Re: Gotta keep it under $200 total

Dave wrote:
I have an aging Intel 2.4GHz P4 system at the moment that desperately needs upgrading, however (as usual) funds are limited. I have to keep things under $200.

After a lot of research, I am looking at the following and was looking for opinions:

GIGABYTE GA-M78SM-S2H AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Newegg links are:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128340
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103212

Total with shipping is $192.56

I'm going with this motherboard because I already have a Gigabyte motherboard and I've been happy with it. It has dual onboard video to run both my monitors until I can afford a PCIe graphics card. My primary HDD is already a SATA drive, so I can keep my two IDE DVD burners.

Once I get the system up and running, I plan to sell my old parts and buy a dedicated video card and more memory.

My main concern with boards like the GA-M78SM-S2H, is whether they
support two monitors simultaneously or not. For example, there is an
Asus board, where you move some jumpers (DVI or HDMI, but not both
at the same time). And I can find very few reviews for the boards
with 730a/GF8200, so I can't confirm anything. I looked at some
Asus boards using the same chipset, and have the same problem.
Very few customer reviews.

If you're willing to throw in a small amount of cash for a separate
PCI Express video card, you can connect two monitors to one of those.
The cheapest card I can find today is $15.99 after rebate. The only
problem with cards like that, is whether the connectors on the
faceplate, match your two monitors in capability or not. If you're
looking for two DVI-D connectors (for LCDs that only have
DVI connectors on them), then the price will likely be higher.

In terms of your choice of a 4800+ with 65W processor, that is
probably a safe choice. If you were getting a 6400+ or a
high end Phenom, some of those are pretty power hungry, and
the cheapest of motherboards are not up to the task. But the
4800+ will likely run with anything.

So the main potential disappointment I could see, is only
getting to run one monitor with your initial purchase. Time
will tell...

Paul
.

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