Best value for money mobo for C2D E4500 !

W

I am a bit tight on budget. I am upgrading my old Sempron 2500+ pc. I have decided to purchase C2D E4500, but am not sure about which motherboard gives best value for money on this proccy.

Enlighten me about the kind of RAM also (DDR2 667MHz or DDR2 800Mhz.) ?

Alex

First of all u hav 2 know dat Intel stopped shipping E4500. So u hav 2 check whether old stocks r available from where u r purchasing.

Since u r tight on budget I advice u 2 go for AMD platform.AMD always gives best value for money compared to Intel

.

If u still want Intel, then take

Intel DG946GZIS : 3.9K
Palit N73V :2.6K
Asus P5B-MX/Wi-Fi-AP :3.1K
Biostar GF7050V-M7 :3.3K

And in d case of RAM go for Dual Channel i.e 2x512MB 667MHz than taking a single stick of 1GB 800Mhz(since u r tight on budget).If u hav a little more bucks then take a single stick of 2GB 800MHZ.

S

i think xfx 630i hits the spot for 3.6k .

If you dont have money problem than buy DDR2 800Mhz ..else DDR2 667Mhz is much sufficient. Not to worry about this.

Regarding motherboard........
Let us know your budget. You want MOB below 3k or below 5k.

W

Currently I own an AMD system. The reason I am thinking of moving out of AMD is that I've heard that AMD proccys with AM2 mobo have got some compatibility issues with Linux !

If that is not the case then kindly suggest your preferred AMD combo. Also, is DG946GZIS lower in the performance ladder relative to C2D E4400/E4500??

j1n M@tt said:
First of all u hav 2 know dat Intel stopped shipping E4500. So u hav 2 check whether old stocks r available from where u r purchasing.

Since u r tight on budget I advice u 2 go for AMD platform.AMD always gives best value for money compared to Intel.

If u still want Intel, then take

Intel DG946GZIS : 3.9K

Palit N73V :2.6K

Asus P5B-MX/Wi-Fi-AP :3.1K

Biostar GF7050V-M7 :3.3K

And in d case of RAM go for Dual Channel i.e 2x512MB 667MHz than taking a single stick of 1GB 800Mhz(since u r tight on budget).If u hav a little more bucks then take a single stick of 2GB 800MHZ.

ya, XFX 630i too.........I missed it.

W

Dear Ravi, my combined budget for mobo+proccy is around 8000 to 8500/-

ravi_9793 said:
If you dont have money problem than buy DDR2 800Mhz ..else DDR2 667Mhz is much sufficient. Not to worry about this.

Regarding motherboard........
Let us know your budget. You want MOB below 3k or below 5k.

There's no compatibility issue for AMD with linux. But maybe if u get an AMD system with ATI chipset mobo with ATI gfx.
There shudn't be a doubt bout linum compatibility for AMD if u get an nvidia mobo with nvidia gfx.

And with a new system u shud get DDR2 mem. So i think the mem shud also fit in 8.5k.
So in this price range, AMD has better vfm.

Asus M2N VM: 3.4k or M2N MX SE: 2.6k [both have nvidia mcp nd gfx. the former one has nforce 6 mcp with 7050 gfx nd later ones got nforce 4 mcp with 6100 gfx]
AMD X2: 4800+: 4.2k
2GB DDR2 800 transcent: 1.7k

Brother I have E4500 with Intel DG33BU motherboard and I am happy with it's performance.

W

Without overclocking is AMD X2: 4800+ comparable to E4500?

H

j1n [EMAIL="M@tt said:
Biostar"]M@tt;725436] Biostar[/EMAIL] GF7050V-M7 :3.3K
And in d case of RAM go for Dual Channel i.e 2x512MB 667MHz than taking a single stick of 1GB 800Mhz(since u r tight on budget).If u hav a little more bucks then take a single stick of 2GB 800MHZ.

