[mdlug] Well, shucks - motherboard/CPU advice needed

[Aaron Kulkis]

Ingles, Raymond wrote:
>> From: Michael Rudas
> 
>> There are a variety of MBs available at Micro Center that should fill
>> your needs.  Something like this:
>> <http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0259059>
> 
>  That looks pretty reasonable indeed, though there's one sticking point:
> 
>> You could put in a SATA-in/ATA-out adapter on the burner to gain that extra
>> interface free.  I, too, like having both a DVD-ROM and a DVD burner in my systems:
>> <http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0266720>
> 
>  Just so I'm clear: would that adapter allow me to hook up two drives to one
> SATA plug?

1 SATA plug controls one SATA drive.
Typically, a modern SATA motherboard has 4 or 6 SATA plugs.

 > I mean, technically I have four drives, two HDs and two DVD drives.
> The one onboard IDE header will support two of those drives.

No, these adapter connect directly to the PATA hard drive, with
a SATA plug on the outboard side.
You would probably need 2 of them, because most decent MB's have
one IDE cable connector. (I noticed that the MB's with two IDE
connectors tend to be getting quite old in design...)

> 
>  Would that adapter allow me to hook up two more drives, or do I need
> one adapter per drive?

One adapter per drive.

 > As I said, I can live without the other DVD drive,
> but it'd be nice to have... if not, I could take Garry up on his offer of a
> PCI IDE controller, but I'd have to give up the SBLive (only two PCI slots
> on that board).
> 
>  If I got that MB, I'd probably pair it with these:
>  http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0256275
>  http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0253284
> 
>  CPU is midrange, but dual-core (I'd miss SMP if I didn't have it :-> ) and
> the memory is maxed out (I wasn't feeling cramped in 1GB, really). Should be
> adequate for my needs for some time to come.

I recently purchased this, with the intention of it having a 5 year 
lifespan (I can upgrade to Phenom, and it has a 16 GB memory capacity):

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0278565

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0278566



Both have
Socket AM2+ (Sempron/Athlon 65/Athlon 64x2/Athlon 64 FX/PHENOM FX)
Mem capacity:		16 GB
Sound:		Realtek ALC889A High Definition CODEC Audio Chipset
		with connectors to support stereo and SPDIFF for 7.1
Ethernet:		10/100/1000
Graphics slots:		(2) PCI-express 2.0 x16 with ATI Crossfire
PCI-express x1:		3 slots
PCI:			(2) 32-bit PCI bus mastering slots.		Other connectors:	More 
than you could possibly want,
			with ample USB 2.0
Other Internal connectors: More internal headrs than I know
			what to do with, with every interface I've
			heard of in the last 10 years present
			(except SCSI).

Primary differences:
				SATA	ATA Crossfire
                                 plugs	support
GA-MA790FX-DS5 AM2+	$209     6     	16x
GA-MA790X-DS4 AM2+	$109     4	8x



I opted for the DS5 (more disk drive connectors is always good!)

The price is probably higher than what you're looking for,
but in return, you've got a board which shouldn't become
obsolescent for quite some time.

This is the first time I've purchased a motherboard costing
more than $100... and frankly, it's because I look at it
this way... I could spend $100 less, but then in 3 years,
when the price of Quad-cores drop, I would have to go out
and buy ANOTHER motherboard, go through all the hassle
of swapping motherboards again...blah blah blah.
So I spent a few extra dollars now, so that when the price
of the Phenom drops, I can just pop off the fan, swap the
CPU, replace the fan, and re-boot.