The Mother Board

videobruce · Last edited by videobruce on Wed Jul 24, 2013 4:31 am; edited 1 time in total

I haven't upgraded since 2007, I usually don't wait that long, but my current MB has the features I like, but is now dated by processor limitations.

What I'm looking for is:

1. AMD based MB that has one IDE connector so I can easily access older IDE drives. The 970 chipset MB's don't have any IDE ports (that I found). The 990 chipset does, but I didn't really want all the other bells & whistles, namely the ability to run multiple graphic cards. The cost difference is almost 2x which is hard to justify. (I really don't do any gaming.)

2. I'm also interested in power consumption since my current nForce 7 board and non green PS is a power hog (by todays standards).

3. The other question is the processor. Is a six core worth the difference in price over a four core when used for any HDTV application?

4. Serial port or at least a header (which many have).

5. Two PS2 ports (which many have).

6. Optical and/or digital audio. (not a priority)

7. Price? I would prefer to stay under $100, but that isn't cast in stone.

8. Boot menu outside the Bios screen.

9. eSATA port.

10. No overclocking, no gaming & full size ATX only.

I know there are IDE cards, but I would on board due to concerns for drivers and possible boot issues to use that drive as a boot drive if I need to.
I'm running XP and would like to stay that way, but I understand there are hardware issues (as usual) so I may be forced to go with Win 7 ( forget 8 ).

Lastly, brand is flexible. I was leaning towards Asus, ASRock & Gigibyte and kinda wanted to stay away from MSI, Biostar & ECS. Opinions welcome here also.
_________________
Copyright protection & Intellectual property my ass. All the studios want is more money & control. Enough is enough!

Karlsweldt · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:22 am Post subject:

Rare that you will find a motherboard with IDE (PATA) ports today. Yes, some still are available.. but along with many other features. While the driver card would be a good option, you would need to change the address (IRQ/DMA) of the card as secondary, to avoid conflicts. A USB external drive is also an option, if older IDE drives are not vital for working with. And there are adapters available so you can use an older IDE drive on a SATA port.. but the drive must be set as 'stand-alone' only. The SATA port should default to an older standard, with few problems.
As to multi-core processors, sometimes "more is better" is a truism. Several tasks can take place simultaneously, instead of sharing processes with a single-core processor. A multi-core processor may equate to 25% or higher speed than a similar single-core processor. The higher L2 cache level would be a factor, too.
While most newer motherboard models may still retain the PS2 mouse/keyboard ports, they are falling from favor.. like the floppy drive port. A USB peripheral link is quite common today.. and works well, as long as the "legacy USB" feature is enabled.
Audio systems may default to digital format, but that is the preferred mode. Most designs may still retain the option of an analog output.
Your only choice as to an OS may be Windows 8 for "longest" life span.
Windows 7 and Vista do have software support up through 2020 and 2017, respectfully.. but that may be it. Newer touch-screen and other user-interface features are best applied with a "clean slate" OS version, rather than a "patch". Extended support for Win XP ends in April 2014.
Tom's Hardware and Motherboards.org as well as others will have comparisons and reviews of most motherboard types and features. Worth the time spent in research, before buying.
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F@H.. to solve mankind's maladies.. in our lifetimes!

videobruce · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:27 am Post subject:

I wanted the IDE port for easier access to PATA drives without the hassle of adapters or add on cards assuming a built in IDE controller will have less issues if I wanted to boot to that drive.

Elsewhere someone mentioned the current AMD "FX" series are not true 4 or 6 core processors, only the Phenom II x4 and II x6 are. Any input here?

I'll switch to Linux before I go with Win8. wink

_________________
Copyright protection & Intellectual property my ass. All the studios want is more money & control. Enough is enough!

Mr T · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:40 am Post subject:

This : ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD RX881/760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 AM3+ AMD 760G HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

are the ones I think are closest to what you want..

The new FX CPU's are a lot quicker. I do a lot of conversion to mp4 format with Handbrake and the FX-4100 was on par with a Phenom 1090T.. Upgraded to an FX-8320 and it blew them both away, reduced encoding time by two thirds, very impressed.. And I use windows 8 (as well as ubuntu and Linux Mint)... Its like any other operating system, does the job when you are used to it...

(The new FX CPU's are not true hex core etc CPU's.. Here is a good explenation..)
_________________
I have been programming on computers since the ZX81.
I am an apprentice trained Electronics Engineer with qualifications to back it up.
I have been repairing computers since 1996.
Yet to some people I still know nothing...

videobruce · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 4:28 am Post subject:

I saw that ASRock 980 before I posted here. It has a weird chipset: AMD RX881/760G. I shy away from items as that since it is clearly oddball and support from others would be nill.
I did manage to find this description from a AMD "Databook" dated 2011;

videobruce · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 4:46 am Post subject:

The more one reads, the more confusing it gets. It's as I never owned a PC before which is one reason I hesitated upgrading, I don't follow the changes, just way too many. crying

_________________
Copyright protection & Intellectual property my ass. All the studios want is more money & control. Enough is enough!

Hardware Junkie · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:12 am Post subject:

Mr T · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:51 am Post subject:

Believe me, if you want an improvement in coding/editing/rendering times, look at an FX CPU or FM2, unless you need to rethink your budget and go Intel. Also you can see the newer boards hav a distinct lack of legacy support, ie NO Floppy port, NO IDE slot, 1 PS2 port and if you are lucky a COM or LPT port. Way of the world these days, even the budget board suppliers are going that way... My workround would be new board(ATX), CPU and RAM (with RAM you can go budget and get more). Go for a 64bit operating system - windows 7 or 8 - both are similar apart from Windows 8 Tiles, but in essence no real great change from win 7. If you want an IDE port then get a PCI-e add on card with one or two on it. The newer boards usually have eSATA, USB3 and an optical or digital output port as well.
You will alos notice PCI slots are disappearing of newer board in favor of PCI-e slots....

And the newer boards also support SATA 6Gbps which is a real boon if you plan on a SSD at a later date.

In all my systems, I have no IDE drives anymore. Too slow and they can and generally will slow the whole system down as everything seems to sync down to their speed...
_________________
I have been programming on computers since the ZX81.
I am an apprentice trained Electronics Engineer with qualifications to back it up.
I have been repairing computers since 1996.
Yet to some people I still know nothing...

Mr T · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:52 pm Post subject:

see if you can find this one. It may suit your needs apart from two PS2 ports...
_________________
I have been programming on computers since the ZX81.
I am an apprentice trained Electronics Engineer with qualifications to back it up.
I have been repairing computers since 1996.
Yet to some people I still know nothing...

videobruce · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 3:58 am Post subject:

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