recommended motherboards?... TY.

Obviously my main concern is the motherboard, since I have a lot of the other parts already and if not then hey they're the cheap parts. Optimally I'll probably look for something that also comes with a decent processor (2GHZ range or so), fan and RAM.

I think I'll want something I can play some OLRPG's on, but if not then at least some good PC games. Any advice on brands and specs would be appreciated. This is the most advice I've found so far but it's not to specific:

http://***********.com/guide/mobo/mobo-5.html

Also I can't say I quite understand what they mean about deciding which PCU you want to use. I always thought PCU was another way of saying PC. Is this an actual physical componant?

Anyway the first thing I want to do is pick out the board and then buy it. I'm betting there's some off chance that the tower I've got (oh, its OLD..) is not going to fit the new board either so how do I know which tower to buy?

To reiterate, I need advice on which motherboard some of you fanatics might recommend and then about what case/tower(s) I'll need to house it in. After I get this far it will be a couple of weeks before I get the items themselves so I won't need like 48 hours worth of advice or anything. Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,



T.W.

 

http://***********.com/guide/mobo/mobo-5.html
T.W.[/QUOTE]

Your link, no good, re enter

 

i think you mean MMORPG not OLRPG......Massive multiplayer online role playing game; whats a pcu? and just because your 'motherboard' will fit in your tower doesnt mean the PSU (power supply unit) is actually 350W[minimum] or more...


Looking for a 'good' mobo doesnt mean you will be able to play mmorpgs; you need a good mobo enough, 512MB ram or more (1GB is more then enough now) alot of space room on your hard drive (you will want a 7200rpm hdd or faster), an enthusiast level 3d card and to top it off a high speed processor. This can run you between 700-1000$ if you build it yourself; or get someone to build it for you.

when your window shopping for a tower your looking for a tower that will support full atx board.

 

That links been censored, because the site it was referencing to plagurised MG's news at some point, and they were danm rude to the owners of this website afterwards when asked about it.

A PSU is a Power Supply Unit. This is what converts the AC inlet from the wall into power that your motherboard and other components can use. Look for one with a P4 Square power lead... most new motherboards whether AMD or P4 will require it. A 400W one would do the job nicley. Antec are a good brand for PSUs.

I wouldnt worry too much about cases not fitting. Nearly all consumer motherboards these days are ATX compatible, and so are most cases. Unless youre going for a huge server or a rackmount case (which i hope youre not!) then you shouldnt have any problems. Also, a lot of cases come with power supplies as well, but they tend to be shortlived and can be a confusing thing to troubleshoot.

Myself, my setup is : Amd Athlon XP 3000+ FSB333 @ 2.2 Ghz, 2 x 256MB DDR PC2700 ram, on an Abit AN7 Motherboard. This motherboard is fantastic, I've had no problems with it, and it runs very very smoothly. The sound card is great, and the ram runs at double rate. Also i have a Aero 7+ Heatsink, which is all copper and keeps my CPU very cool (CPU being Central Processing Unit, or Processor.... not ComPUter)

One suggestion on the case, its important to get one thats upgradeable and has enough room to move around in there, so you dont have to fiddle with tiny nooks and crannies where you lose things all the time, and also has good room for a fair airflow.