Biostar GF7050V-M7 doesnt support dual channel memory.
i've tested this mobo with my Q6600.for 2.6k its a good mobo.oc'd my Q6600 to 2.7GHz without probs and my ram to 800MHz in unlinked mode.the only prob is dual channel memory is not supported and the sata ports will not be easily accesable if u use a long card like 8800GTS (i had to take out the top plastic cover so that i cud use the sata ports).
the overall 3DMark06 score for the board was 11937.the test setup consisted of:
Mobo : Biostar GF7050V-M7
Procy-C2Q Q6600 G0 oc'd to 2.7GHz
Ram:2*1GB DDR2 667 oc'd to 800MHz
HDD:2*320GB
Gfx:XFX 8800GTS 320MB @ 650|1650|2000
OS:Windows Vista Ultimate x86

*img2.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.8d5d2c4e43.jpg

@hellgate

ya man

, I know d fact, but d other guy said he is tight on budget

Yup, they are comparable at stock speeds.

H

j1n M@tt said:
@hellgate

ya man, I know d fact, but d other guy said he is tight on budget

i just said wat i knew bout that mobo cuz i had tested it.

maybe it cud help him decide.
its a good mobo to buy for 2.6k.

i recently bought e4500 for 4.9k

go for m/b's which support FSB of 1333 MHz , future proof.

if you're going to use it with XP/Vista, then get "Media Edition" m/b's, they support ViiV, have Dolby HomeTheater & the "now" best GMA X3000 [g965] /x3500 [G35] .

or if you can wait till later half of 2008, get g45 based m/b, x4500 [G45] DirectX 10 onboard graphics core.

It will also support the emerging HDMI-for-monitors DisplayPort interface standard. HDMI will also be supported for TV connections - complete with HDCP anti-piracy technology - and DVI for compatibility with old screens.

read more on gma x4500 *www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/22/intel_previews_gma_x4500/

W

Considering s18000rpm's futureproofing, currently which is the best that mobo supports 1333 Mhz. FSB. I mean cost and all.

I guess it is meant for upgrading to quad core proccy in future. Isn't it??

s18000rpm said:
i recently bought e4500 for 4.9k

go for m/b's which support FSB of 1333 MHz , future proof.

if you're going to use it with XP/Vista, then get "Media Edition" m/b's, they support ViiV, have Dolby HomeTheater & the "now" best GMA X3000 [g965] /x3500 [G35] .

or if you can wait till later half of 2008, get g45 based m/b, x4500 [G45] DirectX 10 onboard graphics core.

read more on gma x4500 *www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/22/intel_previews_gma_x4500/

H

writealexthomas said:
Considering s18000rpm's futureproofing, currently which is the best that mobo supports 1333 Mhz. FSB. I mean cost and all.

I guess it is meant for upgrading to quad core proccy in future. Isn't it??

no matter wat mobo u buy now u cant future proof ur mobo if u plan to upgrade once Nehalem is released.so it all depends on ur future upgradation plans.

W

Read some reviews last night. This is what i understood:

FOR AMD:
Best value budget mobo - Asus M2AVM @ 3500/- or MSI K9AGM2
Best value budget proccy-Athlon64 X2 5200+ @ 5300/-
-------------
FOR INTEL:
Best value budget mobo - Asus M2AVM @ 3500/- or MSI K9AGM2
Best value budget proccy-C2D E4500 @ 4900/- or C2D 6320 @ 5800/-

Remark: That makes 3500+5300=8800/- for AMD solution and
3500+4900/-=8400/-

Here performance-wise AMD options seems better.

What do you think?

did ya just say M2A VM nd K9A GM2 for intel? dude, they are AM2 mobos. And AM2 if for AMD.
And 5200+ is for 4.6k net on stores and M2A VM is for 3.2k net.

