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Thread ID: 114582	2010-12-09 04:33:00	Help me choose a mb & cpu	Strommer (42)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1160116	2010-12-11 05:53:00	I will see if (my ;) version of) Photoshop CS3 works OK on this Win7 laptop I am using now. Otherwise I will have to use GIMP which I suppose I could get used to... There may be another program or two to test. Yesterday I was set on sticking to WinXP but now reading all the comments, I am warming to Win7. :) To clarify: Win7 Home Premium does NOT have XP virtualization? So it is an extra $50 or so to get Win7 Pro if I want XP virtualization? Beaut day today. :banana I gotta get off the laptop and outside!!! Hey, are you any good at putting in new mobos? Just asking... :lol: I have done one mobo job previously so I should be OK, but just in case... There is always Suns virtual box. www.virtualbox.org Its free, and then you don't need the more expensive version of win7	plod (107)
1160117	2010-12-11 07:04:00	Mobo - [ M4A87TD specs here (pricespy.co.nz) ] What are the onboard graphic specs? There is no graphics card slot, but as has already be discussed, a graphics card would not be an advantage for my uses. There is a graphics card slot - there are actuall 2 PCIe x-16 slots (though one runs in x4 mode if you're trying to SLI/Xfire). There is no onboard graphics. Apologies, I hadn't spotted where you were after onboard graphics. The M4A88TD-M EVO (pbtech.co.nz), however, has a Radeon 4250 onboard, and is otherwise very similar to the M4A87TD EVO, except it is mATX formfactor, so you get only 1 PCI-e x16 slot and 2 PCI-e x1 slots - neither of which is likely to matter for your purposes. They're very similar pricing. AGP is dead and buried and has been so for many years. Both those boards DO have an eSATA 3Gbps port. Both DO have a FireWire 400 port. No AMD CPU supports integrated graphics at the moment, so no AMD platform motherboard will either. The integrated Radeon in the M4A88 supports DVI, VGA and HDMI outputs, so if your TV supports any of these you should be able to connect to it via that. 4GB RAM is fine. If the images/videos you're dealing with are reasonably large, 8GB may well give you noticable performance benefits, but is not a necessity.	inphinity (7274)
1160118	2010-12-11 20:43:00	There is a graphics card slot - there are actuall 2 PCIe x-16 slots (though one runs in x4 mode if you're trying to SLI/Xfire). There is no onboard graphics. Apologies, I hadn't spotted where you were after onboard graphics. If I get a mb without onboard graphics then how cheap is a decent low-end graphics card? It is not for gaming. The M4A88TD-M EVO (pbtech.co.nz), however, has a Radeon 4250 onboard, and is otherwise very similar to the M4A87TD EVO, except it is mATX formfactor, so you get only 1 PCI-e x16 slot and 2 PCI-e x1 slots - neither of which is likely to matter for your purposes. They're very similar pricing. What sort of things are put into PCI slots? In my old P4 system there is a TV+Radio plug-in so could I use that in the new system? I don't mind paying a bit more for an inexpensive graphics card in the larger mb that has extra slots - I don't want to regret not having extra PCI-e slots sometime in the future. Both those boards DO have an eSATA 3Gbps port. Both DO have a FireWire 400 port. I must have misread the specs. It is good to know fw and eSATA are there. No AMD CPU supports integrated graphics at the moment, so no AMD platform motherboard will either. The integrated Radeon in the M4A88 supports DVI, VGA and HDMI outputs, so if your TV supports any of these you should be able to connect to it via that. Our new TV has HDMI and probably DVI, VGA. At the moment there is no plan to connect the desktop to the TV (will use SWMBO's laptop), but I would like to 'future proof' the new system (e.g. if wireless video becomes viable). 4GB RAM is fine. If the images/videos you're dealing with are reasonably large, 8GB may well give you noticable performance benefits, but is not a necessity. With RAM so cheap it would be nice to have 8Gb, even if just for the psychological :rolleyes: value. On this thread Solmiester says "If you go x64, You can rise the RAM to 8-12GB, which is where 7 really takes off. With such a big memory cache, 7 will fill it with super-fetch files and it really does feel quicker...RAM is cheap! ". I plan to order the new mb and cpu tomorrow. If you or other PF1ers have other suggestions, please post - thanks. I'll look at a few other Gigabyte mb's on PriceSpy. Presently it is a choice between M4A88TD-M EVO and M4A87TD EVO (with a graphics card).	Strommer (42)
