Replacement for Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe?

amysgerbil · 26 Jul 2010 at 23:16

Hey Guys

What with being blonde and a girl I need some help, lol :rolleyes:

My Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe has died on me and I need to get a replacement. I can't afford to replace the rest at the mo so just need ideas for a new MoBo. I'm not into hard gaming but need to watch mkv's at 1080p and my graphics card is getting on so if theres a MoBo with intergrated graphics with HDMI output would be ideal for the time being.

My Current system is:-

M/B:- Asus M2N-SLI DELUXE
CPU: AMD Athlon 64x2 (ADO4400IAA5DO)
MEM: - 3GB's Corsair XMS2 DDR2 (800MHz)
GFX:- GAINWARD 7900GS PCI-E 256MB

I've got to say that out of all the MoBo's I've ever had I love Asus one's so hopefully theres one of them

Thanks

PhoenixUK · 27 Jul 2010 at 05:24

Girl ? What's that !? ; )
j/k

Anyways, back on topic, luckily that's the newer version of the CPU so it's an AM2 CPU.
Now depending on your budget and needs you've got 2 options.

Option 1 is to just get an AM2+ board, like this one here if you're tight on budget:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-377-AS

install and enjoy.

Or option 2 will be to sell the lot and upgrade to proper AM3 mobo with cheap CPU and some DDR3 which will give you some performance boost while leaving you plenty of headroom for future upgrade in case you might need more power you'll be able to upgrade to top end AM3 CPUs without any hassle.

If you browse for a 2nd hand gear it might be very cheap to upgrade, pulling some prices out of the top of my head I'd say you can get a nice 2nd hand AM3 motherboard for around 40quid and 4GB of DDR for around 50-60. Then your CPU is still holding value and should sell for around 20 and for 47 you can get a brand new athlon II x2 245 or x3 440 for 59 or you can try to source a 2nd hand 550/555BE, athlon X3 or X4 for around 40-60. Also if you pick AM3 board with 785 or 880G chipset you could ditch your 7900 for a tenner or 15quid and stick with onboard GPU that comes with those motherboards.

So to sum it up, full upgrade to new tech platform for around 75 or 100-120 (60-80 for 2nd hand after selling your old parts or around 100-120 for brand new ) OR just replacement mobo for 47.

Also if your memory is 3x1gb, you will only be able to fit in 2sticks in that micro-atx replacement mobo, the first full size mobo with 4slots is http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-180-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1482

at 64 pounds : ).

Ah, and welcome to the forums !

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And ninja edit:
If you want an integrated GPU with HDMI output, you will need an AM3 motherboard with 785G or 880G chipset and if you get one of these you'll need to change RAM to DDR3 and a CPU as well so practically a full upgrade as in option 2 mentioned above.

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2010 at 06:29

PhoenixUK made a good suggestion.

Might I suggest the Asus M4A785D-M PRO. I'm in a similar boat to you and have done plenty of research looking for a mobo with onboard graphics and DDR2 support. This is what I've chosen to be paired with a phenom II X2 555

PhoenixUK · 27 Jul 2010 at 06:39

honosuseri said:
PhoenixUK made a good suggestion.

Might I suggest the Asus M4A785D-M PRO. I'm in a similar boat to you and have done plenty of research looking for a mobo with onboard graphics and DDR2 support. This is what I've chosen to be paired with a phenom II X2 555

Yep that's a very good mobo and might be worth a tenner extra if you're going for just mobo replacement but if I was to upgrade whole setup I'd get a proper AM3/DDR3 motherboard with 140W CPU support just to have that possible upgrade path and extra kick from DDR3.
The DDR2 still holds its price well so it's better to sell it and upgrade to DDR3 instead of looking for ddr2 motherboard.

amysgerbil · 27 Jul 2010 at 10:45

Thanks for the help guys

Been thinking....I can't really afford a full upgrade at the mo, but would it be a feasible option to upgrade to a backward compatible AM3 board (with onboard HDMI) and get some DDR3 at the same time. Then upgrade the CPU and graphics card at a later date?

Recomendations welcome

Marvin · 27 Jul 2010 at 11:04

Unfortunately AM3 boards aren't backwards compatible. AM3 CPUs are, because they have the DDR3 and DDR2 memory controllers on board. AM2 CPUs only have a DDR2 memory controller.

It's kind of an all or nothing thing.

mast3r · 27 Jul 2010 at 12:11

being a female... you could earn much monies to fund a whole new rig!

Reality... M4A785D-M PRO

PhoenixUK · 27 Jul 2010 at 17:19

amysgerbil said:
Thanks for the help guys

Been thinking....I can't really afford a full upgrade at the mo, but would it be a feasible option to upgrade to a backward compatible AM3 board (with onboard HDMI) and get some DDR3 at the same time. Then upgrade the CPU and graphics card at a later date?

Recomendations welcome

You can do without GPU if you get the chipsets I've mentioned before but will need to upgrade ram+cpu+mobo like I said, I also gave you estimted costs after resale of your current bits so you get the idea of what kind of budget you're looking at.