The lowest gud IGP board u can go for Itnel is XFX 630i Ultra for 3.8k+tax

M2avm and k9agm2 are am2 mobos. Wont work wit intel.. Consider the xfx 630i ultra or the biostar 7050

J

writealexthomas said:
Read some reviews last night. This is what i understood:

FOR INTEL:
Best value budget mobo - Asus M2AVM @ 3500/- or MSI K9AGM2
Best value budget proccy-C2D E4500 @ 4900/- or C2D 6320 @ 5800/-

What do you think?

M2avm & k9agm2 are motherboards for AMD and not intel

reg,GNU/Linux compatibility:
AMD boards are supported.even AMD comes with drivers for ATi cards now a days AFAIK.go,buy AMD

it is VFM!.

where are u from Alex?

praka123 said:
reg,GNU/Linux compatibility:
AMD boards are supported.even AMD comes with drivers for ATi cards now a days AFAIK.go,buy AMD it is VFM!.

where are u from Alex?

d abv mentioned ATi mobos like M2A-VM hav Linux compatibility issues........

W

juggler said:
M2avm & k9agm2 are motherboards for AMD and not intel

Sorry buddy, I mixed up the proccys. Should have made a written note instead of mental note when reading the review.

Anyways, I am from Uttranchal.

As for the ATIs , I too have read somewhere that they have got compatibility issues with Linux

So, what does that leave for me...to run my Ubuntu/PCLinuxOS... with full beryl/compiz effects?

Feeling like tearing my hair off

(

just buy a low-end grfx card buddy.....to go with M2A-VM

with Ubuntu alternate cd-amd64,these mobos are supported.u can use fglrx proprietary drivers for graphics support.
there are work arounds for ATi and AMD to support Compiz-Fusion(beryl is dead).
while installing:

Asus M2a-VM with Ubuntu 7.10 32bit

There are issues with this board:
First issue: When installing an error like this occurs 'cannot allocate resource region .....'
Solution: go into the BIOS and disable the HPET option. Use the 'Alternate Install CD 7.10'. Before installing pass the boot option 'acpi=off'. Make sure you floppy drive is either connected or disabled in the BIOS as the installation routine hangs looking for it.
After complete installation install the restricted ATI driver via restricted driver module. Resolution up to 1280x1024 is ok. Sound ok. Didn't had much time to test video. Will do soon.

*ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=592662&highlight=M2A-VM

MSI K9AGM2 is supported as per ubuntu forums.
ATI gfx cards means u need to edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf or generate xorg.conf using aticonfig and install restricted drivers(fglrx).
*www.ubuntuguide.org -explains ATI thing!

full support(optimized) will be there within months.

@praka123

thanx for the info.........

hw abt SuSE and Fedore Core?? (I like to work with these....plz help *gigasmilies.googlepages.com/106.gif)

^kernel options(boot options) may be the same for all these distros.try the luck!also,if u got installed,better support will be there with newest kernel(2.6.24).sound,gfx drivers are a lil late for new chipsets

although the scenario is changing.

By the way, For Intel Core2 Platform there is one good value for money board available... which is, XFX 630i nvidia 7150

^^ yeah, it really hav everything.

HDMI / DVI / HDCP
8 Channel HD Audio with SPDIF
1 eSATA
10 USB
Rest and power Switch(gud 4 overclockers)
LED display for troubleshooting

But the onboard gfx gr8ly depends on the memory bandwidth, nd in case of 630i, the single channel mem wud slow down the GPU with below par bandwidth for shared memory.

Arvind said:
nd in case of 630i, the single channel mem wud slow down the GPU with below par bandwidth for shared memory.

I dont see much of a difference between M2NPV VM / M2A-VM / or this 7150 630i.... AMD platform running 2 GB under Dual Channel and this one is at 2 GB single stick

I am really not a gamer... so just tested FEAR / NFS MW and both the AMD or Intel Platform are running quite same

@domi

^^ the benchmark shows a quite gud result...... :-D

@j1n M@tt
Can u buy 630i with a C2D? i rellay dun think i can coz ive already enuf of systems. And we can do a detailed comparison b/w X1250 nd 7150

And now i wanna invest on a 20/22" LCD soon nd another gcard.

