Advice on Mobo + CPU

Hello. I'm thinking to build a new pc. But i hear all these incompatible issues with blue screens n stuff. What is a way to find out if they are compatible? What mobo + chip combo do you recommend? lookin for an AMD XP 2600+ or better (maybe an intel P4 too). what mobos would you recommend with these chips? I hear Asus are good..so I might stick with them. Thanx.

 

People will no doubt give you some recommendations. Here's a couple of sites with good articles on what your looking for:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/theguide/

http://www.motherboards.org/

 

If your going down the AMD route I can recommend the Asus A7N8X MB. This is the board I upgraded to just before Christmas, which even though I had few problems setting it up (mostly my fault) I haven't had a BSOD since it was up and running.
It will fully utilise all the new chips from AMD with its FSB333 and it has the new Nvidia2 chipset on board. I've got the deluxe version which has dual lan ports and a serial ATA connector for when I get round to using them.
Couple bits of advice if you do use this board:
Check your memory because as with most Asus boards this one runs on only unbuffered sticks.
Check the depth of your case - most modern boards with all their extra bells and whistles are that much deeper, and if you are not careful any connectors at the front edge of the board will fall foul of the 5.25 drive bay housing.
Check that your PSU has anough guts in it for the newer generation of board. Min 350 watts - ideally 400 plus.
Last thing is - it's best to set it up on clean install of your OS, and not an overlay like I tried to do. Boy- did I have problems
And No - I do not work for Asus. There is so much crud on the market which promises everything but fails to deliver, so that when I do find something that does work I feel I should pass the information on.

http://usa.asus.com/mb/socketa/a7n8x/overview.htm

 

Hi Ian291 & welcome

It's really good to hear an end user review of the Asus A7N8X.

I'm thinking of upgrading myself & this is top of my list, where'd you get it?

MB

 

Hi M'Badger,

I got the board from a local supplier here in Cambridge. They're pretty reliable, and I've never had a problem with anything bought from them.
http://www.cambridge-computers.com/index.htm

I found an interesting link when thinking of buying this board. The site put the Chaintech 7NJS, Leadtek K79 and the Asus A7N8X motherboards up against each other.
The A7N shaded the Chaintech board on nearly every test with the Leadtek one coming out on top. Listening to other reviews, the Leadtech board has a lot of problems with compatability with secondary systems such as sound, modem & graphic cards, and even with its on board features there are problems - it seem to be lottery if the USB will work or not.
http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=222

ian