Arch Linux

soniX

Member

From: Oslo, Norway

Registered: 2004-01-23

Posts: 161

I need motherboard recommendations?

Hi boys and girls.
My trusty old laptop is not powerfyll enough for my needs, and I'm thinking of getting me a workstation
Problem is, I really have no clue of "whats hot, and whats not" in hardware anymore.
From what I've heard and read, the AMD X2 has lots of power for an ok price, and the AM2 socket is the one to get for this cpu..
Problem is, there are page up and page down of AM2 boards and I have no clue as to which one I should get.
Or should I go with an Intel setup instead ?
For graphics I just want a cheap silent Dual-link DVI card from nvidia, as I only need 2D and high resolution so I'm sure the cheapest one will do
I assume memory is just like before. More and fast is good (and how much and how fast relates to choice of motherboard).

The machine will be used primarily for programming, watching/ripping dvd's and perhaps as a HTPC down the road (I guess I'll also look into what this virtualisation fuzz is all about too).

any recommendations and explanations are highly appreciated
oh.. and I guess I dont really need to tell you that it will run arch

thank you
soniX

skottish

Forum Fellow

From: Here

Registered: 2006-06-16

Posts: 7,942

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

My system is:

Gigabyte GA-M55plus-S3g motherboard (AM2)
AMD X2 5200+ processor
4GB PC4200 DDR2 RAM
2 x 100GB SATA 1.5 hardrive
NVidia 7600 GT GPU (Dual link DVI)
HP Lightscribe DVD+-RW

This box runs Arch fantastically. All of the hardware works straight out of the box, with the exception of the Lightscribe functionality of the drive.

lilsirecho

Veteran

Registered: 2003-10-24

Posts: 5,000

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

skottish:

Does your setup include bios boot USB-HDD or something similar?

Sorry for intruding on the post but it is part of the possible uses for your system.

---

Prediction...This year will be a very odd year!
Hard work does not kill people but why risk it: Charlie Mccarthy
A man is not complete until he is married..then..he is finished.
When ALL is lost, what can be found? Even bytes get lonely for a little bit!     X-ray confirms Iam spineless!

skottish

Forum Fellow

From: Here

Registered: 2006-06-16

Posts: 7,942

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

Yes. USB-HDD, USB-CDROM, USB-ZIP, and USB-FDD, are all BIOS options.

lilsirecho

Veteran

Registered: 2003-10-24

Posts: 5,000

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

Excellent and thanks for the info...should help the post as well.

---

Prediction...This year will be a very odd year!
Hard work does not kill people but why risk it: Charlie Mccarthy
A man is not complete until he is married..then..he is finished.
When ALL is lost, what can be found? Even bytes get lonely for a little bit!     X-ray confirms Iam spineless!

syd

Member

From: Auckland, NZ

Registered: 2006-01-22

Posts: 155

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

AMD would be cheaper. But intel faster. I hear gigabyte are making good boards for intel at them moment and they are always a safe choice.
What ever you decide, make sure you read a few reviews on the motherboard your going to buy.

Last edited by syd (2007-03-09 02:36:55)

soniX

Member

From: Oslo, Norway

Registered: 2004-01-23

Posts: 161

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

thanks everybody. I'll probably end up with something close to skottish's setup.

@skottish: do you run arch64 or just plain arch on it ?

skottish

Forum Fellow

From: Here

Registered: 2006-06-16

Posts: 7,942

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

@skottish: do you run arch64 or just plain arch on it ?

Arch 64, and I absolutely love it.

johnisevil

Member

From: Hamilton, ON Canada

Registered: 2003-08-07

Posts: 221

Website

Re: I need motherboard recommendations?

While I'm an AMD user, a friend of mine wanted to make the jump from socket 939 to a Core 2 Duo system but had a limited budget.  For $300 CAD I was able to build him a system by only replacing CPU and motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6813157092

That's the board I used.  It has both AGP and PCI-E slots and takes both DDR and DDR2 memory making it easy to make that transition easier in steps instead of having to drop $600 or $700 on parts.  I paired that with a Core 2 Duo E4300 and the system works well using DDR memory and an AGP card.