@ choto
X1250's performance has become much better with 7.12 igp catalyst nd 3DM 05 score went up from 896 to 1285 @ 1024*768. ATI's getting improved in driver releases nd now game performance too increased.
And with mem overclocking, the igp is showing much better results @ 800Mhz dual channel from stock 667 dual.

@Arvind

name few games which u think would performe better with 6150 and 1250 which this nvidia 7150 may fail to run ??

As the games I have are giving same result with all those 3 IGP...

yeah x1250 is upto date

hi, i pointed out coz uve many M2A VM in ur cafe nd u can get most outa it with 7.12. Also the screen flashing during bootup also vanished.
And do bench with 7.12 on ur upcoming reviews of M2A VM(budget 25k system).

And surelly 7150 has more game support cox of SM3.0

@domi

ya, I sure will do.........XFX 630i is ma next destiny

BTW wat the heck r u doing??

there ws CS match on macfast clan's network over hamachi.........tried to reach u, but u r denying ma requests and PMs.....*gigasmilies.googlepages.com/110.gif

arvind said:
hi, i pointed out coz uve many M2A VM in ur cafe nd u can get most outa it with 7.12. Also the screen flashing during bootup also vanished.

.....

And surelly 7150 has more game support cox of SM3.0

....

Thats where I lag :cry:

i really dont get much time for game play so dont get all new games or such...

as for 3.0, I dont see much real world differnce between a SM 2.0 and SM 3.0 IGP, i mean if ATi x1250 strugles to run some thing, for ex Sipder MAN 3 same with Nvidia 6150 :lol:

thats why I requested some info for the on issue :lol:

dOm1naTOr said:
And do bench with 7.12 on ur upcoming reviews of M2A VM(budget 25k system).

Actually after this post, I am getting too many email asking for the performance factor for the mentioned system... so thought of a details comparison review...

W

dOm1naTOr said:
did ya just say M2A VM nd K9A GM2 for intel? dude, they are AM2 mobos. And AM2 if for AMD.
And 5200+ is for 4.6k net on stores and M2A VM is for 3.2k net.

The lowest gud IGP board u can go for Itnel is XFX 630i Ultra for 3.8k+tax

GOOF UP !!! Copy-Paste typo !

The xorg mumbo-jumbo regarding ATIs is kinda scaring me off AMDs. That means I'd have horrid time installing Ubuntu with all the configuration settings. I guess C2D supporting mobos dont have such issues.

Heck, I was seriously contemplatin Asus M2AVM + AMD X2 5200+ !!! (for me, that looked the best and cheap option)

Is this Intel platform motherboard XFX 630i nvidia 7150 similar to AMD based M2AVM? What would be its street price?

Just a passing thought:
Some of you guys post a thread with a table showing C2D proccy's+mobo and its comparable AMD option in the same price bracket !!

That would solve the queries of many posters at one go!

^^XFX 630i 7150 mobo will be around 3.6k.........will be better than M2A-VM@3.2K and has more features than M2A-VM HDMI mobo which is more costlier....

W

j1n M@tt said:
^^XFX 630i 7150 mobo will be around 3.6k.........will be better than M2A-VM@3.2K and has more features than M2A-VM HDMI mobo which is more costlier....

Its Intel platform right? So It should marry E4500 or some other proccy. (In case E4500 is dead)

J

j1n M@tt said:
^^XFX 630i 7150 mobo will be around 3.6k.........will be better than M2A-VM@3.2K and has more features than M2A-VM HDMI mobo which is more costlier....

except that XFX 630i has only single channel memory
and it has only 2 ram slots compared to 4 found on m2a vm

S

i thot m2a vm was a board for amd am2 proccy's . .

oh.....it sure is dude.
And these guys are just comapring the features of these mobos nd they are not specific to Intel or AMD.

