Forum Home
Press F1
Thread ID: 124488	2012-04-28 23:53:00	General Motherboard advice please.	Bryan (147)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1272612	2012-04-28 23:53:00	I have two desktops. One is an Acerpower with a mini board about 2007. The other is an ATX Gigabyte GA-K8 (my main PC) about 2005. If I were to replace/update one of the desktop motherboards', which one would be best? My main thoughts are that a new board should have USB3 and be able to take 4 Ram sticks, I see most mini boards seem to be restricted to 2 Ram sticks. Does the ATX board have any advantages over the mini? I don't game so should I just leave well alone?	Bryan (147)
1272613	2012-04-28 23:55:00	When you upgrade a mobo you face having to spend money on other new compatible parts uless you are going to buy a mobo which works with your othe components	stratex5 (16685)
1272614	2012-04-29 00:01:00	Dont think so, the ATX mobo is just bigger. And some have 4 ram slots, and maybe more PCI slots (depending on which mobo you get). You mean mini-itx? I wouldnt mind getting one of these myself. Since, I think theyre compact, and the mini-itx mobos, I've seen, they've got a lot on them. But, you can only put so much on them (like PCI cards / and ram) I may update these sometime. Just replace the mobo and ram, and keep everything else (the case/PSU/dvd). It'd save a bit of money	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1272615	2012-04-29 00:03:00	Yes, I realise that I would need at least a CPU, PSU and RAM to go with the board. I have had no problem with AMD but is Intel better at the moment?	Bryan (147)
1272616	2012-04-29 00:29:00	Amd systems are cheaper to build. If you made up a system. The only AMD system I had was a socket 754 system. It was OK. But I didnt have it for long.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1272617	2012-04-29 01:24:00	Intel and nVidia are better but way more expensive then AMD.	stratex5 (16685)
1272618	2012-04-29 01:32:00	Probably be easier to advise with more info, what CPU's are in them and how much RAM ? are they both the same socket or different? (GA-K8 is socket 939?) Generally I'd keep whatever was the better specced machine and upgrade the other, but bear in mind you need to check all the parts you intend to keep/ reuse. HDD's SATA or IDE?, Same question for Optical drive, Can you reuse the case and PSU or do you want to try and sell the old machine whole? (5-7 yr old PC's don't have much value) 4 RAM slots is a good Idea but not that important, you can easily get 8GB of RAM into 2 slots and that's plenty at the moment. By the time you need more the hardware will probably be outdated again. What you really have to ask yourself is what do I want/ need to improve and how much is it worth to me. If they are working fine and doing everything you want without being painfully slow then just stick with them. If not replacing the MB/ CPU/RAM would cost about $300-$400 for a really basic machine and from there the sky's the limit you could easily drop $1200 or more on just those 3 components without even considering socket 2011 beasts. You can buy upgrade boxes with or without windows fairly reasonably and that's probably the best option if you don't want to muck about with it yoursefl. They generally are a basic box with no screen or keyboard etc.	dugimodo (138)
1272619	2012-04-29 05:37:00	The key factor is what are you going to use this PC for. It is a bit like buying a car - no reason for a V8 or a 3L turbo charged engine if all you are going to do is go to the supermarket and back. Decide on the CPU you need first, then choose the motherboard to go with it.	johnd (85)
1272620	2012-04-29 06:29:00	Both PCs are going well and I need to take stock of my silly longings for something bigger, brighter and better.	Bryan (147)
1272621	2012-04-29 07:12:00	The key factor is what are you going to use this PC for. It is a bit like buying a car - no reason for a V8 or a 3L turbo charged engine if all you are going to do is go to the supermarket and back. No that requires at least a 4L V6 4X4 or if not one of those a brethy van	gary67 (56)
1 2