Motherboard recommendation?

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Well, all things done, the old new system would only clock at 1.60GHz instead of 3.06GHz (I believe the CPU thought it was still on SpeedStep). Whatever, she's back in the laptop and running. So, the motherboard is back on it's way to NewEgg for a refund (and the failed memory for a replacement).

So, I need a recommendation for a mobo. This time, I'm choosing AMD. CPU is going to be Socket AM2 X2 3800+ EE edition. I have no idea what to choose on the motherboard though. Nothing terribly expensive though (my bro is abnormally cheap). I'd say somewhere around $70 is the high limit. I'd prefer ATX, but that's not necessary.

All I saw was a Biostar ATX nForce 520 mobo that got great reviews for $50 that I really liked.... But I don't know if I want Biostar again... haha. The BIOS sucked.

I'd get the GeForce 6100 chipset ECS board, but it's PCIe slot runs at x8 only, not x16.

Here's the board I'm looking at currently.
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR NF520-A2 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

EDIT: My hard drive is IDE... I'm sending back my IDE DVD burner too for a SATA burner (though now I realize I could have just bought another VIA or an nForce4 board).

[Pete]

Bueller??? Bueller???

Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3??? A little more than 70 but nice board.

[gvblake22]

I don't have any reason not to recommend Biostar, but a GeForce6100/nForce430 or GeForce 7000 series/nForce630 based motherboard might be a little better than that vanilla nForce 520 board. I have a Gigabyte GA-M61PM-S2 board and it's solid as a rock (as long as you don't want a lot of BIOS functionality). The ECS AMD690GM-M2 looks like a nice board with a good feature set at a very reasonable price. Also check out the ASUS M2A-VM based on the same chipset with similar features and price. The Biostar TF7025-M2 also looks like a very decent board on a new chipset.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Saw that... liked it.... I need to see if my bro is down with it though... Here's the S2 that's pretty nice... sucks it's not ATX though. Of course, that's not necessary though.
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA69VM-S2 Socket AM2 AMD 690V Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Wow, nice find on that other Biostar Blake. Totally missed it. That ECS board is quite nice too....

EDIT: That Biostar board has some great combos! Is it smarter to get a X2 3800+ 65W Windsor or a X2 4000+ Brisbane (with more wattage, but 100 more MHz). Ironically, the 4000+ bundle is cheaper.

EDIT2: Hehe, would there be a problem using an IDE HD and a SATA DVD drive?

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by wtcnbrwndo4u

EDIT: That Biostar board has some great combos! Is it smarter to get a X2 3800+ 65W Windsor or a X2 4000+ Brisbane (with more wattage, but 100 more MHz). Ironically, the 4000+ bundle is cheaper.

I'd get the 4000+, faster and cheaper.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by yellowhello

I'd get the 4000+, faster and cheaper.

Yeah, but takes up a significant amount more of wattage... he pays for his own electric bill at his apartment... so he cares apparently. Plus, 100Mhz... meh.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by wtcnbrwndo4u

Yeah, but takes up a significant amount more of wattage... he pays for his own electric bill at his apartment... so he cares apparently. Plus, 100Mhz... meh.

A significant amount........... How much more? It's also cheaper.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by yellowhello

A significant amount........... How much more? It's also cheaper.

Cheaper by a $1. Dunno, it's like 30W or something.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by wtcnbrwndo4u

Cheaper by a $1. Dunno, it's like 30W or something.

A dollar? If its that close, do whatever you want.