Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Electronics Computer Programming Q&A
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MrAl
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by MrAl »

Hi Ron,


Thanks for the additional info.

The power supplies i have are both 24 pin (20+4) so i dont have a problem there.
It was the newer 8 pin (geeze they always add something new everytime i go to look at a new system)
that i was worried about but you said that an adapter would take care of that so i think
i have all the facts now. Now it's just a matter of figuring out what system is best for
me and my budget. Not sure what i am going to do yet.
I also have to wonder just how much benefit i would get from a quad core system over a
dual core system. Any ideas there?
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reloadron
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by reloadron »

For everyday general purpose use, not running very demanding programs like programs that require extensive processor power (math functions in CAD comes to mind) a dual core processor is fine. It also can get into budget. The fact that a processor has 4 cores doesn't make it a better processor. Unless the user plans extensive 3D rendering task a basic dual core processor is just fine. That is my opinion but you may want to ask around.

When putting a system together on paper it gets real easy to start bumping this and that up a little. This can tend to mess up the initial budget planning. :shock:

Ron
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MrAl
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by MrAl »

Hi Ron,

Yeah, i know what you mean. I was mainly starting this because now i have that extra power
supply laying around and i noticed that some of the computer parts arent priced really too
high, but the best ones are. I can see someone getting a processor and MoBo for less than
100 dollars US these days. All i wanted at first was something to go with my power supply
that's not doing anything right now, but then it seemed reasonable to upgrade just a little
at least at the same time.
LEDs vs Bulbs, LEDs are winning.
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MrAl
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by MrAl »

Hi again,


Quick question:

Anybody ever hear anything about an "ECS" motherboard? ECS is the manufacturer.
Good/bad?
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reloadron
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by reloadron »

ECS I believe is Elite Group. They have been at it for quite awhile. Till a few years ago they were a provider of OEM motherboards to companies like E machines, Dell, Gateway and others. Then a few years back they began to focus on the home computer enthusiast market. They make boards for Intel as well as AMD processors in standard ATX and Micro ATX sizes. Because they made quite a few OEM boards they actually still make boards with on board video (graphics).

This is an example of a reasonably priced board. The board only has two dimm (memory) slots but unless someone needs or wants mega memory the board would be fine for most general task.

ECS frequently gets a bad rap from hard core enthusiast who call their boards "cheap", however, from what I have seen and read talking to guys who review this stuff their hardware is just fine for building basic systems. If you have a specific board in mind then we could check out some reviews of that specific board.

Ron
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MrAl
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by MrAl »

Hello Ron,


So they arent bad then i guess. I see that board is low priced but it is a little bit outdated
already though. The newer boards handle quad cores too.

I noticed that all the newer boards dont have serial port connectors anymore although a few
seem to have a serial port mobo header. They dont have parallel ports anymore though.
I guess that means adapters for everything now.
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reloadron
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by reloadron »

The old parallel port was slowly phased out over the years and systems would come with a few RS232 ports. Now we are seeing few RS232 ports and more and more USB ports on boards. Something else you will notice is many newer boards don't have an IDE port for a floppy drive anymore. The last system I built myself I needed to add a RS232 adapter card to get a RS232 port on the rear of the thing. I can't say I use a floppy much anymore but I do have a USB floppy drive that I use on occasion.

The board I linked to was just an example and actually a micro-ATX form factor. It was also a pretty low end board. When you decide I believe you will want a standard ATX form factor board since that is what your case likely has.

Ron
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kheston
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by kheston »

MrAl,

Like I said in my post earlier, I've had terrible luck with ECS (Elitegroup) motherboards.

I build custom PCs for people 5-10 times per year, mostly for friends and family looking for something custom and cheap. The local Fry's stores advertise them all the time paired with CPUs for a great price, that is, if they actually worked. The two ECS MBs I purchased, about a year apart, both went back for a refund, but not until after I burned 10 or 15 hours (obsess much?) trying to get them to work. I've sworn them off, but that was 3 years ago. Perhaps their QC has gotten better.

Good luck!
Kurt - SF Bay
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MrAl
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Re: Advice on Motherboard Manufacturers

Post by MrAl »

Hi again,


Thanks for reminding me. I knew somebody didnt like them somewhere :smile:
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