Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The next real step up from the 8200/3200 boards are ones with integrated
RADEON HD 3300, and those were selling for $85 or so when we bought our
motherboard.) We also want a PCI Express x16 slot in case we want to upgrade
the graphics at some point.
We would prefer DDR3 memory for its faster transfers, but in practical terms
overall system performance will be very similar with DDR2 memory. At the
time we ordered components for this system, DDR2 and DDR3 memory mod-
ules of the same capacity were selling for about the same price, but DDR3
motherboards were still selling for a $15 or more premium over comparable
DDR2 motherboards, so we decided that a DDR2 motherboard was the better
choice.
Among the motherboards that met our requirements and sold for about $60,
the best choice was the ASRock K10N78M-Pro. Although it lacks bells and
whistles, it has exactly the feature set we wanted: NVIDIA GeForce 8200 in-
tegrated video with support for DX10 (gaming graphics), a PCI Express x16
slot for future video upgrades, four SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (with software RAID
0/1/5/10 support), good 5.1 audio, an integrated 1000BaseT network adapter,
six USB 2.0 ports, and so on. At about $60, the ASRock K10N78M-Pro was a
perfect fit for our budget system.
The final step, which you ignore at your peril, is to verify that the selected
motherboard is compatible with your processor. We visited the ASRock
K10N78M-Pro web page and located the processor compatibility list. We had a
bad moment when we didn't find our 240 Regor retail-boxed processor (mod-
el ADX240OCGQBOX) in the motherboard compatibility list, so we visited the
AMD web page for the ADX240OCGQBOX and found that the OEM version
of that product had a significantly different product code, ADX240OCK23GQ.
That product code
did
appear in the compatibility list. Since the OEM and retail-
boxed versions of that processor are actually identical, we knew the retail-
boxed 240 Regor would be compatible with our K10N78M-Pro motherboard.
Furthermore, the compatibility list said the 240 Regor was compatible with
all BIOS versions, so we knew we wouldn't get stuck with an earlier BIOS that
wouldn't boot with our processor.
Memory
Crucial CT2KIT12864AA667 2 GB Kit (1 GB x 2)
(
http://www.crucial.com
)
The budget system in the preceding edition was equipped with a single-core
processor and 512 MB of RAM. Although that was sufficient for snappy per-
formance with Linux or Windows XP, it was marginal for Vista. Windows 7 re-
source requirements are at least as high as those of Vista, so if you plan to run
Windows 7 on your budget system, you'll want at least 1 GB per core, for a total
of 2 GB. That's assuming you're running 32-bit Windows 7. If you plan to run
the 64-bit version, double the memory requirements.
When we ordered the parts for this system, we found that our $60 budget
for memory was sufficient to buy 2 GB, either as two 1 GB DIMMs or as one 2
GB DIMM. We'd have preferred to install 4 GB, but, at $95 or so, a pair of 2 GB
