Which ASUS Motherboard Please

I am looking for a bit of help and advice.
Firstly I hope I have posted this in the correct newgroup.

I am a little out of touch with the latest processors, motherboards and ram.
In the past I have built a few PC's for my college friends always using
Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors..
For a change, and I have been advised that ASUS are as good as any other
mptherboard and generally speaking INTEL CPU's run cooler than AMD.
Therefore I am going to attempt and build another, using VISTA and probably
an ASUS motherboard with an Intel CPU.
The PC will not be used for gaming, but will be used for surfing and also
downloading and making DVDs. I do have a budget so I cannot go out and buy
the best and the most expensive. But the most important thing is the PC must
be as quiet as possible.

I intend using a 250GB SATA HDD
At least 1GB of RAM
Ideally I would like RAID (future project) and also built in Sound and LAN,
with usual USB sockets etc
Not quite sure which graphics card I will use but probably something without
a fan.

I am not certain which CPU I will use, as that seems a minfield out there as
well; but I guess I would like a dual processor with at least 2GB on each.

I wonder if anyone could please recommend an ASUS motherboard (Vista
compatable) to meet the above spec. Also which CPU and also probably more
important a good quiet CPU fan? and case and power supply.

I would be extremely grateful if anyone could come up with something for me
to get going and work on.

Many Thanks In Advance

Mandy XXXXXX

Young Mandy wrote:

> I am a little out of touch with the latest processors, motherboards and ram.
> In the past I have built a few PC's for my college friends always using
> Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors..
> For a change, and I have been advised that ASUS are as good as any other
> motherboard and generally speaking INTEL CPU's run cooler than AMD.
> Therefore I am going to attempt and build another, using VISTA and probably
> an ASUS motherboard with an Intel CPU.
> The PC will not be used for gaming, but will be used for surfing and also
> downloading and making DVDs. I do have a budget so I cannot go out and buy
> the best and the most expensive. But the most important thing is the PC must
> be as quiet as possible.
>
> I intend using a 250GB SATA HDD
> At least 1GB of RAM
> Ideally I would like RAID (future project) and also built in Sound and LAN,
> with usual USB sockets etc
> Not quite sure which graphics card I will use but probably something without
> a fan.

> I am not certain which CPU I will use, as that seems a minfield out there as
> well; but I guess I would like a dual processor with at least 2GB on each.

> I wonder if anyone could please recommend an ASUS motherboard (Vista
> compatable) to meet the above spec. Also which CPU and also probably more
> important a good quiet CPU fan? and case and power supply.

Dear Mandy,

easy.

Quiet case is on sale at Newegg: $50 rebate, and in my experience,
Antec honors rebates quickly and without hassle:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129155

Quiet case with decent quiet power supply.

Motherboard: would recommend you stay with an Intel chipset. Any one
of these; 975x chipset seems to be best, but, of course it is the most
expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131048

CPU: 2MB per processor starts with the 6600: the less expensive models
share 2MB:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

For quiet, effective cooling: Zalman.

The 9500 is excellent, and, has a four pin fan connector so the
motherboard can control fan speed:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118003

Or:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118020

Corsair or Kingston RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134064

Hard drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701

DVD burner:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827140021

Decent quiet graphics cards:

Lots of good video cards, all Vista compatible.

But, if you are on a budget, Vista seems very expensive, and, unless
there is some feature you really need from Vista, I would recommend XP
Pro: seems like Vista is still sort of in beta, and people are having
some issues with it. One recommendation I hear a lot is waiting until
Service Pack 1 for any Windows OS....

"Wait, don't buy Vista":

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128669/article.html

It does have its good points:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,12...1/article.html

HTH,

BC

Oops:

video cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121016

"Young Mandy" <> wrote in message
news:...
>I am looking for a bit of help and advice.
> Firstly I hope I have posted this in the correct newgroup.
>
> I am a little out of touch with the latest processors, motherboards and
> ram.
> In the past I have built a few PC's for my college friends always using
> Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors..
> For a change, and I have been advised that ASUS are as good as any other
> mptherboard and generally speaking INTEL CPU's run cooler than AMD.
> Therefore I am going to attempt and build another, using VISTA and
> probably an ASUS motherboard with an Intel CPU.
> The PC will not be used for gaming, but will be used for surfing and also
> downloading and making DVDs. I do have a budget so I cannot go out and buy
> the best and the most expensive. But the most important thing is the PC
> must be as quiet as possible.
>
> I intend using a 250GB SATA HDD
> At least 1GB of RAM
> Ideally I would like RAID (future project) and also built in Sound and
> LAN, with usual USB sockets etc
> Not quite sure which graphics card I will use but probably something
> without a fan.
>
> I am not certain which CPU I will use, as that seems a minfield out there
> as well; but I guess I would like a dual processor with at least 2GB on
> each.
>
> I wonder if anyone could please recommend an ASUS motherboard (Vista
> compatable) to meet the above spec. Also which CPU and also probably more
> important a good quiet CPU fan? and case and power supply.
>
> I would be extremely grateful if anyone could come up with something for
> me to get going and work on.
>
> Many Thanks In Advance
>
> Mandy XXXXXX
>


