Budget Motherboard Choices

blibbax · Sep 27, 2008, 09:39 AM

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard in the coming months, but have a busget of just £40 to do so. The board needs to support an E2220 and an IDE hard drive.

My main priorities are reliability, stability and overclockability. Room to move to 4gb of DDR2 800 in the futurw ould also be nice, but it isn't essential.

My current shortlist is:

Is there anything I should know about any of these options?
Does anyone have any good / bad experiences?
Are there other products I should be considering?
Is buying a £40 mobo to OC a form of suicide?

Thanks in advance for your help and advise.

GigaWatt · Sep 27, 2008, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibbax

Is buying a £40 mobo to OC a form of suicide?

in a way, it is, first of all, most cheap boards don't even have that many overclocking options, secondly (they don't whan you to overclock, burn their board and then ask for a money back guarantee

), if you do happen to overclock it, the results woun't be that good. if the motherboard boots up (if it does at all), then the gains from that overclocking aren't going to be that good, will probably freeze while working or while booting the operating system. besides, the results from the overclocking will not be that different from the original settings, i.e. you probably woun't have a great increse in performance.

i once did that on a cheap PIII motherboard, the CPU could take the pressure, it was a 733MHz PIII Copermind processor, but the motherborad didn't so the system kept crashing all the time, froze while loading WinXP...

blibbax · Sep 27, 2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

in a way, it is, first of all, most cheap boards don't even have that many overclocking options, secondly (they don't whan you to overclock, burn their board and then ask for a money back guarantee

), if you do happen to overclock it, the results woun't be that good. if the motherboard boots up (if it does at all), then the gains from that overclocking aren't going to be that good, will probably freeze while working or while booting the operating system. besides, the results from the overclocking will not be that different from the original settings, i.e. you probably woun't have a great increse in performance.

i once did that on a cheap PIII motherboard, the CPU could take the pressure, it was a 733MHz PIII Copermind processor, but the motherborad didn't so the system kept crashing all the time, froze while loading WinXP...

A few review I've read suggest that overclocking is very possible on these boards. I don't expect DFi lanparty level of overclocking, 25% woul be nice. Also, things have changed much since the days of socket 478, let alone P3s.

GigaWatt · Sep 27, 2008, 07:22 PM

whell, im still stuck in those days. mised the 478 socket days (cash problems...), so i guess my opinion doesn't matter any more

. anyway, i would recommend the Asus board, it has an onboard GeForce 7000 series card, so i gues it would be the best choice out of those motherboards. also, it's probaly the motherboard (from those on the list) that would have the most overclocking options, i don't think MSI boards have many overclocking options, correct if i'm wrong...

**kris23** · Sep 27, 2008, 07:34 PM

upgrading part by part is a dead end pretty much....

why do you need a new motherboard?

blibbax · Sep 28, 2008, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

whell, im still stuck in those days. mised the 478 socket days (cash problems...), so i guess my opinion doesn't matter any more

. anyway, i would recommend the Asus board, it has an onboard GeForce 7000 series card, so i gues it would be the best choice out of those motherboards. also, it's probaly the motherboard (from those on the list) that would have the most overclocking options, i don't think MSI boards have many overclocking options, correct if i'm wrong...

I don't neeed any onboard video - I have a 9600GT, but thanks for the reccomendation anyhow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris23

upgrading part by part is a dead end pretty much....

why do you need a new motherboard?

Because I want to be able to overclock, to have room to fit faster ram, have compatibility with wolfdale processors for future upgrades, etc. etc.

Upgrading part by part is inferior to doing a whole system and keeping it for a while then going again. However, I'd like to get this PC to the state where I will be able to live with it for a couple of years.

I could keep the old board I'm using now. Do you think that £40 is worth it for a boost in processor performance, and more upgradability?

Liqourice · Sep 28, 2008, 02:54 PM

Well, if that's what you want, to be able to OC and to have a more future proff motherboard, then the budget ones just won't be good enough. That's what budget means.

You'd be putting yourself in a corner, finding out when you upgrade other hardware that you'll have to get a new motherboard yet again to be able to use that hardware to the fullest.

Matth · Sep 28, 2008, 04:33 PM

Just depends, unless changing the motherboard NOW allows you to do something more right now, better to leave it until you are ready to make whatever other change requires it - they are only going to get better (unless you require features that are being "legacied"), as there is a trend to dispose of PATA altogether, and the chipset native PATA is generally a safer bet with some devices than some of the cards.

For instance, who knows when the next FSB step will be, or even IF it will be, as the next Intel line is moving to a new socket.

**kris23** · Sep 28, 2008, 05:23 PM

yup LGA 1366 means no FSB anymore

blibbax · Sep 28, 2008, 10:13 PM

Hmmm. Well, thank for your advise all, I'll stick with what I have now. I guess I can live without an OC, and motherbords should only get cheaper. Providing that the next gen of mobos supprt IDE HDDs, I should be fine. And I suppose I'll want to buy a new HDD eventually anyway.

Sep 27, 2008, 09:39 AM	#1
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,250 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Budget Motherboard Choices Hi, I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard in the coming months, but have a busget of just £40 to do so. The board needs to support an E2220 and an IDE hard drive. My main priorities are reliability, stability and overclockability. Room to move to 4gb of DDR2 800 in the futurw ould also be nice, but it isn't essential. My current shortlist is: MSI P31 Neo-F iP31 Gigabyte GA-P31-S3G iP31 XFX nForce 610i Asus P5N-MX Motherboard LGA775 GeForce7050/nForce610i MSI P6NGM-FD, nForce-630i+GF7100 Is there anything I should know about any of these options? Does anyone have any good / bad experiences? Are there other products I should be considering? Is buying a £40 mobo to OC a form of suicide? Thanks in advance for your help and advise.

Sep 27, 2008, 07:22 PM	#4
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	whell, im still stuck in those days. mised the 478 socket days (cash problems...), so i guess my opinion doesn't matter any more . anyway, i would recommend the Asus board, it has an onboard GeForce 7000 series card, so i gues it would be the best choice out of those motherboards. also, it's probaly the motherboard (from those on the list) that would have the most overclocking options, i don't think MSI boards have many overclocking options, correct if i'm wrong... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

Sep 27, 2008, 07:34 PM	#5
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,019 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	upgrading part by part is a dead end pretty much.... why do you need a new motherboard? __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Sep 28, 2008, 04:33 PM	#8
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	Just depends, unless changing the motherboard NOW allows you to do something more right now, better to leave it until you are ready to make whatever other change requires it - they are only going to get better (unless you require features that are being "legacied"), as there is a trend to dispose of PATA altogether, and the chipset native PATA is generally a safer bet with some devices than some of the cards. For instance, who knows when the next FSB step will be, or even IF it will be, as the next Intel line is moving to a new socket. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Sep 28, 2008, 05:23 PM	#9
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,019 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	yup LGA 1366 means no FSB anymore __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Sep 28, 2008, 02:54 PM	#7
Liqourice HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Stockholm Posts: 1,715 Rep Power: 98 System Specs	Well, if that's what you want, to be able to OC and to have a more future proff motherboard, then the budget ones just won't be good enough. That's what budget means. You'd be putting yourself in a corner, finding out when you upgrade other hardware that you'll have to get a new motherboard yet again to be able to use that hardware to the fullest.

Sep 28, 2008, 10:13 PM	Thread Starter #10
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,250 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Hmmm. Well, thank for your advise all, I'll stick with what I have now. I guess I can live without an OC, and motherbords should only get cheaper. Providing that the next gen of mobos supprt IDE HDDs, I should be fine. And I suppose I'll want to buy a new HDD eventually anyway.