How to build a Computer – 003 – Choosing a Motherboard

Building a computer isn't as hard as people think. There are many benefits when building your own rig. By the end of this tutorial the YOU WILL feel comfortable to build your very own kick ass Computer!

Part 003, Choosing a Motherboard.

Motherboard: The primary circuit board of a personal computer, containing the circuitry for the central processing unit, keyboard, mouse and monitor, together with slots for other devices

[GOS_SAND-MAN]

The EVGA X58 3xSLI is CRAAZYY! Great Mobo!

[BulletToothtony]

open my ps3 and install it in a tower.. that way i don't have to worry about upgrading anything to play games for the next 6 years

[wicko]

LOL AND PCS SO EXPENSIVE WTF JUST BUY CONSOLE ITS THE SAME RITE

I heard the open zone is for trolling.

[Gago]

but i cant stand the host

[Dee_91]

i started daydreaming at 2:30
thats why my gpa was 2.5

[iNcRiMiNaTi]

I got an xfx 750i sli extreme but I wish I had gotten the asus p5nd or the evga 750i ftw instead. The xfx board is a pain to overclock, limited and the bios sucks. Only got it because I wanted sli and it was on sale for $70. Should've returned it but I already sent in the MIR and registered for warranty. Oh well, I'm never going with xfx for motherboards again

[iamgoatman]

@hi6hli6ht

I have an XFX 750i as well, and I wish I had gone for an ASUS or Gigabyte board instead. Like you said, it's a pain to overclock and seeing as I no longer have an interesting to use it for SLI, it's a bit pointless for me to keep using it.

I should have sent it back for a refund as well, but had already registered it. I'm not sure how much I'd get for it on ebay, but probably not a lot. I've used XFX GPUs before and they've been great, but their mobos suck.

[BulletToothtony]

and best video card while we're at it?

[OpenGL]

Building a PC is quite easy and cost effective.

[anonymouse111335]

I agree, I'm ordering one soon and checked into building one, checked several sites and videos like the one above and found it fun to learn and seems pretty easy, it'll be cheaper for me AND I'll get better performance.

[eggbert]

If I am replacing my current motherboard, and I buy one that is the same form factor and the same socket type (ATX-Mini, and socket AM2) would I run into compatibilty issues?

I've heard some people say you need to reinstall your operating system if you change motherboards.

I'm also wondering if an AM2+ motherboard would support my AM2 processor. I THINK it's backwards compatible, but i'm not really sure.

Anyone know the answers?

[wicko]

Yep AM2+ boards support AM3, AM2 and AM2+, the only thing that doesn't work AFAIK is AM2+ (and below) processors on AM3 boards (and that probably includes AM2 as well) since AM3 processors have onboard DDR3 and DDR2 memory controllers and AM2+ and below just have DDR2.

You might have to reinstall your OS, yes, but it might work if you remove any motherboard drivers you installed. And you shouldn't run into any compatibility issues unless your RAM is rated at higher speeds than what is supported by the new board.

[eggbert]

Thanks!

[anonymouse111335]

I'm no expert so don't take my word for a fact, but to my knowledge you don't with windows, however your copy of windows will start telling you it's non-genuine, and there are some errors you could run into later on so it's best to re-install the OS, if you have another HDD to back up data on, back it up and re-install, if you don't do as wicko said and remove motherboard drivers and it might work then.

Do flash your bios before changing your mobo though, or else it may not recongnize the AM3 processor.

[eggbert]

is not AM3, its an AM2 processor. I believe it's just an AMD athlon x64 4600 or something along those lines. 2.4 Ghz, dual core, not a bad processor by any means, but definitely not a cutting edge one.

I'm a bit pissed because I bought a motherboard a few weeks ago, and it arrived broken (I brought it to a PC repair shop and they diagnosed the FSB was broken), and I had to pay shipping to send it back to the seller ($30, because they only accept returns to CHINA OF ALL PLACES).

I'm thinking about picking this motherboard:

BIOSTAR AM3/AM2+/AM2 DDR2 AMD 785G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard TA785GE 128M

From amazon since it pretty much has the features I need. I'm not exactly sure how reliable biostar is though, never heard of them before. The customer reviews are hanging around the 4/5 area though, so hopefully it won't be a shoddy product.

[anonymouse111335]

You may be able to get it for cheaper on newegg, they also offer long warranties through the manufacturer on some items.

I somehow got it mixed up that you were replacing the processor as well.

I haven't heard much about biostar, but from what I hear Gigabyte and Asus are considered the most reliable mobo manufactures.

[wicko]

Biostar is a decent on a budget motherboard, in fact some of them were able to unlock cores on dual and triple core phenom 2 processors. Just don't expect many BIOS features or any decent overclocking capabilities.

[JonnyBigBoss]

Building a computer is easy. Just avoid static. I buikt my 1st computer without instruuctions at age 16. Now I'm running games on high settings like Mass Effect 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction.

[GOS_SAND-MAN]

funny how conviction hasnt yet released on pc...

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

Yeah, you are right.

But if jleack can run ME2 at High Settings, so will be Splinter Cell (according with the system requirements).

[GamerSciz]

Two things I wanted to mention. If you have never built a PC and aren't a gamer, simply buy a pre-built one because you won't save a whole lot of money getting the cheap stuff. If you are a gamer and never built a PC, learn. It's really not that hard. Check out Howstuffworks.com to learn about different parts as well as wikipedia. Also, the motherboard manual is what you read to find out where every part goes and it's really easy. The most difficult thing is connecting everything to the PSU (Power Supply Unit).

Second, I find it amusing he mentions integrated graphics (99% of mobos have that now) but not integrated sound (99% of mobos have that too). Don't choose a Mobo simply based on CPU. Also do it based on GPU (graphics processing unit) as well as if you want to get a sound card which will go in a PCi slot.

There's a lot of factors but it really is pretty simple if you just take a few minutes to read about it.

As for my credibility...I have built a few PC's and have a degree in IT and currently my job is fixing computers remotely. So if you have a computer question...just message me.

Lastly, sorry wall 'o text, but those numbers he was saying about the CPU socket, those stand for the number of pins on the processor. Hence why a 775pin won't fit properly into the 1366pin.

One last thing I promise. Two great websites to get parts are
http://www.newegg.com and http://tigerdirect.com I usually choose newegg but TD isn't bad for some parts.

[GOS_SAND-MAN]

i have to agree with most of your post. mind you i record for over 20 mins and can only fit 10 on youtube. theres a lot i cut out. but i feel i covered the just of it.

i do believe if your building a pc.. you dont want integrated graphics and built in sound is more common than you think. (thats one thing i cut out.. talking more of the io plate and audio)

but i still believe you should go off of the socket type because i always pick my \cpu first.

Last thing, the hardest part.. to me atleast.. is not connecting the PSU, its installing the CPU Heat Sink.. with the bigger ones.. they can be a B** lolo

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

PC FTW.
The bad thing is Windows, not a great OS as others.

The only thing and only thing worth it for Windows, are the Games. Other things, there is MAC or Linux.