Here's a great combo that will provide excellent performance, without
busting the bank:

MOBO - Asus P5B-Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131045
$179 USD

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115004
$222 USD

For mem, you would be wise to get a 2GB kit for Vista.

MEM: Corsair XMS2 (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590

Cooler (no overclocking): The stock heatsink/fan will do the job, but I'm
not sure how loud it is, at max rpm.

Cooler (moedrate to major overclocking): Thermalright Ultra-120 (120mm fan
not included)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835109125
$49 USD

Make sure the Power Supply you buy is a quality ATX 2.0. A cheap power
supply will likely cause you much grief, sooner or later. As for the
wattage, that will depend greatly on which videocard you choose.

Also, depending, again, on the videocard you choose, the above rig would
make for an excellent gaming rig, should you change your mind.

-phil

There are a number of good motherboards, and you will get lots of
suggestions on them. However, the CPU that you want is one of the Intel
"Core 2 Duo" family. The E6600 is the usual choice if you can handle
the cost (about $300), it's the least expensive model with the large 4MB
cache system (there are less expensive CPUs in this family (again, Core
2 Duo), but the lesser ones don't have the 4MB cache system, and some of
the really low-end ones are missing other functionality as well).

While there are some good Asus motherboards, the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 is
also an excellent choice. It's comparable to the Asus P5B and P5B-E.

For memory you want 1GB of dual channel DDR2 either 566MHz or 800MHz,
but not 666MHz. Since you want dual channel, this will be two modules
of 512MB each.

The Intel stock heat sink/fan is fine, no premium after market cooler is
needed, although check that the heatsink bottom is truly flat ...
apparently there have been some that were defective in that the heatsink
base was concave enough to be an issue. If you insist on an
after-market cooler, the Zalman CNPS-9500 and 9700 are the best ones
available. But they simply are not necessary for Core 2 Duo chips,
which run quite cool, and which come with a good thermal solution if
it's not defective.



Young Mandy wrote:
> I am looking for a bit of help and advice.
> Firstly I hope I have posted this in the correct newgroup.
>
> I am a little out of touch with the latest processors, motherboards and ram.
> In the past I have built a few PC's for my college friends always using
> Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors..
> For a change, and I have been advised that ASUS are as good as any other
> mptherboard and generally speaking INTEL CPU's run cooler than AMD.
> Therefore I am going to attempt and build another, using VISTA and probably
> an ASUS motherboard with an Intel CPU.
> The PC will not be used for gaming, but will be used for surfing and also
> downloading and making DVDs. I do have a budget so I cannot go out and buy
> the best and the most expensive. But the most important thing is the PC must
> be as quiet as possible.
>
> I intend using a 250GB SATA HDD
> At least 1GB of RAM
> Ideally I would like RAID (future project) and also built in Sound and LAN,
> with usual USB sockets etc
> Not quite sure which graphics card I will use but probably something without
> a fan.
>
> I am not certain which CPU I will use, as that seems a minfield out there as
> well; but I guess I would like a dual processor with at least 2GB on each.
>
> I wonder if anyone could please recommend an ASUS motherboard (Vista
> compatable) to meet the above spec. Also which CPU and also probably more
> important a good quiet CPU fan? and case and power supply.
>
> I would be extremely grateful if anyone could come up with something for me
> to get going and work on.
>
> Many Thanks In Advance
>
> Mandy XXXXXX
>
>

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:11:24 -0500, Barry Watzman
<> wrote:

>> At least 1GB of RAM

Surely you'll want 2 sticks of 1 GB each.
You'll not want to skimp here.

-- Zadok
('¿')

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 12:20:31 -0000, "Young Mandy"
<> wrote:

>I am looking for a bit of help and advice.


