Hi There, I built a PC about 8 yrs ago based around an ANMk62 500, its all very old and usless these days still works perfectly I might add

However I would like to build a new Desk top computer. to play games, rip cd's look at photos plus word / excel and the internet...

I would like to use another AMD chip, thinking about AMD64 X2 3800 - 4200 processor, can you guys recommend good ATX motherboards with plenty of USB (4min ideal 6) and pci slots for grapics cards etc. I am ok with ram and HDD etc.. just not sure about the best match between processor and M'board?

Any advice on choosing the correct AM2 motherboard would be most welcome.

Also which graphics cards would be ok for games with your recommendations (under £100)

Thank you
Graham (UK)

This is an older post, and not sure if it means anything by now. I'll give it a try, though.

First I want to comment on the older motherboard. To be honest, the older K6 motherboards & CPU's still rock & roll. They are incredibly stable and handle process loads unlike Intel.

My sister wanted a cheap PC to teach her kids about the Internet, email, and do some minor gaming -- I built her a P-2 class PC using the K6 @ 600 MHz with 256 MB RAM, Windows 2000 and a simple 20GB hard drive. These were some spare parts I had at the shop thrown in a box and sitting in a corner collecting dust.

We were impressed 3 years later when she informed us that the kids no longer have the computer, because she uses it in her small business as a file server, with all the original software I installed.

That K6 motherboard and CPU is now well over 8 years old, and it continue runs stable this day.

As for recommending a new AM2 motherboard -- you have a huge selection to choose from. I recommend starting with © AMDboard.com - AMD Socket AM2 Motherboards Special and narrowing your selection based upon cost and need.

Hope this has helped.

The best AM2 motherboard is probably the DFI Lanparty series--but it's heavily geared towards overclocking--to add, that 3800+ is a great overclocker... But the DFI's are apparently a bit complicated to initially set up. Here is a FAQ I found, detailing what you should do to get it working: Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

Be prepared to spend ~$150 on it though.

Decent motherboards are usually ASUS. I like Abit's tech support. ASRock is ASUS's "daughter" company, putting out dependable budget boards. I've not had a problem with them yet.

You'll need to make sure that with any newer motherboard, you'll have to use a PCI-E video card (unless it has on-board video, but if you want to game, that won't do).

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AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@2.6 GHz)
2x1GB OCZ Spec. Ops. PC3200
ASRock Dual939-SATA2
Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
80 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
300 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
120 GB Maxtor ATA/133 7200 rpm
ATI Radeon x1950 Pro