630i Intel pros nd cons:
+gud price @ 3.6k
+moderate overclocking
+power nd reset button
+support 45nm cpus
+gud IGP with n7150
+HDMI
-single channel memory
-2 mem slots
-Micro ATX

M2A VM AMD:
+v gud price @ 3.2k
+gud overclocking
+Supports all AM2 proccy including phenoms
+Gud IGP with ATI X1250
-Micro ATX

S

and if u find a mobo for c2d that's got gr8 features and very economical . .make sure to boycott it.otherwise amd wont live . atleast low budget pc's should opt for amd.

Just add few points to clear up the matter...

Arvind said:
630i Intel pros nd cons:
+gud price @ 3.6k
+moderate overclocking
+power nd reset button <- you may never use it
+support 45nm cpus <- you may not upgrade
+gud IGP with n7150 <- I didnt see much of a difference in real world apps and gaming
+HDMI <- once again u may never user it and also the HDCP
-single channel memory
-2 mem slots
-Micro ATX

So i guess still for value for money it is AMD X2 4200+ with M2A-VM would win the race compare to Intel E2140 + XFX 630i 7150

J

Choto Cheeta said:
Just add few points to clear up the matter...

So i guess still for value for money it is AMD X2 4200+ with M2A-VM would win the race compare to Intel E2140 + XFX 630i 7150

correct as always !!!

@choto cheeta

.....may I correct u in 2 things???!!! :twisted:

power nd reset button: I personally find this very useful while troubleshooting ;and its a delight for overclockers and benchmarking.
support 45nm cpus: Certainly this is a future proof boom.....u cannot predict sudden drop in CPU prices. Many of ma friends including dOm1naTOr ws left behind by AMD when they shifted to AM2 from 939......I still remember him buying 939 X2 4200+ for 12k , just 3 months before d release of AM2 X2 4200+*gigasmilies.googlepages.com/46.gif

^^^

support 45nm cpus: Certainly this is a future proof boom.....u cannot predict sudden drop in CPU prices. Many of ma friends including dOm1naTOr ws left behind by AMD when they shifted to AM2 from 939......I still remember him buying 939 X2 4200+ for 12k just 3 months before d release of AM2 X2 4200+

Budget system owners are not that keen on upgrading :lol:

... atleast that is what I saw... where as advance users are on that front may think of upgrading...

but then again, let take some view from Intel an performance factor... tell me, as a C2D E4300 or E4400 budget system owner will a person would think for a E8400 ?? will he invest another 7 or 8k when he is nopt wlling to spend not more than 20k for the full system ??

at-least from my personal EXP no, people on budget segment are not that keen on ungrade...

Now yes after 2 years they may think of upgrade, but then again by that time Intel will bring the Nehalem architecture with its 32 nm batch under socket LGA 1366 for xeon server range and socket LGA 715 / LGA 1160 under desktop socket by ending the Silicon age... 45 nm would be the last btach of processors with silicon gates :lol:

and possible LGA 775

^^ yeah, u r right....but I meant for those "not so bedget people and not so high-end people".....*gigasmilies.googlepages.com/101.gif

j1n M@tt said:
^^ yeah, u r right....but I meant for those "not so bedget people and not so high-end people".....*gigasmilies.googlepages.com/101.gif

So its mainly lack of Dual Channel support which is still pushing Intel back on AMD when it comes for Budget system

yep,the only area where AMD beats Intel is when it comes 2 bedget PC

j1n M@tt said:
yep,the only area where AMD beats Intel is when it comes 2 bedget PC

its not AMD which beats Intel its the motherboard which actually beats Intel, if there were Dual Channel support for 630i :lol:

with E2140 around, AMD would have been a gonner :cry:

W

You are right Chota Cheeta, it seems only motherboards fail Intel processors. They dont have too many quality mobos in budget range. AMDs might be inferior to Intels, but as a combination it beats Intel mobo+proccys.

Intel marketing Gurus are fools not to realize this and attack the last bastion of AMD. (though personally I don;t want to see AMD decimated). 'No competition' is worse than 'some competition'; atleast for buyers.

