Motherboard Form

Discussion in 'CPU, Motherboards and Memory' started by benjers_43, Apr 7, 2005.

  1. benjers_43

    benjers_43 Geek Trainee

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    Hey,
    I'm looking to upgrade my system from the crap that it is:

    To
    Atlon 64 3000+
    Gigabyte K8NS SKT 754
    512 MB RAM PC3200

    Only thing is, i currently have a case, and i would like to continue to use it, only thing is, its actually a mini-atx case, but there is still a fairly large amount of room in there, measurements are: 350mm in height, 490mm width, and 200mm breadth.. Would this be large enough to accomodate a full sized mobo? Also, I only have a 300W PSU, I am running 2 hard drives, Seagate Barracuda's 40GB and 80GB, a Radeon 9600 and will also have whats listed above, oh, there are also 2 PCI slts used up. Would 300W be enough I should i get another PSU?

    Thanks
     
  2. Waffle

    Waffle Alpha Geek

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    A 300W PSU, even if it is an Antec/Sparkle/other high quality brand, wouldn't be enough for that kind of system.

    Consider a 450W - 500W of the above brands would be a very good choice.

    I also noticed you've chosen a SKT754 board.

    They recently released A64 3000+ in SKT939 form, meaning you can get the same processor on a SKT939 board, which is much better as supports future upgrades. It's worth spending the extra £25 or so. Honestly.
     
  3. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    I agree completely. Whatever you do, don't grab some cheap $30 unit claiming 600W. Regardless of if you stay with Socket 754 or not, do yourself a huge favor and buy a quality power supply:

    -Enermax
    -OCZ
    -Fortron/Sparkle
    -Thermaltake
    -PC Power & Cooling (if you have serious cash to blow)

    For the love of all things holy, don't get:
    -PowMax
    -Ultra
    -RAIDmax
    -Pretty much any generic power supply that comes with the case. Some Antec cases come with a power supply, and while those are good, they're not targeted for people running A64 setups.

    http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=792566

    That's got a good list of what TO get and what NOT to get in terms of power supplies.

    As far as Socket 939, yes, as already mentioned, it's a much better upgrade path than Socket 754. S 754 is designated as the value socket, which is kind of a problem.

    If you want a decent S939 board, I've heard good things about the Chaintech NF4 motherboard.
     
  4. benjers_43

    benjers_43 Geek Trainee

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    Cheers guys!
    But does anyone know if i could fit an atx board in my case.
     
  5. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    I had to do some conversions, but from the measurements given, yeah, it looks like it is.

    If you've got 6-7 expasion slots total, it's an ATX motherboard in their now.
     
  6. benjers_43

    benjers_43 Geek Trainee

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  7. benjers_43

    benjers_43 Geek Trainee

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    Hey,
    I have revised my purchases to include the socket 939:

    it now looks like:

    Abit AV8 Skt 939
    Athlon 64 3000+ Skt 939

    Thanks Guys
     
  8. Waffle

    Waffle Alpha Geek

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    Good choice, you'll be thankful for spending the extra in the future. That board can support up to an athlon 5000+, and they've only just released the 4000+. (or so i've been told)
     

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