-03, 23:07

How long is a piece of string? But seriously I would go for an athlon/sempron 64 3000+ and above. at least 512Mb if not more. As to mobos, I have a preference for MSI nForce boards, they have all sorts of bells and whistles 4 SATA, 2 IDE, 1394, gigabit LAN, flash protection recovery, very slick utilities and more USBs than you can shake a stick at, and thats on an old NForce 3 Platinum board I have. I use an old ECS K7s5a pro board with an athlon xp oced to 2.2 GHz with 640 Mb of RAM for my MP box, it sucks but it does the job until I can convince the wife that it's too slow!

aforonda · 2006-05-04, 00:03

where do you prefer to shop for these types of items?

Efros · 2006-05-04, 00:08

I'm in the US so Newegg is a must, fast shipping and excellent prices. I just got a 320 Gb drive from there for $110.

aforonda · 2006-05-07, 00:35

how bout geeks.com?

aforonda · 2006-05-07, 00:38

Wow pcworld just came out with this best motherboard report:
http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125195,00.asp#

Efros · 2006-05-07, 00:44

I use geeks for their occasionally good sale items, I bought a USB to IDE adapter there for 10 dollars a couple of months ago, included a psu too. But for major items I prefer Newegg. They also have an extensive review system for most of their items and after reading a few of them you can quickly get the drift of other users experience with the item you're looking at.

2006-05-03, 19:39	#1 (permalink)
aforonda Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	ATX Motherboard and CPU Suggestions Needed This is the first HTPC i've ever built, It's gonna be a full sized computer. I need to know what motherboard/cpu I should get for it, your thoughts are greatly appreciated i'm in the usa. I've got a cheap NGC atx/at ready full tower case that comes with a 450w power supply. EVGA e-GeForce 7600 GS Nvidia vid card Haupauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit with NTSC TV Tuner and Media Center Remote Control DirectTV customer. Thanks, Adolfo

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2006-05-03, 23:07	#2 (permalink)
Efros Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 464 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	How long is a piece of string? But seriously I would go for an athlon/sempron 64 3000+ and above. at least 512Mb if not more. As to mobos, I have a preference for MSI nForce boards, they have all sorts of bells and whistles 4 SATA, 2 IDE, 1394, gigabit LAN, flash protection recovery, very slick utilities and more USBs than you can shake a stick at, and thats on an old NForce 3 Platinum board I have. I use an old ECS K7s5a pro board with an athlon xp oced to 2.2 GHz with 640 Mb of RAM for my MP box, it sucks but it does the job until I can convince the wife that it's too slow!

2006-05-04, 00:03	#3 (permalink)
aforonda Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	where do you prefer to shop for these types of items?

2006-05-04, 00:08	#4 (permalink)
Efros Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 464 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	I'm in the US so Newegg is a must, fast shipping and excellent prices. I just got a 320 Gb drive from there for $110.

2006-05-07, 00:35	#5 (permalink)
aforonda Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	how bout geeks.com?

2006-05-07, 00:38	#6 (permalink)
aforonda Portal Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Wow pcworld just came out with this best motherboard report: http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125195,00.asp#

2006-05-07, 00:44	#7 (permalink)
Efros Portal Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 464 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	I use geeks for their occasionally good sale items, I bought a USB to IDE adapter there for 10 dollars a couple of months ago, included a psu too. But for major items I prefer Newegg. They also have an extensive review system for most of their items and after reading a few of them you can quickly get the drift of other users experience with the item you're looking at.