Choto Cheeta said:
its not AMD which beats Intel its the motherboard which actually beats Intel, if there were Dual Channel support for 630i with E2140 around, AMD would have been a gonner

I've made up my mind to stick on to my oldtime fav. AMD platform. I'll get Asus M2A VM board with either X2 4200+ or 5200+ proccy. 5200+ has got better cache. Do u think there is significant performance gain in 5200+??

W

writealexthomas said:
You are right Chota Cheeta, it seems only motherboards fail Intel processors. They dont have too many quality mobos in budget range. AMDs might be inferior to Intels, but as a combination it beats Intel mobo+proccys.

Intel marketing Gurus are fools not to realize this and attack the last bastion of AMD. (though personally I don;t want to see AMD decimated). 'No competition' is worse than 'some competition'; atleast for buyers.

I've made up my mind to stick on to my oldtime fav. AMD platform. I'll get Asus M2A VM board with either X2 4200+ or 5200+ proccy. 5200+ has got better cache. Do u think there is significant performance gain in 5200+??

After going through pages & pages of forums, I have realized that on stock speed AMD 5200+ and Intel E4500 are almost identical with Intel being slightly higher priced. Most of the comparison charts in the Net are at STOCK SPEED. When overclocked, Intel just beats AMD blue.

Now the dilemma, to overclock any ordinary motherboard cant go with C2Ds. Overclocking motherboards are higher priced. If I can't overclock, then stock speed X2 is better than stock speed C2D.

Now the quest is, which is the best value for money OCable mobo for C2D. Pls. dont mention XFX 630i, it cant have RAM in dual channel.

H

^^^ Abit IP35-E for bout 5.5k.
a gud mobo for oc'ing.

W

hellgate said:
^^^ Abit IP35-E for bout 5.5k.
a gud mobo for oc'ing.

Just read about Abit IP35-E Socket 775 Motherboard.
*www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ip35economy/1.htm

Too many features for a 5.5 K board !

Currently Abit IP35-E is the KING for budget Overclockers !!!

W

I guess GA-P35-DS3 is also around 5K. It also has RAID support unlike Abit. Dont know the price in Delhi. Is it available here and how does it compare to Abit IP35-E board.

H

Abit IP35-E has been tested by many and has proven to be a good and stable overclocker.so i think u sud go 4 it.

W

hellgate said:
Abit IP35-E has been tested by many and has proven to be a good and stable overclocker.so i think u sud go 4 it.

The shop in my locality does not have currently have Abit Mobos, I've asked him to get it from Delhi. Will be available in 3-4 days. Meanwhile I just thought to check anyother mobo around.

Hellgate, after reading ur last post I've finally made up my mind to go with Abit board.

Thanx everybody for your time and suggestions !

B

well dnt know much about prices in india .. but here in pakistan .. if u say value for money interms of gaming n multimedia go for some dualchannel supporting board ... i got this one just cause of the fact of its multimedia outputs ... hdmi etc ... n then it is a very stable OCer .. at stock under3g no problem at all ... at 3g u need to monitor its temp change .. idles at very satisfactory 32c(coretemp) and remains under 50c on workload .. but i dnt suggest for those who plan for Future upgrade .. no way .. i mean quadcore or 8400 with single channel .. better burn that cpu

... i have a question can i push it more by fiddling with cpu voltage ... have not done it yet ... if i had the option then i wud have gone for abit IP35 .. its a much better n stable board at affordable price but not aval in pakistan :S at least not in y city .. This board definitely has the voltage options available to you if you need them. With an available 1.945v for the CPU and 3.0v for the memory, this board has the options to play in the big leagues but xfx 630i got max 1.545volts cpu range and similarly for others ...big difference is of chipset and offcourse dual channel .. i get 4.9 in vista for my single channel pc-5300 at 750mhz where as abit has got upto 8gb memory as compared to just 4gb of mine ... n gud over clocker too *www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/abit-ip35-pro_8.html