1160119	2010-12-11 20:48:00	You can put PCI tuners, firewire cards (I've got a PCI fw card in this). There's probably more you can put in a PCI slot.Nothing wrong with using onboard video, if its just for basic things. You could probably get a separate vid card for $80-100. Most mobos can go to 16 GB. But, 4 GB sticks arent easy to find (and probably not cheap). And if you decide to get 8 - 12 GB, make sure the mobo supports that much first.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1160120	2010-12-12 01:19:00	You can put PCI tuners, firewire cards (I've got a PCI fw card in this). There's probably more you can put in a PCI slot.Nothing wrong with using onboard video, if its just for basic things. ... Thanks Speedy. The M4A88TD mobo that I am looking to get ( specs here (pricespy.co.nz)) has: PCI Express x1 2 pc PCI Express x16 1 pc PCI slots 1 pc What is the difference between the above 3 PCI's? Which would I plug in my old PCI TV-Radio tuner? Can a graphics card be added to one of these? [The mobo has onboard graphics.] BTW, the specs listed on the PriceSpy page says it does not have a microphone input - but surely this must be a typo - I thought all mobo's would have mic inputs...? ... Found this review (www.expertreviews.co.uk) for the mobo. This seems to answer my question about the PCI slots (from the review article): There's a good selection of slots on this board, including the usual four memory slots supporting up to 16GB of DDR3. If you want to add an external graphics card at some point, then there are two PCI-Express x16 with CrossFire support, though these are more likely to be used for adding other expansion cards. In addition, there's a single PCI-Express x1 slot as well. Three PCI slots are also provided for older cards.	Strommer (42)
1160121	2010-12-12 01:43:00	PCI Express x1 2 pc PCI Express x16 1 pc PCI slots 1 pc What is the difference between the above 3 PCI's? A PCI-e x16 slot is for a graphics card . PCI-e x1 slots are for addon cards . PCI slots are the previous generation add-on slots, and have been superceded by PCI-e x1 but are often still included for compatibility with older cards . Which would I plug in my old PCI TV-Radio tuner? Assuming it's a PCI card, it would go in the PCI slot . Can a graphics card be added to one of these? [The mobo has onboard graphics . ] Yes, a PCI-e graphics card can go in the PCI-e x16 slot . BTW, the specs listed on the PriceSpy page says it does not have a microphone input - but surely this must be a typo - I thought all mobo's would have mic inputs . . . ? It has 8-channel audio, supporting 7 . 1 surround, and includes a mic-in . Found this review ( . expertreviews . co . uk/motherboards/278761/asus-m4a88td-v-evo-usb3" target="_blank">www . expertreviews . co . uk) for the mobo . That's actually a review for an M4A88TD-V, not TD-M . They're the same chipset, but the -V is a full ATX board not mATX . The only practical difference is the -V has a second PCI-e x16 slot to support Xfire/SLI, and has 3 PCI and 1 PCI-e x1 slots, rather than 2 PCI-e x1 and 1 PCI slots . Other than the slot layout, features & functionality are nigh-on identical .	inphinity (7274)
1160122	2010-12-12 01:57:00	Good info inphinity - thanks. Now my questions are: Athlon or Phenom? Quad or Hex core? I see that Athlon's do not have an L3 cache and I wonder if that would make any difference for my purposes? The prices are approx: $150 Athlon quad, $210 Phenom quad, $280 Phenom hex	Strommer (42)
1160123	2010-12-12 18:42:00	What size of cpu fan - 120mm? Which brand is quiet, and good quality? Presently this is on my hit list: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition ($210) ASUS M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 ($155) Corsair 8Gb RAM ($120 + $120) Comments welcome . If you are new to this thread, this system is for video & sound editing, not for gaming .	Strommer (42)
1160124	2010-12-12 19:42:00	What size of cpu fan - 120mm? Which brand is quiet, and good quality? What's wrong with the HSF that comes with the 955?	inphinity (7274)
1160125	2010-12-12 19:49:00	What size of cpu fan - 120mm? Which brand is quiet, and good quality? Presently this is on my hit list: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition ($210) ASUS M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 ($155) Corsair 8Gb RAM ($120 + $120) Comments welcome . If you are new to this thread, this system is for video & sound editing, not for gaming . I dont really think you would notice the difference between 6 & 4 core unless you spend most of the time encoding . . . However the new Phemons do have a better turbo mode than the others, which means while only a few of the cores are used, the CPU will speed up a couple of bins for automatic clocking which will give a speed bump . . . . For an extra $70, the turbo would be nice! . maximumpc . com/article/news/amd_talks_about_phenom_ii_x6%E2%80%99s_turbo_core" target="_blank">www . maximumpc . com Nice mainboard and RAM . . . . ya going well mate!	SolMiester (139)
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