[wplug] [OT] - suggestions on MB upgrade

[Aroon Pahwa]

On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 10:49:07 -0500, Gentgeen <gentgeen at linuxmail.org> wrote:
> 
> Dear group,
> 
> I know this is not a hardware list, but knowing "yinz guz" I'm sure you
> will have some suggestions/info.
> 
> My current desktop system is a 500MHz Debian Woody box. With X-Mas
> coming, I want to (finally) upgrade the processor/MB/RAM.  I went to a
> few sites to find MB/CPU combos, and found all these different CPU
> sockets that I was unaware of.  (socket 478, 754, 775, 940 etc)
> I guess I am showing my age a-bit on this one.  What are the differences
> between the different sockets -- besided the obvious you can't put
> processor XYZ into a socket for ABC.
> 
> As you can imagine from my current MB, I don't have any major
> requirements for a MB --
>         1) Low cost
>         2) 2+ GHz processor
>         3) 256+ MB RAM
>         4) PS/2 mouse & keyboard
>         5) Built in Sound (that works with Linux)
>         6) A few USB ports (2 or 3 are plenty)
>         7) No need for build in NIC or Video (but seem like most have it now)
>            I already have an acceptible NIC and NVidia Card.
> 
> So are there any difference between sockets, and does anyone have a
> suggestions/good experience with particular MBs?  Any
> insight/comments/suggestions will be greatly appricaited...
> 
> Kevin
> 
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if you're looking for to build a low cost, >2GHZ system id consider
AMD.  Personally, i've been using an Asus A7N8X motherboard for about
2 years now and its perfect.  excellent on board sound, dual onboard
NICs (the latest revision has one gigabit nic and one 10/100),
excellent BIOS and general high quality.

as for a processor, you can go with any athlon xp which are pretty
cheap now.  if you aim on spending just under 100 dollars on the cpu
you'll be getting something plenty fast (i've been running on my 2700+
for over 2 years and its still going strong).

as for RAM, you'll want to go with some decent <3ms ddr 2700 (333mhz)
ram.  wherever you shop, however, be sure to check the prices of 3200
ddr ram because it tends to actually be cheaper than its 2700
counterpart!

some places i do my hardware shopping:
www.newegg.com
www.zipzoomfly.com
www.outpost.com

and a couple place to check for really good deals:
www.morestuff4less.com
www.fatwallet.com

if you do it right, you should be able to make all the upgrades you
want for around 200 bucks.  good luck!

aroon pahwa
viperstyx at gmail.com