micro atx boards

[Ardavan]

Hi this is my first post i edit 2 times cuz im very confused

i have a MICRO ATX motherboard with amd duron 903mhz but i have a ATX Powersupply. Does this mean my case is ATX and i can put atx mother boards in??

[Garak]

Hi there, Firstly, welcome to Windrivers and I hope you gain the information you need.

Secondly, ATX is generally "standard" so nine times out of ten all ATX motyherboard will fit in all cases, providing you dont have a micro-atx case, then you should be able to fix a "stard" atx motherboard into it.

I hope that helps.

[Ardavan]

Thx for the info & the welcome.

one more thing is it better to get a motherboard that has a PCI slot or a AGP slot?

(gaming/preformance)

[Platypus]

is it better to get a motherboard that has a PCI slot or a AGP slot?

I suppose you are meaning PCI Express, if so it's probably best now to get this, unless you already have a good AGP card you want to keep using. AGP is starting to fall away, and PCI-E is taking over, so will be the better prospect for the future, IMO.

[Ardavan]

hey thx for the info but do you know any good cards that go with PCI-E that are good for gaming but inexpensive?

[Platypus]

Good for gaming without being too expensive may not be easy to find. Here's a fairly current comparison of the various chipsets on the market:

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/gra...charts-03.html

For nVidia, in the past the Ti4200 was a good bet, I gather now a strong mid-range contender is the 6600GT, but I know others favour ATI. Not being a gamer it's hard for me to comment directly, perhaps someone with a gaming interest will comment.

[Ardavan]

thx for the info but if i get a $200 motherboard thats good will i be able to put my 288 ram for now? or dose it have to be like new?

[TechZ]

New motherboards are based on DDR Ram, and newer ones use DDR2, so if that RAM is of the older variety its not going to work.

Here are a few guides that should get you upto speed with the latest hardware and based on your budget give you an idea on what to buy:

An article on a budget system buyers guide: http://www.mikhailtech.com/modules.p...content&id=160

Arstechnica Buyers Guide: http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer.ars

Ultimate System buyers Guide (2500US$) : http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/...le.php/3492971

Value Gaming System buyers Guide (1000US$): http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/...le.php/3501646

[Ardavan]

You gyz got a good reccomand for a power supply 450watt that is very very ultra ultra silent that i can barley hear?

[Ruslan]

Enermax Noise Killer may be the one... http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...xEG465P-VE.php

[Ardavan]

thx

gyz what you think of this motherboard??

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard...A-K8NMF-9.htm#

or the asus-A8N



for gaming

[format c:]

Currently I am running a DFI Lan party board which can run dual Video cards, I have a Gigabyte board that is a solid board
I still favor the Asus a8nsli premuin because they use a heat pipe to cool the chipset, I have heat issues with the DFI and I may change boards due to this problem
I dropped SLI in favor of a more simple single card solution, I am running one gforce 7900 gt and post higher scores in 3d mark 05 than with my two 6600gt cards
The board you linked to has a passive chipset cooler, I know Gigabyte makes a good board