Good Cheap Motherboard

[Tommy1402]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can suggest some good cheap (under $100) new release Motherboards...

I want to build a gaming system but my budget force me to make some limitations..:)

Thanks a lot for any suggestions!!

[saphalline]

Are we talking Intel or AMD here?

There are plenty of sub-$100 mobo's out there, but it would be better to know your total budget and any other parts you have or are planning to buy. That way we can advise on the whole system, instead of just one component.

[Tommy1402]

Well, actually both of Intel and AMD.
I need a good cheap mobo which could last for perhaps 3-5 years also. The newest AMD right now is socket 939 and AM2, I don't know about intel though.

I have created a list but I hope someone could suggest me to maximized it:

Mobo: ECS RS485M-M, is this board good enough?
Proc : Athlon 64 3000
RAM : DDR2 512Mb
VGA : GF 6200
HDD : SATA 1.0 80Gb

Thanks!

[saphalline]

Is this going to be for gaming or what? Also what is your total budget and expectation for this new system?

AMD's new socket is AM2. 939 is dead. Intel's new socket is LGA 775. Both have relatively cheap chipsets out there for budget gaming down through onboard video. And everything is going to be SATA 300 and DDR2 these days, so keep that in mind. I'm thinking if you picked out the lowly GF 6200, then onboard video would be fine, correct?

[Tommy1402]

For gaming actually.
My current PC can't play game from 2007 anymore, so basically I just want to play game from 2007 or more.

I only upgrade Processor, Mobo, VGA and Memory, and my current budget is only $166

But if the onboard video is as fine as GF 6200, then I'll upgrade the video later.
My priority right now is Mobo which could last 3-5 years.

So, what I need is:
Mobo which has nice onboard video,
Mobo which support the latest processor and future processor,

if you can suggest mobo better than ECS RS485M-M and below $100 please let me know...

Thanks a lot!

[saphalline]

Onboard video of any kind is a bit anemic for gaming, but if you don't have the money then you don't have the money. I understand that. Just keep in mind that even with onboard video, you can't fit a mobo & CPU & RAM into $166. At least, not any hardware that will be gaming-worthy and upgradeable for the next few years.

I offer this mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130078) for your consideration.

[Tommy1402]

it's a great mobo. One question, can I put DDR1 into it ?
if I can, then I could save some more bucks. hehe..

And after some explorations about Processor, right now Core2Duo beat AMD. So, I change my mind to buy mobo that support core2duo

Thx for your suggestion.

So, to me it's allright whether the mobo price is high as long as it has longer live than cheaper one.

[saphalline]

No, that mobo supports DDR2 only. All the latest mobo's do. And DDR2 is actually cheaper than DDR now, especially in the 1GB or larger modules.

Well, that mobo is Core 2 Duo only, pretty much. You can put a Celeron D or other LGA 775 CPU in there, but it really shines with a C2D. I went with Intel only since Intel's new onboard video is one of the best in terms of feature support and performance. And then later you can add a PCIe x16 vid card.

[Tommy1402]

Hey, I just found a store in my country which accept a credit payment for that board. I'll buy it right away.