[SOLVED] which mobo to give me a fantastic web surfing tool

[IanCat]

Hi everybody.
Thanks in advance for any help offered.
I hate waste.
It’s time to replace my Socket 775 (E6300) machine. I have just gone from XP to 10 and it works but not amazingly.
All I need is a crisp web surfing tool that can spread the desktop over 2 screens and be very happy with Windows 10. No gaming or overclocking.
So I feel I should be able to replace my board with a 1155 board and CPU reasonably economically. But I am not convinced that is the right way to go because the technology predates Windows 10. Yes, I know there are updated drivers, but some are better than others.
I thought about buying a HP 8300 elite mobo. Cheap and ticks the boxes but not sure about the dual screen capability without buying a graphics card.
Did I say super cheap appeals?
The Q range of chipsets is probably good enough for me. I don’t know anything about AMD.
Oh yes, I have a big box, corsair psu, and a good hard drive and disc drive.

There may already be a good thread on this, but I haven't been able to find it.

Any thoughts very much appreciated.

 

[discourse4]

That CPU is causing the issues. It will literally lag on Youtube 1080p videos. Right click on the video, select stats for nerds, and see the amount of frames lost.

Socket 775 is more than enough for web surfing. If you know the model of the motherboard, then we can check manual if it supports dual monitor output. If it does, then you may just need a simple & cheap CPU change and possibly some more RAM.

 

[IanCat]

Thanks for response Discourse 4. I wondered about that. Mobo is Abit IL9 Pro. So I can't put a lot faster cpu in it, E6600 perhaps. I wondered if it was the graphics slowing it down. I have a radion x1330/1550 or some name like that which gives me dual monitors. I found a Win10 driver for it but not sure how good it is. I tried a radion 5450 I think it was, has to be pci, but the machine would only work for a few minutes before completely crashing, crashing like dead not even blue screen,
which I took to be the chipset overheating. Any further thoughts very much appreciated.

 

[discourse4]

If it crashes dead, then the pc may be protecting itself from an overheat, OR it might just be your power supply giving out due to the amount of power being drawn.

For your motherboard, the ONLY confirmed upgrade you can do for the CPU is with a Core 2 Extreme X6800. Unfortunately this processor is NOT good enough. Even the e8400, which sometimes struggles on HD videos is still better. You will unfortunately need to upgrade the motherboard as well.

http://abit.ws/cpu-support-list/mb/intel_945p_il9-pro.htm
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core2-X6800-vs-Intel-Core2-Duo-E8400/m8640vs2720

People will need to confirm this since I am not up to date with prices of budget builds, but check if the Ryzen 2200G or any other AMD APUs are currently a good deal. This is more than enough for surfing and to watch streaming services in fullscreen HD, without a graphics card.

 

[IanCat]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

 

[King_V]

I don't know how much RAM you currently have, or if you could add more to that system (or if you could get older RAM cheaply)...

However, if you were going with a new system, and only needed web surfing and 1080p YouTube videos, this would more than cover your needs - HOWEVER, it does NOT include the Windows 10 license (I wasn't sure if your existing W10 license is transferable).

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NjV93b

$14 more will move you up to the 512GB of the same SSD.
$21 more will move you up to 16GB instead of 8GB, though I don't really think you'd need the extra memory.

Faster RAM is also available, though I tried to stick to the ASRock QVL list for this unit, and for my own needs, 2400 Mhz memory was plenty.

Of course, you could also go for an Athlon 220GE, or 240GE, or go to the Ryzen 3 2200G or Ryzen 5 2400G, but for your needs, I think going above the 200GE is overkill. It REQUIRES a CPU with built in graphics because there's no PCIe slot at all. Note as well, it uses laptop RAM.

The bonus - the entire system (see The Micro Machine under my signature) consumes maybe around 30-ish watts maximum total in real world usage according to a few reviews I've read. It has an external power brick - the whole case itself is a little larger than an ATX PSU.

Also, it has a single DP output, single HDMI output, and, oddly, a VGA output. The DP and HDMI will cover you for multiple display.