chiu2000

my old P4 rig died and i am thinking of getting a budget Athlon set up to replace it...

nothing serious abt this rig, juz HTPC, BT, HD videos, some light gaming and some mild OC

currently wat i ve in mind is to use Athlon x2 4850e and Kingston DDR2 800MHz 1GB x2... other parts less mobo are all old parts (CM Extreme Power Plus 460W, Hitachi 320GB HDD SATA2, LG DVD Drive PATA)

however for mobo, currently i ve these choices:

Giga GA-MA78GPM-DS2H (780G, Ultra Durable 2 & SidePort DDR3 128MB)
Giga GA-MA78GM-S2H (780G, slightly cheaper than former, no UD2 and SidePort)
Biostar TA790GX XE (790GX, same price as above, SidePort DDR2 128MB)

currently i am more inclined to Giga GA-MA78GPM-DS2H (Ultra Durable 2 & SidePort DDR3 128MB), it's more expensive, but i pretty like Giga's mobo...

i understand that the difference between HD 3200 w/ SidePort and HD 3300 is not much... most ppl who go for 790GX is mainly for SB750/ACC i believe... but wouldn't that be a waste if i dun use Phenom with it??

would that be a good choice??

timw4mail

I'd say any of those sounds like a good choice

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Kamikaze127

My vote for the Gigabyte 780G with UD2 & Sideport, It looks like a solid board.
What kind of graphics card were you planning to buy?

__________________
.kami
Good bye OCN.

chiu2000

well, i am planning to use the onboard for now... since it's juz a HTPC, mostly light work...

oh, and this is my first AMD system ever, so thought of starting it cheap with a 4850e...

anyway, for the links:

Giga GA-MA78GPM-DS2H (780G, Ultra Durable 2 & SidePort DDR3 128MB)
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...A-MA78GPM-DS2H

Giga GA-MA78GM-S2H (780G, slightly cheaper than former, no UD2 and SidePort)
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=2814

Biostar TA790GX XE (790GX, same price as above, SidePort DDR2 128MB)
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...n.php?S_ID=375

Kamikaze127

Well that 780G is bassically a 790GX minus the CrossFire, so it's probably one of the best mATX boards out right now (besides the DFI 790GX Jr ).
Paired with a 45W Athlon (something like the 4850e) it would be a very quiet and powerful HTPC.

__________________
.kami
Good bye OCN.

chiu2000

ahh... DFI 790GX Jr... yes, i ve read abt it too... kinda overkill for a mATX board imo... imagine having 2 HD4850 inside...

so Kamikaze127, in your opinion system stability over rides oc-ability?? have read some reviews that Athlon x2 on 790GX can achieve higher clock than on 780G...

Kamikaze127

All of the boards you listed would have no problems getting to 3.0-3.2Ghz.
The 790GX is probably capable of a higher FSB, but the 4850e has a 12.5 multi, so you only need a FSB of 240 to get to 3.0Ghz, and 256 for 3.2Ghz

__________________
.kami
Good bye OCN.

chiu2000

hmm.. ok then, since OC is not a really big problem here, it can be put aside...

so is it worth spending slightly more (SG$20 or approx. US$13.33) for Ultra Durable 2??? this rig of mine will probably be switched on 24x7...

Kamikaze127

Ultra Durable is more of a marketing campaign by Gigabyte.
But I would spend the extra money for the sideport memory on the 780G.

__________________
.kami
Good bye OCN.

chiu2000

ok, if that's the case, then i am down to...

Giga GA-MA78GPM-DS2H (780G, Ultra Durable 2 & SidePort DDR3 128MB)
Biostar TA790GX XE (790GX, slightly cheaper, SidePort DDR2 128MB)

both are mATX board with 1 PCI-E X16 interface

and the Biostar also cost SG$20 cheaper...

which will be a better option??

i ve posted this question in a number of other forums and most ppl suggest me to go with Biostar since it's a 790GX... except for my friend who suggest Giga's 780G instead as the distributor of Giga has better service here in Singapore...