RAM, CPU, and OS
Our selection of memory was yet another difficult choice as the prices for high quality DDR2-800 memory is almost absurd at this time. We mean that in a good way as a year ago the prices were absurdly high at this time. In the end, we decided upon the
Patriot eXtreme Performance DDR2-800 2GB kit,
SUPER TALENT DDR2-800 2GB kit, and the
OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB kit as our memory selections. However, due to recent price reductions we would not hesitate recommending the
Crucial or
G.Skill DDR2-800 2GB kits. Our base configuration for each of our platform setups consists of 2GB but all boards with be additionally tested with a 4GB configuration in both stock and overclocked conditions to ensure compatibility with four DIMMs.
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The price war between Intel and AMD continues unabated at this time. While that is very good for consumers, it has made our choice of processors difficult to nail down for testing. Our initial choice was the AMD X2 3800+ versus the Intel E2140, but with the recent price reductions and the elimination of the X2 3800+ from AMD's product roadmap we ended up pairing the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ against the Intel E2160 for our main test results. Both CPUs are priced right around the $85~$90 range and as you will see they offer great performance for the dollar. When we get to the platform testing we will provide additional results with the AMD X2 BE-2300 Energy Efficient CPU, AMD Athlon X2 6000+, Intel E6320 Core 2 Duo, and the Intel Q6600 Quad Core for our ultimate budget gaming system.
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The Operating System decision actually turned out to be fairly easy. We still use Windows XP on a daily basis in most of our systems but we have already switched over to Vista for our motherboard testing. Unfortunately, we have been using Vista Ultimate 64-bit but that particular version of Vista just did not make sense at this time for our budget minded µATX roundup. We chose Vista Home Premium 32-bit as our operating system of choice. Not only do most OEM systems ship (often exclusively) with Vista but generally the consumer machines come preloaded with Vista Home Premium 32-bit for compatibility reasons. Whether we like it or not, Vista is the future for Windows based machines so our configuration reflects this trend. The use of Microsoft's latest OS will also serve as a good indication of how up-to-date motherboard manufacturers are in the driver department.
Our other operating system choice is SUSE Linux 10.2. We have received countless requests asking about Linux compatibility on the motherboards we review so we decided to check it out for ourselves with a commercially available package. Our testing will not be as rigorous or extensive as our standard Windows test routines. In fact, let's just say our initial foray into the world of Linux will mostly consist of checking compatibility and driver support at this time. We will provide our results at the very end of the roundup and hopefully our experiences will be helpful for those first time Linux users. (While we're really not interested in starting up a lengthy discussion of which distro is best, if
you are then feel free to
head over to the forums.)
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sprockkets - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
For focusing on what matters in uATX boards. That and perhaps the vast majority of people are more focused on these items such as S3 standby as opposed to other features.Shame the abit NF-M2 nView is no longer going to be made since it is older tech.
Myrandex - Friday, August 10, 2007 - link
I think its a shame that there aren't any more SLI capable mATX boards coming out. I have the EVGA Nforce4 SLI mATX board and absolutely love it. I didn't want onboard video, as I already had a 7800GT, and I wanted the option of adding a cheap 7800GT to it later as well if I wanted to (as well as I have a dedicated X-fi sound card and a PCie TV Tuner), so that board worked perfectly.Jason
The Boston Dangler - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
I built a micro box just last night. This was for my friend's parents (in their 60's). The box alone hit the $500 target. Everything else will be purchased in person. I hooked them up with XP MCE and remote, they purchased Office Sudent Edition, and all other software will be freebies. The box will be used for the usual suspects: email, internet, music, movies, and office stuff.ASUS M2NPV-VM
(seems very complete, capable, easy to use, I like the MB header for reset, pwr etc.)
3800+ HE
2 GB decent, cheap DDR-800
Seasonic 330W
Coolermaster Centurion 541, forgot to buy fans DOH!
( I didn't like the way the stand-offs didn't support the forward edge of the MB, the tool-less drive bays are kinda PITA, why are the front panel plugs at the bottom?)
Lite-On SATA DVD
Samsung ??? HDD (love them)
5 beans, not too shabby.
Darth Farter - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
heh, same thing here for my dad ordered from ZZF, 3800+, 2gb ddr2 800, Asus 690G, a 250gb WD, liteon sata dvdrw and mini case vostok w. psu from enermax ~$400.mostlyprudent - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
WOW, impressive summary article. That was a lot of information and you conveyed logically and concisely. The sheer scope of material you plan to present over the next month is staggering, but VERY welcome.Do we really have to wait until September/October for the P35 roundup?
CZroe - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
I just hope you guys are aware that Mission Impossible III on Blu-Ray is MPEG2. Most BD movies are VC-1 or AVC video codecs while it's usually the older titles that end up with MPEG2 (due to immaturity of the mastering software). Most BD movies that are also released on HD-DVD are the exact same VC-1 encode on both discs, so this is an unfortunate selection for comparison.Bjoern77 - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
"Oh, we almost forgot: we get to do this all over again with the P35 motherboards when we're done with the µATX segment."The time that review will show up the p35 will be outdated, concerning all that various components included in this review.
But anyway, i'm looking forward to it.
CZroe - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
I just hope you guys are aware that Mission Impossible III on Blu-Ray is MPEG2. Most BD movies are VC-1 or AVC video codecs while it's usually the older titles that end up with MPEG2 (due to immaturity of the mastering software). Most BD movies that are also released on HD-DVD are the exact same VC-1 encode on both discs, so this is an unfortunate selection for comparison.strikeback03 - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
300 was just released on both using VC-1 for each. Though of course that would mean more testing for the Anandtech crew.Kensei - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - link
Not to be too pendantic, but did you mean "long road"?
Also, while I have your attention Gary, what happened to those literary quotes you used to use at the beginning of article? I like them... not sure about others though.