New Computer: Advice on parts?

[Da CalebMan]

Darn, just realised the M4A88TD-M is a uATX. That's probably why it was so cheap. Found this Gigabyte motherboard though, all Newegg reviews said it had no problems with Linux and it's not too much more expensive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

Good idea?

[cascade9]

You only palce I can find that board in brisneyland is game dude (who I will NEVER, EVER BUY FROM AGAIN!)

Its $138 there, and its not worth it IMO.

[Da CalebMan]

I found a site called MSY, believe it or not, some of their stuff is cheaper than Game Dude and they've got quite a larger range. Their site is: http://www.msy.com.au/

Static Ice knows (most of) the cheapest stores in all of Aus and you can search products individually. http://www.staticice.com.au/

BTW, I figured out the Maverick kernel has the audio bug fixed. Could always back-port it to Lucid, if that's the right term, but I've already got Maverick.

Sorry if you knew all this.

[Da CalebMan]

Also, parts-list so far:
- Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
- Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333
- AMD AM3 x2 255

[cascade9]

LOL, yeah, I think I may have told you about MSY and staticice.

I'm, not seeing the GA-880GA-UD3H at MSY. Maybe you've actually logged in and are getting a brisbane branch (I end up with "Your current selected branch is: Clayton(VIC) Branch." when I look at MSYs site)

The closest thing to that board I can see at MSY is the GA-880GM-USB3, which is microATX, and slightly different in chipset. Its got a SB710 southbridge (SATAII) where the GA-880GA-UD3H has the SB850 southbridge (SATAIII)

*edit- staticice doesnt show the GA-880GA-UD3H at MSY either.

[Da CalebMan]

Oh, sorry! That was my fault, that's not the board I'm talking about, jeez the whole time I've been posting the wrong one.

http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=3223

My mistake, sorry for the confusion

[Da CalebMan]

Yay, same chipset, but cheaper.
Is ASRock a good brand for quality?
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=3134

[GabrielYYZ]

Yay, same chipset, but cheaper.
Is ASRock a good brand for quality?
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=3134

they're ok, not the best but they have a couple solid reviews on some sites. i'd recommend to look for reviews of that specific motherboard though, that way you get a sense of how it plays out in actual use.

my motherboard is an A790GXM-AD3 from ECS (Elite Group), i think they're an ok brand, but i found the motherboard to be pretty good. the reviews are fairly consistent for it too, so i tend to think that, while reviews might not be the definitive way to judge hardware, they're pretty useful.

[cascade9]

Asrock varies, some boards are not bad, some are absolute crap. The asrock baord I got to use while I was RMAing a (different) dead board is one of the worst boards I've ever seen. ECS is pretty much the same thing, though they have less boards made for retail, and focus more on OEM for big corporate manufacturers.

I'd get a Gigabyte 770T $105 (IIRC they were at MSY for even less but arent listed anymore)-
http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products...id=2&sid=70121

Or even a asus M4A87TD, $96-
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=3151

+ a cheap PCIe video card, $40 (GT210) or less (8400GS).

BTW, I'd bet that you are planning on running the PSU in your current machine, right? If its old, or underpowered it probably wont run a modern system well, if at all.

[dh04000]

I only got one piece of advice for you. And it applies to all electronics. Buy the one coming out in 6 months, because what ever it is, will be better than what you buy now.