Suggest a Motherboard?

Hello all,

I'm looking for a desktop motherboard for my DELL INSPIRON 530 Desktop which has a Foxconn G33M02 motherboard by default. Since the motherboard has gone bad i'm looking forward to swap it with a new one. My current specifications are :-
Ram :
2GB DDR2 800 Mhz
512MB + 512 MB DDR2 667Mhz
My current motherboard i.e. Foxconn G33M02 has 4 ram slots, out of which currently 3 are occupied.
Hard disk:
160GB SATA HDD
Processor:
Intel Pentium Dual core E2160(1.80 Ghz)
DVD Drive:
"2" - SATA DVD Drives
1 Chasis Fan
1 Processor Fan
LGA 775 Socket
300 Watt SMPS
2xPCI Slots(1 Slot occupied by IEEE Firewire 1394 card & the other by TV Tuner Card)
1 PCIe 1x Slot
1 PCIe 16x Slot
1 Flexbay drive for Media card reader
You may have the complete details from the link provided below :-

http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/al...l=en&cs=&s=gen

I'm be willing to buy a motherboard with same specification (of any brand) and within the price range of INR 5000 or US $100. I had an option to buy the motherboard which i had by default but couldn't find it at the aforesaid price.
By the way i'm from India.

Thanks in advance to who so ever replies.

Any basic Intel board with 4 memory slots and at least 2 regular PCI slots should work fine. You didn't mention what you'll be using for graphics, but most of the on-board Intel chips ought to work fine straight out of the box for non-gaming uses, using stock drivers.

Most older hardware is very well supported by Linux, the older the better, as long as it's not vintage stuff from the 90's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by foresthill

Any basic Intel board with 4 memory slots and at least 2 regular PCI slots should work fine.

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Not exactly. The OP needs to make sure the new motherboard:
- Is Socket 775
- Uses DDR2
- Has integrated graphics

It would really help if you linked to some vendors that you're considering so that we can see what choices you have.

Actually i have been looking to find one in order to suffice my needs i.e. 4 ram slots & supporting the above mentioned configuration. But, unfortunately i haven't been successful thats why i haven't listed any.

You're going to be hard pushed to find a new Socket 775 motherboard that's still on the market, as they stopped selling Socket 775 CPU's around 5 years ago.

I'm not sure about India but in the UK this is the only compatible motherboard that I can find that's still for sale, it's about $60.
You may have better luck with eBay or the second-hand market.

Something you have to watch out for with Dell is their tendency to use non-standard sized components, I've been caught out in the past when replacing the PSU's in Dell machines where the replacement ATX power supplies just wouldn't fit, Dell had used their own specifications to tie you in to purchasing your replacement parts from them.

http://www.ascendtech.us/gigabyte-ga...8i945pmrh.aspx
This is a good site to search for hardware: http://www.pricewatch.com/

Anand Tech regularly recommends Gigabyte motherboards. They are built very well with 2 oz copper circuit boards. I like to support Gigabyte because they oppose EFI, which I think is another microsoft scam.

I'm sorry but this link is for a store in the USA. I do not know if this will help you if you are in India.

Thanks everyone for your useful replies ................... although the problem ain't solved b'coz the motherboard suggested by Cheesemill just has 1 PCI slot as well it lists support for only Core 2 Duo while the website listed by d0006 is good, i have even previously contacted them but unfortunately they don't ship to india.Infact they even had the very same motherboard listed on their website a few months back.

But, still i'm very greatful to each and everyone of you for your useful replies.