See: http://techreport.com/etc/2007q1/sys...e/index.x?pg=1


>Firstly I hope I have posted this in the correct newgroup.
>
>I am a little out of touch with the latest processors, motherboards and ram.
>In the past I have built a few PC's for my college friends always using
>Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors..
>For a change, and I have been advised that ASUS are as good as any other
>mptherboard and generally speaking INTEL CPU's run cooler than AMD.
>Therefore I am going to attempt and build another, using VISTA and probably
>an ASUS motherboard with an Intel CPU.
>The PC will not be used for gaming, but will be used for surfing and also
>downloading and making DVDs. I do have a budget so I cannot go out and buy
>the best and the most expensive. But the most important thing is the PC must
>be as quiet as possible.
>
>I intend using a 250GB SATA HDD
>At least 1GB of RAM
>Ideally I would like RAID (future project) and also built in Sound and LAN,
>with usual USB sockets etc
>Not quite sure which graphics card I will use but probably something without
>a fan.
>
>I am not certain which CPU I will use, as that seems a minfield out there as
>well; but I guess I would like a dual processor with at least 2GB on each.
>
>I wonder if anyone could please recommend an ASUS motherboard (Vista
>compatable) to meet the above spec. Also which CPU and also probably more
>important a good quiet CPU fan? and case and power supply.
>
>I would be extremely grateful if anyone could come up with something for me
>to get going and work on.
>
>Many Thanks In Advance
>
>Mandy XXXXXX
>
>

"Young Mandy" <> wrote in message
news:...
>I am looking for a bit of help and advice.
> Firstly I hope I have posted this in the correct newgroup.
>
> I am a little out of touch with the latest processors, motherboards and
> ram.
> In the past I have built a few PC's for my college friends always using
> Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors..
> For a change, and I have been advised that ASUS are as good as any other
> mptherboard and generally speaking INTEL CPU's run cooler than AMD.
> Therefore I am going to attempt and build another, using VISTA and
> probably an ASUS motherboard with an Intel CPU.
> The PC will not be used for gaming, but will be used for surfing and also
> downloading and making DVDs. I do have a budget so I cannot go out and buy
> the best and the most expensive. But the most important thing is the PC
> must be as quiet as possible.
>
> I intend using a 250GB SATA HDD
> At least 1GB of RAM
> Ideally I would like RAID (future project) and also built in Sound and
> LAN, with usual USB sockets etc
> Not quite sure which graphics card I will use but probably something
> without a fan.
>
> I am not certain which CPU I will use, as that seems a minfield out there
> as well; but I guess I would like a dual processor with at least 2GB on
> each.
>
> I wonder if anyone could please recommend an ASUS motherboard (Vista
> compatable) to meet the above spec. Also which CPU and also probably more
> important a good quiet CPU fan? and case and power supply.

The standard Intel heatsink and fan is pretty good. Never seems to get over
1,500 rpm.

I an using an E6400, with a Thermaltake Sopranao case, which has 2 * 120 mm
fans. It's very quiet.

The case is under the desk, which helps, but compared to my old machines it
is silent.

Depending on your budget I wouldn't nessacerily recommend the Soprano case,
(in relative terms it cheap, some would say nasty, but I'm not that fussy
;-)), but a case that uses 2 low speed 120 mm fans will probably be fairly
quiet.

I'm fairly certain the Nvidia GS range of graphics cards are fanless, though
since you won't be gaming You shouldn't have a problem with that.

Be aware though that Vista might need HDCP compliant video card if you want
to watch any copy protected material through your TV out in high definition.
The monitor may need to be compliant as well. You may want to research that.

>
> I would be extremely grateful if anyone could come up with something for
> me to get going and work on.
>
> Many Thanks In Advance
>
> Mandy XXXXXX
>

A very big THANK YOU for ALL of your advice and assistance.
I now have something to work on
Once again thank you

Mandy

"Young Mandy" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> A very big THANK YOU for ALL of your advice and assistance.
> I now have something to work on
> Once again thank you
>
> Mandy
>

Just to let you know this is what I intend to go for:-

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case 450Watt
SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply
ASUS P5B Deluxe
RAM DDR2 - 800 PC2 6400 (still undecided whether to go for 1gb or 2 gb)
Thermalright Ultra 120 Heatsink and associated 120 mm fan
Nvidia EN7600 GS Graphics Card
CPU because of my budget I think it will have to be Intel Core 2 Duo E6300

I gather i will need 64 bit Vista, could someone please confirm (thanks);
also if you can see anything wrong or would like to comment re my selection
PLEASE do let me know (I will not be offended:-)

Once again many thanks to all you who replied, I think you will see I have
taken all your advice, it really was very helpful and much appreciated.