Choosing a new Mobo

[CETD85]

Hi, just a quick question before I begin sorting out which new mobo to opt for.

On the AMD site, there are options for Form Factor:
ATX
uATX
eATX
SSF

and also the key features that some have:
AGP 8x
PCIe
UMA

Can you explain what they mean?

 

[Flinx]

Here is something to read for the ATX
<A HREF="http://www.pcguide.com/ref/case/formATX-c.html" target="_new">http://www.pcguide.com/ref/case/formATX-c.html</A>
ATX = ATX
uATX = micro ATX
eATX = extended ATX
SSF = <A HREF="http://www.lsilogic.com/products/small_form_factor/" target="_new">small form factor </A>

The stuff above is basically the <b>"formfactor"</b>

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Read this carefully for <A HREF="http://www.pimpedoutcases.net/article.php?57.0" target="_new">AGP/PCI-e</A> AGP and PCI-e are basically standards for I/O interfaces.
AGP=Advanced Graphics Protocol ?
PCI-e= PCI express
UMA=Unlicensed Mobile Access ??? - Unified Memory Architecture??? (where graphics processor accesses system memory directly?)


The loving are the daring!

 

[CETD85]

:frown:
So I take it the forrm factor relates to the Mobo, PSU and case? All 3? So the form factor for the mobo, the option i should choose <A HREF="http://www2.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/1,,30_182_869_9460^9461,00.html" target="_new"> here </A> is ATX, because that is what my case is?
Am i on the right track?

 

[Flinx]

Your are pretty close indeed. You could say all three.
ATX is a standard.

These different size motherboards are defined within the standard.

The motherboard footprints have been defined and also how cooling should take place. (cable lengths etc might be included).

An ATX power supply goes into an ATX case and how the power should behave is defined as well.

Well ATX is a standard and all three components you describe are part of it.

The formfactor is/are the dimensions of the motherboard. ATX is a standard. So while related are not exactly the same.

The loving are the daring!

 

[Crashman]

ATX is the standard. Micro ATX is a shorter version, supporting a maximum of 4 slots rather than a maximum of 7. SFF refers to Flex ATX (SFF is a specific case format that uses Flex ATX boards), and supports a maximum of 2 slots rather than 4 or 7.

The reason I say maximum number of slots is that many boards don't provide the full number of slots they're allowed. But the cases do. So for an ATX board with 5 instead of 7 slots, the ATX case still has 7 slots with 2 unused.

ATX is the "full size" version. Smaller boards also fit in larger cases, so a Micro ATX board fits in both Micro ATX and full ATX cases. Flex ATX boards fit in Flex ATX, Micro ATX, and ATX cases. Putting a smaller board into a larger case simply means you have more unused slots in the case.

Now, ATX is also a power supply power standard. It defines the power connector more than anything else. It's not a format (as in, size) however. PS/2 is the full ATX format, most people simply call them "ATX" power supplies not knowing anything about format.

PS/3 is a shortened version of PS/2, used mostly in Micro ATX cases with a shorter length, so the power supply doesn't interfere with the insertion of a CD-ROM. PS/3 was made popular in Hewlett Packard PC's but can be found in others.

The most common "small" power supply is the SFX format, which is also most commonly using ATX power. Again, most people don't know formats, so they call SFX power supplies "Micro ATX", even though Micro ATX cases can come with ANY size power supply. SFX was made popular in E-Machines PC's but is very common now.

AGP8x is the latest AGP video card standard.

PCIe is PCI-Express, a new standard meant to replace both PCI and AGP slots.


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[CETD85]

Thanks for clarifing that crashman. Now what about the chipsets, out of the ones available, VIA K8T800 Pro, 890, Nvidea nForce pro, nForce 3 ultra, nForce 4, nForce SLi, ATI radeon Xpress, how do they rate?

Any superior than the rest?

 

[tweebel]

They all perform about the same, most people prefer nForce chipsets because of feautures, stability, overclocking and heat.

 

[Guest]

YOU should check out those new DFI lanparty nf4 boards, good reviews on em, nice features available such as the option of going with sli or not, and best of all Crashman recommends them! There's a good article on them <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2337" target="_new"> here </A>

 

[Crashman]

nForce4 is the top chipset, followed by the similar nForce3 (AGP instead of PCI-Express). nForce4 is available with different features enabled depending on what you want and are willing to pay (nForce4 Ultra and nForce4 SLI are the same thing, with the Ultra version having SLI disabled).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Ned_Flanders]

AGP=Advanced Graphics Protocol ?

lol, no it's Accelerated Graphics Port

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Read the friggin FAQ, and use the search button or I'll kick yer face in!

 

[Rugger]

They <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=0" target="_new">are</A> and they are on sale for $145! Sale ends 2/15. The even have the <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-151&depa=1" target="_new">SLI version</A> listed but it's not in and no ETA.

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:tongue: <font color=red>Have you read the FAQ? Searched for other posts on this topic?</font color=red><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Rugger on 02/14/05 12:20 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[CETD85]

Assuming that I am retaining my current AGP Grahics card, can you recommend a few Mobo's with the nForce 3 Ultra chipset?

 

[tweebel]

Do you wish to use s939 or socket 754? Because socket 754 doesn't have ultra's, those are s 939 only.

Nice boards for S754 with nForce 3:
Abit NF8
Asus K8N Series
Gigabyte K8N

And s939:
Gigabyte (GA)-K8NS-(939)
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (heard a lot of good things about this one)

Problem is that the Ultra boards are quite expensive compared to other options.

 

[CETD85]

I prob will be going for a 939 socket, what other options do I have with regards to the chipset?

 

[tweebel]

There's of course the nForce4 besides VIA, but it doesn't offer AGP which I believe you needed.

 

[Rugger]

What is your current vid card? Some people are having issues when OCing a 6800 with the nF3 Ultra chipset - Lazerous had a thred going a week or two ago on this issue.

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