on board video/sound quest?

[tchaapel]

New to this forum, from what I have read it's a great resource.

I am building my 14 yr old daugter a system of her own. She is not into gaming...she will most likely be doing music downloading, cd's, word processing, surfing, digital pictures, etc.

Based on performance vs. price I have pretty much decided on the AMD T-Bird 1.4 chip.

What are the pros and cons of choosing a motherboard with on-board video, sound, ethernet, etc.

Thanks in advance.

TC

[Paleo Pete]

Pros:

Price.
Easy to install.
Fewer components to buy.

Cons:

Upgrading later can be a hassle.
Quite often inferior quality.
Performance often inferior to add-on cards.
Drivers can sometimes be a problem to find.
Identification can be difficult when you need to find drivers.
Disabling onboard components, if necessary, can be a pain at best and a nightmare at worst. Some cooperate, some don't.

Most of us usually try to steer away from onboard components, but in some instances they can be preferable to add-on cards, especially for a new builder, since installation and configuration are often much easier. If the intended user is not into serious gaming or video/audio editing, the performance might not be a major issue.

Bottom line is how much are you willing to spend and how deep are you willing to get into building a computer? If you want to get in there and "get your hands dirty" so to speak, bite the bullet and spring for a couple of add-in components. If you're unsure about building and want it as quick and painless as possible, settle for onboard.

Next time around you'll know more about it and invariably people much prefer add-on cards once they get some experience and want performance too...Either way you know where to get help.

Check back later, I'm sure others will pop in with more comments and opinions.

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[tchaapel]

thanks Pete...good advice.

TC

[mjc]

Some of the newer onboard solutions are offering very good performance..namely those with the Nvidia onboard graphics, not quite upto the performance level of a discrete video card, but much better than previous. The same is going for some of the newer onboard sound solutions.

So for a mostly internet/music/non-game machine it may be a viable option.

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mjc
Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[tchaapel]

any mobo suggestions

[nev]

I built a cheapo computer for a mate over a year ago, onboard everything, sound, graphics and modem, I used the pc chips matx board, It was a bloody nightmare to get all the drivers on a running ok but once I did its been fine right up to today, Its probably the cheapest way forward .
Nev

[kayofcircles]

I am having problems with a mobo with onboard Savage, so I would echo what mjc said about looking for NVidia instead. Also, you didn't say what OS you were planning to use. Our mobo manufacturer is phasing out support for 98 and 98SE..so updated drivers and BIOS are no longer available..food for thought. If you see a good deal on a mobo..go and check the manufacturer's website for support and drivers. Just make sure they're gonna actually "be there" for you just in case you need them.

[tchaapel]

great answers guys. Thank you.

Got a recommendation from a friend of mine just about an hour ago.

ECS K7S5A w/ the SIS 735 chipset...has onboard sound, I would add a moderate graphics card such as the Nvidia Riva.

comments on the mobo

TC

[rond36]

You may want to look into this one:

Asus A7N266-VM NVIDIA nFORCE 220 Chipset 266/200MHz FSB Motherboard ATX-
Supports Socket A AMD Duron, Athlon, and Athlon XP up to 1900+ and beyond
2 DIMM slots and up to 1GB of PC2100/1600 non ECC DDR memory support
Integrated Audio AC97and Dolby Digital (AC-3) Encoder
10/100 Mbps LAN controller
3 PCI slots, 2 USB ports, 2 on adapter card and 1 AGP Pro/4x slot.
This board has it all onboard video, audio, and NIC and it supports all socket A processors.

Only $77.00 at newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=22&manufactory=1315&DEPA=1) There are three A7N266 boards on the page priced from $77.00-$139.00 the difference is the graphic chip set.

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How to Use Fdisk and Format to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867)
How to multi-boot Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/multiboot.asp)
Microsoft Expert Zone Multi-booting made easy (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/september10.asp)
MSKB How to multi-boot Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q306559)

[rond36]

The discription of this board on newegg's site is incorrect it is a Micro ATX board

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How to Use Fdisk and Format to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867)
How to multi-boot Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/multiboot.asp)
Microsoft Expert Zone Multi-booting made easy (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/september10.asp)
MSKB How to multi-boot Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q306559)

[iisbob]

Take my advice, don't use the onboard sound on the K7S5A-it's crappy! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/mad.gif

Instead, by something like an inexpensive Soundblaster 16 PCI card-you'll thank me later for it!

{ or better yet, get a Turtle beach santa cruz-you'll really thank me later! }

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif



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iisbob

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.-Mark Twain

[Nooyawkah]

If your daughter is into downloading music files, it would seem appropriate to steer clear of onboard sound. The audio card, cd-rw (or latest mp3 gadget) and speakers will be most important to her. You will find Soundblaster Live 5.1 at many Internet sights for $25-30. Really worth it!

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They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
---Edgar Allan Poe