Need help finding a motherboard

[Firecat]

For AMD platforms, the onboard video is provided by the chipset (except if you go for the AMD APU platform, which I have not suggested in my previous post).

For Intel, the video controller is embedded into the CPU.

The only thing you need to bother about is whether the motherboard offers a D-Sub and/or DVI/HDMI output port for your monitor. As long as it's there and the chipset/CPU has onboard graphics, you will be able to use it.

I have messed up a little in the AMD configuration that I posted in my previous post. The Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 has no onboard graphics. Therefore, I am replacing this motherboard with the following:

Asus M5A88-V EVO - $114.99, very good board

If you want to go for a cheaper board I can recommend two more for the AMD platform:

JetWay JTA980AG ($79.99, only supports DDR3 1333/1066 unlike other boards)
Biostar A880GZ ($64.99, has less expansion slots, small motherboard)

Generally speaking you get more peace of mind going with a slightly more expensive board.

[Scott W]

Originally Posted by ShadowDefender

I have a (probably stupid) question for you ...in order to use the i3 or i5's integrated HD Graphics, must I get a motherboard with onboard video?

Originally Posted by Cruise

Stupid or not, that's a question on my mind as well. It seems to me that the motherboard has to provide an interface to Intel's CPU-integrated graphics (along with providing video output connectors!) - is that different than a motherboard having or not having onboard video?

Hey guys, that's not a stupid question at all -- in fact, that subject is actually pretty darn confusing...

You will probably have to get a motherboard with 'onboard video' to utilize Intel's integrated HD Graphics processor (otherwise, it's not too likely it will have video output ports). -- to be more exacting, motherboards based on the H61, H67 or Z68 chipsets support Intel's HD Graphics, but those based on the P67 chipset do not. In any case, make sure the motherboard you select not only has video output ports, but those of your preference (VGA/DVI/HDMI)!

Cheers,
Scott

[mack_guy911]

well i3 and i5 have decent graphics not best but not bad ............ as well for AMD i cant say never used one so cannot comment on it.

but for intel motherboards they are pretty good for stability.

but not best for perfomance and over clocking for that you should check asus's they make one of best motherboards


for casing

http://www.ebay.in/sch/i.html?_from=...All-Categories

they pretty small and cheap you can check them for later

secondly like Nick Rhodes said you can have PCI cards good option.


some good sites

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Com...otherboards,2/

http://reviews.cnet.com/motherboards...popularity+asc

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...item=Computers

[Scott W]

mack_guy, you apparently missed some of SD's posts...

Originally Posted by ShadowDefender

Insofar as my apps/games interests, my most demanding app is definitely Photoshop, followed by MS Office and IE. I'm not into overclocking and I'm not a gamer (I guess I'm pretty boring)!

So as you can see, he's not interested in oc'g or gaming. Intel's integrated graphics is all that's needed for photo-editing and the other stuff he does.


And insofar as a case goes, he has a perfectly fine one...

Originally Posted by ShadowDefender

I now have a nice Lian Li (full-size ATX) tower case that's housing my old system which should work well.

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by Scott W

Hey guys, that's not a stupid question at all -- in fact, that subject is actually pretty darn confusing...

You will probably have to get a motherboard with 'onboard video' to utilize Intel's integrated HD Graphics processor (otherwise, it's not too likely it will have video output ports). -- to be more exacting, motherboards based on the H61, H67 or Z68 chipsets support Intel's HD Graphics, but those based on the P67 chipset do not. In any case, make sure the motherboard you select not only has video output ports, but those of your preference (VGA/DVI/HDMI)!

Cheers,
Scott

I'm very much obliged Scott - thanks!

[SoCalReviews]

I used to use exclusively OEM Intel boards back in the day but the AMD motherboard platforms always seem to last forever for me compared to the Intel boards. I am still running the ten year old MSI brand AMD board in a system I custom built in 2002. I have left it turned on 24/7 for ten years non-stop. I have upgraded it through the years. It was an AMD Athlon XP 1700+ but I installed a special low power AMD 2500+ notebook CPU that works in this board. Although the ten year old high quality power supply still worked I installed a newer power supply last year. I also upgraded the DDR memory to 2GB and replaced the HD a few years back from a 60GB to a 160GB. The video graphics card was upgraded to a newer AGP 8x/4x NVidia about six years ago.

I dust out the inside every year. All the original case fans and CPU fan were ball bearing and are still running great. The tiny video card fan sometime gets a bit noisy so it needs a few drops of teflon oil every year or two. I have been considering upgrading to a new custom built system with Windows 7 but this XP Pro SP3 system is running flawlessly and is fine for web surfing, streaming videos, etc.. I have four other similar systems I built around the same time as this one that I use for business and all of them are still running perfectly as well. I have backup parts like new PATA IDE HDs stored away as future replacements. I am counting on all these systems running well beyond 2014 and possibly as far out as 2020.

[Rilla927]

You won't go wrong with this board. I have it and it's a dream to work with and rock solid.

Asus P8Z68 Deluxe/Gen3

http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Int.../P8Z68_DELUXE/