Best motherboard for under £40

Bgriffin · 30 Apr 2011 at 19:42

I am very skint post-university. But, one of my dimm slots on my motherboard has broken and I'm only running on 1gb DDR2 when I have a total of 3x 1GB DDR2 sticks ready to use.

Bearing in mind I only have DDR2 ram, would it be worth getting a cheap combo ddr2/ddr3 board? Or just get a cheap DDR2 board and wait untill I do a full upgrade in 6/7 months?

All the best,

Ben

K.C. Leblanc · 30 Apr 2011 at 19:46

If you're planning to reuse old parts it might handy if you told us what CPU you're using. Also if you have any other requirements.

stulid · 30 Apr 2011 at 19:46

Bgriffin said:
I am very skint post-university. But, one of my dimm slots on my motherboard has broken and I'm only running on 1gb DDR2 when I have a total of 3x 1GB DDR2 sticks ready to use.

Bearing in mind I only have DDR2 ram, would it be worth getting a cheap combo ddr2/ddr3 board? Or just get a cheap DDR2 board and wait untill I do a full upgrade in 6/7 months?

All the best,

Ben

What CPU is it for?

Bgriffin · 30 Apr 2011 at 21:13

Sorry, school boy error there.

AMD 64 x2 4600+
Crucial ballistix 1gb ddr2 ram

Picking up HD 46/48xx in next week or two. Need a new PSU (undecided on a cheap one) apart from the GFX and PSU (and mobo ofc) rest will be reused.

Surveyor · 30 Apr 2011 at 21:39

Isn't that model number applicable to a Socket 939 and Socket AM2 processor?

http://products.amd.com/en-us/QuickSearch.aspx?q=4600

More information required.

Bgriffin · 30 Apr 2011 at 22:07

Cpu-Z
Name: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+
Code Name: Windsor
Package: Socket AM2 (940)
Technology: 90 NM Core Voltage 1.2xx V to 1.3xx V
Family: F Model: B Stepping: 2 Ext. Family: F Ext. Model: 4B
Revision: BH-F2
Instructions: MMX (+), 3DNow!(+) SSE (1, 2, 3), x84-64 , AMD-V

stulid · 30 Apr 2011 at 22:13

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-269-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1904

Surveyor · 30 Apr 2011 at 22:20

Bad news.

If you're stuck at less than £40 you only have a choice of 3 and they all only have 2 slots for DDR2 memory.

This one only has a PCI-E 1.0 x16 slot:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-149-MS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1483

This one has a PCI-E x16 slot but doesn't say what version:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-028-AK&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1483

This one has a PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-241-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1483

I'd go with the last one or stretch a bit for this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-269-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1904

stulid · 30 Apr 2011 at 22:28

The one in my post above has 4 slots, and is a A grade too, just £2.60 more.

panyan · 1 May 2011 at 19:30

stulid said:
The one in my post above has 4 slots, and is a A grade too, just £2.60 more.

+1 go for that one

Montala · 2 May 2011 at 08:40

... but it is now out of stock!

Surveyor · 2 May 2011 at 13:14

Montala said:
... but it is now out of stock!

It wasn't when the OP asked the question.

iBSOD · 2 May 2011 at 13:26

Go for the Gigabyte GA-M68M-S2P

It has upgrade room for a Phenom II

Surveyor · 2 May 2011 at 14:07

iBSOD said:
Go for the Gigabyte GA-M68M-S2P

It has upgrade room for a Phenom II

The one I suggested if the OP couldn't go over £40

kardeck · 2 May 2011 at 14:45

I, too, need a new mobo - my IP35Pro is on its last legs. I have a QCore 9550 and 4x DDR2, whats a decent LGA775 motherboard nowadays? I have about the same budget as the OP, give or take a tenner.

Montala · 2 May 2011 at 15:08

Surveyor said:
It wasn't when the OP asked the question.

Well, if he didn't buy it then, he certainly can't now!

Surveyor · 2 May 2011 at 15:27

kardeck said:
I, too, need a new mobo - my IP35Pro is on its last legs. I have a QCore 9550 and 4x DDR2, whats a decent LGA775 motherboard nowadays? I have about the same budget as the OP, give or take a tenner.

You're struggling a bit there.

There are a few DDR2 microATX motherboards at OcUK still available for S775 at around the £40 mark but they only have 2 RAM slots.

I can't even see anything in the clearance section.

You're probably going to have to look at second hand.

Surveyor · 2 May 2011 at 15:28

Montala said:
Well, if he didn't buy it then, he certainly can't now!

Captain Obvious strikes again!