Appropriate Motherboard?

[XChamp]

Well instead of ordering another computer from Dell I've decided to build my own (sort of) at monarchcomputer.com since i can save about $1000 doing that. But, I'm relatively new to all this and I really I have no idea what motherboard I should buy. I will be using this computer for my job, which means I will have many applications running at the same time (music, email, web browsers, a messenger, a spreadsheet, and 3 or 4 business oriented apps). I also like to game (can't wait for halflife2). What's more, I really want *at least* dual monitor support for a bigger desktop. 4 screens would be nicer but at this point I cannot figure out a way to stretch my desktop across 4 screens (do I need a mobo with two AGP slots for dual cards? I really am at a loss here. I know GeForce FX cards offer dual support, so right now I plan on buying one of those.)

any recommendations here or a point in the right direction? thanks

 

[TheRod]

Do you want Intel or AMD? Do you care about AMD or Intel based system? If you do a lot of multi-tasking, a P4C might be a good choice, because they have hyper-threading.

Do you plan to keep your PC for a long time? Because, new technology is coming out within a few months. It's might worth the wait if you plan to keep your system for a long time. And for the long-time investment, AMD64 based system would be a better choice, because they are 64bit capable.

The best multi-monitor is offered by Matrox, but if you buy a Matrox card you will nver be able to play HL2 on it! They are very slow in 3D, but they have triple-head support (3 monitors).

For dual-monitor setup, many ATI cards have dual output too and they usually beat GeForce FX cards in the same range. GeForce FX cards have image quality issue. And don't forget that ATI cards 9600/9800 (PRO and XT) will run HL2 very smoothly. Valve and ATI collaborate to make sure ATI cards will run HL2 fast.

If you get a motherboard with an ATI chipset that have in integrated GPU you will be able to run 3 monitors at once. 1 output from the MB and 2 output from the AGP card.

--
Lookin' to fill that <font color=blue>GOD</font color=blue> shape hole!

 

[XChamp]

Thanks for the advice.

I really do not know much about the differences between Intel and AMD systems. Intel has always worked for me so I just assumed I would get that. I plan on keeping the computer for 3-4 years. I read on this site (http://www4.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040216/dual_displya-01.html) that the ATI cards do not support span modes, which is what I would want, so I decided on Geforce FX.

I am curious, what new technology is coming out?

 

[Cybercraig]

If you are planning to keep this P.C. for a while, why on earth would you build a 32 bit machine? Build an A64 if that's what you are aiming at.

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Now, let's eat!

 

[TheRod]

I really do not know much about the differences between Intel and AMD systems. Intel has always worked for me so I just assumed I would get that. I plan on keeping the computer for 3-4 years.

3-4 year life span, the choice is obvious, get an Athlon 64. If you buy a P4C/E right now, you will no be able to run Windows XP 64bit or any 64bit OS on your system. And if you plan to keep yoru system that long, wait for Socket939 Athlon 64, they will be out soon.

If you absolutly want to buy Intel (there is people like that on earth!), you should wait for Socket755 before buying your system. This socket will be future-proof for Intel.

ATI cards do not support span modes

Current ATI drivers don't support span modes, but what will you do with span mode? I have an ATI card with dual output and I have no problem running apps on one screen or another. Will you really use SPAN MODE? And don't forget that ATI 9600/9800 have a big advantage in image quality over GeForce FX cards.

I am curious, what new technology is coming out?

- New socket from both AMD and Intel in June
- PCI-EXPRESS to replace AGP8X
- Mainstream GeForce 6800 and ATI X800 cards (this mean cards under 300$US)

And many other things, but these 3 things are the most important.

--
Lookin' to fill that <font color=blue>GOD</font color=blue> shape hole!

 

[XChamp]

Well I guess I was just thinking about playing games on two monitors with span mode...but there are about 3 games total that support this so I guess geforce is out then.



but is there any way to make it so my desktop is made up of 4 screens? dell sells a quad monitor setup and tom's guide shows a game stretched across 12 screens, although it looks like many computers are involved. (http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040216/dual_displya-04.html#multidisplay_games)

 

[TheRod]

is there any way to make it so my desktop is made up of 4 screens? dell sells a quad monitor setup and tom's guide shows a game stretched across 12 screens, although it looks like many computers are involved.

You can fit more than 1 Video cord in a PC, so theorically, 2 dual-output card could feed 4 monitors. But, it probably require some configuration. I read somehwere that Windows XP natively support multiple video card, but I never tried it to see how it works in real life. Probably there is some 3rd party software that can manage this.

For the 14 monitor setup, have you noticed that there is about 10 computers under the desk! Some game engine support this kind of setup, I know than Quake Engine (don't know the exact version) have command-line option to start a single game on multiple networked computer at once. The options are something like this :
Computer 1 : quake -multimonitor center
Computer 2 : quake -multimonitor left
Computer 3 : quake -multimonitor right

The 14 screen setup is probably something like that, every computer run the game on display what they are ask to show.

--
Lookin' to fill that <font color=blue>GOD</font color=blue> shape hole!

 

[Obtuse]

As far as I know, Alienware has a mobo coming out that supports 2 videocards and can run 4 screens, but it'll be a PCI-express mobo and if you are building your own comp to save money, this is DEFINITELY not an option since that baby will most likely run 4-5000 dollars. If you are building for the future, buy a socket 754 mobo with an Athlon64 proc. If you want to game, I would suggest ATI x800 pro card, will run all games now very well and should be viable for future, and supports dual monitors. For all those apps open at same time, run 1 gig of Ram. Other than that buy a hard drive as big as you need, or run 2 sata hard drives in raid if you want fast transfer times. Overall, this comp should run you 1000 - 1500 dollars depending on how fancy your RAM, case, mobo, HDD are.

 

[seezur]

Well, i would sugest waiting for the new sockets to be released before i buy a new system. Because if you bought a top of the line system now , in 2 months you will be kicking yourself.

As fars as your monitor question maybe you should check out the diplays on this site, they are very expensive but i think they can do what you want without having to worry about what video card you need. http://go-l.com/home/index.htm

good luck

My system specs: Athlon XP 2500+ barton, 512MB PC2700 RAM, MSI motherboard, WD 80GB special edition, ASUS radeon 9600XT