Need help choosing a motherboard and CPU

I need a new motherboard and CPU for a desktop my grandpa just gave me I think I want to run a i5 but I don't know what to look for as far as a motherboard, I would like it to have 4 RAM slots and 3 or 4 PCI express slots. Right now the computer has a intel 96 CPU in it.

 

I've been happy with my ASrock

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

and i5 2500k sandy bridge

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

 

all right thanks ill keep that in mind, a bit expensive though

 

yeah I paid 1000 on my desktop build including operating system and a SSD. Couldn't be happier.

 

How much are you looking to spend ? Also, are you attached to the case that your grandpa gave you ? You may need to swap out the power supply to handle some of the newer boards and CPUs out in the market....

 

As little as possible, I need a new hdd, a OS, RAM, and mobo and CPU, from what I've found it will cost 160$ for windows 7 home premium 64 bit and 8 gb corsair ram, a hdd 40$-80$ depending on size,mobo 70$-90$, and a CPU ~200. I'm not attached to anything,just want it to be as cheap as possible without problems. How does a 550 or 600 watt psu sound?

 

What do you do with the computer? I would get a nice case that has plenty of airflow, I have a nice Antec with 5 fans and dust filters, you want to keep all your new goodies nice and cool. Usually NewEgg has some mobo+cpu combos that are priced ok, I get weekly emails from them on sale items too. Also tweaking windows will gain you alittle bit of performance too, thats one thing alot of people overlook, I set my windows to use the classic look instead of all that flashy transparent moving stuff

 

I dont know about doing it on the cheap but I'd take an AMD over Intel any day, back when I used to build servers (up to 128 nodes) We'd do a 72 hour burn-in session for all out going servers (some of our customers were Stanford, Duke university, Pixar pictures, steven spielburgs Industrial lights & magic, pretty high end users)

& We'd over clock those AMD's like no tomorrow & they'd never whimper,crash or complain.. the dual core intels on the otherhand, slow ,fussy , unforgiving POS , if we had a failed server rack out in the field 8 times out of 10 it'd be the intels

AMD's live to be over clocked, & reliably i'll add, just keep them as cool as possible (a ton of arctic silver helps alot...)

 

Hell I am brother !!! those intels is some pricy shit.. as opposed to the AMD's , I haven't really kept up since I worked for a company called RackSaver here in san diego , its called something else now.. & it wasn't Speilbergs place it was George Lucas is who i was thinking of, anyway we built a hell of a full server HDC Cluster servers, just fuckin' balls out turbine whine from about 336 high speed ball bearing cooling fans, had to keep the burn room down to about 68 degrees constant, but the management were the cheapest, most chicken shit motherfuckers I ever worked for ..

 

Watch Netflix, play games like age of empires ,call of duty , read emails, surf the web.

 

No reason I looked and found this

AMD Athlon II X4 631 2.6GHz 4x1 MB L2 Cache Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - Retail AD631XWNGXBOX

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-Quad-Core-Desktop-Processor/dp/B005I2YN80/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t really good price for a quad core cpu

 

this looks decent,thoughts?

$200 Biostar AMD FM1 Socket - A75 Chipset - SATA 6 Gbps and USB 3.0 - DDR3 2000Mhz - MicroATX Motherboard (TA75M)

http://www.amazon.com/Biostar-AMD-F...F8&qid=1341795145&sr=1-16&keywords=socket+fm1 with

AMD Athlon II X4 631 2.6GHz 4x1 MB L2 Cache Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - Retail AD631XWNGXBOX

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-Quad-Core-Desktop-Processor/dp/B005I2YN80/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

 

sleepyhead.....

 

im pretty sure, yes, i have no idea i googled micro atx and only got more confused, so pictures? lucky you i was up all day yesterday most of last night and just got home at noon today, traveling from fort worth to san diego

 

thanks the motherboard in there is a standard atx, so this? http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.us.asp?Model=A55 Pro3 the case i have no idea, its one of those cool ones where you can pull the motherboard tray out the back, ill take pictures. the cpu is a old intel pentium 2 with mmx technology.

 

I've built my own computers for years and used many different brands of boards. Most of the cheap ones only last a couple years. Go for a good brand and don't buy the cheapest. Personally I only buy Intel boards now, they are rock solid. My personal PC at home is now 5+ years old now and still going strong, and my kids have been running for a couple of years straight with zero issues.

I can't stress this enough, though -- GET A GOOD POWER SUPPLY! A cheap one will eventually ruin any board that you buy. Spend at least $75 on a good one. This is often overlooked.

 

any brands to look at in particular? how do i know how much power i need? i dont plan on over clocking,ill probably only run a 1 gb video card. thanks for the info.

 

heres the pics. what are the long black ports in the first pic?

 

I always stick with either Antec or Enermax, but there are some other good brands as well -- just don't go for the cheapest. 500W minimum (just in case), something about 650W should be plenty even for SLI/Crossfire.

NewEgg has this Antec:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

and this Enermax:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194094

 

LOL, those are old ISA slots. That is a relic.