Personal Computer Buying Tips: How To Choose a Motherboard and Processor

Not to long ago I came into a crisis on having to replaced a borrowed motherboard and processor. So I went to a computer store with limited funds and selected a motherboard and processor to replace the one I had borrowed, which the owner wanted back.

First thing I looked for was compatibility with the pre existing hardware that I already had with my system. I was also looking for speed of processing data. With the limited funds I finally made my selections. The cost was minimal and fit in my budget but what a mistake I made.

I have had nothing but trouble with this motherboard since I bought it. I will not mention the company that makes this product nor will will I name off the store I bought it from for liability purposes. Now this motherboard and processor runs great as long as I don't try to keep it tuned and running the way it should be. Every time I turned around something was wrong and I had to fix it myself with very little support from the company it was made at. I came to the conclusion you get what you pay for. I have been unhappy with this system from the start.

Let me try to be a help to those who are looking to purchasing a new motherboard and processor. First thing you want to ask yourself is, does it fit your needs and is it compatible with your existing hardware? For example the better Motherboards no longer have an AGP slot for the older type video cards. If you have an AGP card then you have two choices. Find a Motherboard with an AGP slot or get a newer one with built in VGA that supports your monitor or buy a new video card compatible with accelerated PCI slots which is what replaces the old AGP.

After you have determined that you have had your needs met the second thing you must determine, is this motherboard expandable to your future needs to upgrade? Does this Motherboard have the capability to upgrade memory or processor in the future, depending on your budget?

Next I would determine what kind of memory, how much memory, and how fast the memory is. While selecting this you must consider the front side bus speed. Is it fast enough for your needs and wants? Can you upgrade your processor if need be and still be able to match your front side bus? I recommend at least 800mgb Front side bus or greater, No less than 533mgb, which will make your system bog down if less than 533mgb is available anymore.

If you are planning on running Windows Vista make sure that what ever motherboard and processor you select is Vista ready. Also for the home version and above Vista requires 1 gigabyte of memory or greater.

The processor is the next in line for you to select. You can go with combination motherboard and processor or select your own processor separately. Make sure the processor matches with the motherboard you selected. For example an Intel processor will not work with an AMD board and vice versa. Although I am not going to get into number of pins such as 775 pin slots on some motherboards, you must make sure the processor pins match the motherboard pins. In my opinion, either AMD or INTEL is fine depending on your needs. Both have pros and cons about them. Do research on which type you want and what kind your are looking for such as a 3 gigahertz processor or greater. The faster the speed on a processor usually means the higher the price. AMD rates their processors different from INTEL so don't let this fool you. Check into it and find out for yourself.

Finally, does this meet your budget and is it worth the price? Just because it is expensive does not necessarily mean it is a good system, and just because it is cheap does not mean it is a bad system. Research go on line and ask questions. There are many good help forums that will tell you if this system you are looking to buy is good. Does it have a history of problems for example? What is the bundles track record? If you take these minimum precautions, I believe you can find yourself a good motherboard and processor that meets your present and future needs.