hardware dummy needs matx board

[takayuki]

Hi,

any suggestions for a "just works" micro atx board?

i'm in Japan so i don't have the newegg option. i want something that "just works" out of the box. i build websites part time (lamp, gimp, inkscape), don't care much about gaming...

current setup: duron 1.2 ghz, GeForce2 MX/MX 400, 640mb, xubuntu 7.04. it ain't speedy, but does the job. want something a with a little more pep.

i'm partial to amd and was thinking about a gf6100 board.

price range: $50 ish. 4172 yen = ~$41.72

the link below is a list of matx boards that i can buy online in japan. any suggestions greatly appreciated.

http://kakaku.com/pc/motherboard/ma_0/p1001/s1=6/

regards,

takayuki

[Barry Carroll]

If you're going with AMD I'd possibly look for a board with integrated ATI graphics as you'd be keeping it 'in the family'.

I have one of these: http://kakaku.com/item/K0000000565/ which has an integrated Nvidia geforce 9300 and I have no complaints with it whatsoever on jaunty 64 bit. There are cheaper boards available (~$89) with 9300 chips too and they would be a lot more powerful than a 6150.

A socket AM2/2+ board with radeon 3000 series graphics:
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000031116/

My order of preference for the igp would be: nvidia 9300, radeon 3000 series, intel gma x4500 and I'd be putting the nvidia 6150 firmly at the bottom.

Here are some links which might help inform your choice:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...G.11359.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Rad...00.9591.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-G...HD.9883.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...50.6945.0.html

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...0g_linux&num=1

[takayuki]

Barry,

thanks for the informative reply. the asus P5N7A-VM board with the 9300 looks great, but is out of my price range. i may, as you suggested, look for a cheaper board with the 9300.

that, or go for a radeon 3000 series board.

i'd heard of all of these gpu's at one time or another, but didn't have a clear picture until checking out the notebookcheck.com links. this link really shows all of the gpu in a nice list based on performance: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compari...rds.130.0.html

thanks again. i'm a lot closer to making an informed decision.

takayuki