Hello

Thinking of upgrading my PC soon, and looking for a decent mobo...

Not really willing to spend more than £60 and am probs going to go for a LG775 cpu (probs an E7500 or something like that - dont have a huge budget sadly ).

My main problem atm is figuring out what the different chipsets do / are. For example, will a P45 really be that much better than a G31 or a P43 for occasional gaming, internet browsing, movie-making and school work? And dont even know what order then nVidia chipsets run in :S

Any questions or if you want something clarified just ask.

Thanks in advance
Cookeh

First off, see my "Cheap or not" thread. Secondly, if you're really on a budget, you could build an AM3 system for less than £200 if you're picky. MSI 770-C45 motherboard is only £50.

But then you end up with an AMD CPU. As much as I want to back the underdog, they are still a generation behind Intel with their CPU's. If you are on a budget, you are likely to get more for your money with an intel. The main difference with the intel chipsets is the CPU's they support - the X48's will support the later 1600mhz FSB CPU's, X38 is limited to the 1333mhz FSB CPU's. The P45's will accept the 1333mhz ones and the P965 will only take the older 1066mhz ones.

As for the Nvidia chipsets, the 680i and the 780i and 790i are the top of their lines, but a generation apart. The 650i and 750i were the mainstream versions. However, unless you want SLI, you are better off with the intel chipsets.

Have a look at the BBBB, I haven't updated for a week or so but still a good price and performance for just over £300 for a complete build (ex OS)

Edit - DDR2 prices have shot through the roof........

DDR3 has gone up a fair whack too.

I think you'll struggle to get a decent 775 board for £60. That's why I suggested the MSI with AM3. P31 is alright for what you want, but it depends how upgradeable you want it. SATA ports, LAN, eSATA, RAID etc. These are the things you should look at. If I was gonna buy 775 now, it would be P45 without question.

You can get a decent board for £60, wouldn't be new though

P45 for £60, no chance, you are looking at £100+ for a decent one
X38 possibly or P35 or one of the low end ones

Exactly why the 770 based AM3 board makes more sense. Newer chipset, better OCing, cheaper and it's still a live socket for a bit yet.

The P43 is still a good cut down option the MSI in the BBBB is a very good board for the price and easy to use for mild overclocking (not extreme).

Wha' wha' wha'? The new Phenom IIs leave the C2D range trailing, are generally better than the C2Qs and in some benchmarks even surpass the I7 920.

AMD chips are also much easier to overclock.

AM3 chips wiil also work in AM2+ socket boards, so you can save money by buying an older model board.

Hmm, dont think Im going to go for an AMD cpu, used to have one, and got a rig running an AMD cpu - find they're not as good on performance or value.

Spotted these boards recently:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P5QL-EPU-Intel-P43-Sok-775-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR2-1066(OC)-800-SATA-3Gb-s-ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P5Q-SE-PLUS-iP45-S-775-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR2-1066-1200-667-800-SATA-II-SATA-RAID-ATX

What do you reckon? Seem like decent boards to me - but Im far from an expert on mobos . . .

Entirely your choice, but Linux is right. AMD will overclock more easily and your buying current hardware for the same money. Anyway, if your dead set on Intel a P5Q is a reasonable choice. Personally, if I were to consider buying an "old" socket, I'd get the best going. That's the P5Q Deluxe. However, with DDR2 and DDR3 the same price at the moment, AM3 is a no brainer really.

Most people are saying AM3 so here we go (all of it is CPC recommneded) -

MSI 770-C45 AMD 770 AM3 DDR3 Support 8 channel Blu-ray Audio GB LAN ATX Motherboard £49.65

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition 3.1GHz 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 Retail Boxed Processor £74.27

Corsair 4gb (2x2gb) Ddr3 1333mhz Xms3 Memory Kit Cl9 (9-9-9-24) £88.13

Total £212.05

Hmmm, looks good, but Ive got to get a new gfx card with that aswell when I upgrade, so it will be pushing £300 . . . Any way of saving on the ram? £88 is very expensive and Ive only got a 32-bit OS anyway.

Cheers for the help so far guys
Alistair

That's pretty much exactly what I would go for. Easily overclockable and pretty well featured. You could buy 2gig of RAM, but I think you're probably better off not doing so. Could you put off the GPU purchase for a bit?