All-in-one pc?

[davbren]

Ok so I went for an Acer. Its hardly top of the range but its got the resolution and the brightness i was after. Thanks for all your help guys. So... thats the visuals out the way, I have my keyboard too. Next stop motherboard...question mark?

[Konrad]

#1 advice - You should always prefer 1st-tier mobo brands.
#2 advice - You should never buy into the OEM mobo trap (IBM, HP/Compaq, Dell, etc - support is only provided by the OEM, not by the actual manufacturer, Intel/etc)

For Intel - best mobos made by ASUS, Intel; good mobos made by Gigabyte, MSI
For AMD - best mobos made by ASUS, Gigabyte; good mobos made by ASRock, MSI, Biostar

Mobos made by ABIT, Aten, EPOX are sometimes worth looking at because (to compete in the PC enthusiast market niche) they include all sorts of wonderful OC-friendly technologies. Still, they generally don't do much that the big boards can't already do.

Mobos made by ECS/Elitegroup, PCChips, DFI are considered low-end garbage and very unpopular.

Some of these recommendations are based on my personal preferences, no doubt you'll get many different opinions. It never hurts to spend a little time doing your own research on mobo reviews and product comparisons. This is especially true if you plan to overclock, since not all mobos support OC-friendly BIOS firmware.

Don't be prejudiced against Made in Taiwan "junk" because over 99.9% of all PC mobos are in fact Made in Taiwan (regardless of brand, regardless of label).

A simple guideline on how to pick your mobo:

1. pick your price
   Anything above your maximum price limit is automatically ruled out
   If you're planning on only shopping locally (instead of online) then your choices will be limited to whatever products your local vendors have available, simplifying your options.
2. pick the processor you want
   This will determine which processor socket you need
   Intel iCore (i3, i5, i7) are current, along with their Celeron counterparts
   Intel Dual-/Quad-cores and P4s are dying, anything older is obsolete
   AMD Phenom II and Athlon II are current
   AMD Phenom, Athlon, and Sempron are dying, anything older is obsolete
   You probably don't want server products like Xeon and Opteron
   Intel "Extreme Edition" and AMD "Black Edition" parts have unlocked multipliers; though there are still ways to overclock "locked" parts.
3. pick your mobo form factor (size)
   This is almost always Micro-ATX (uATX) or even Full-ATX (if your chassis can hold it). Smaller/non-standard chassis sizes might require smaller mobo sizes. BTX is probably best avoided.
4. pick your chipset
   This is much simplified once you've narrowed the choices down by processor socket
   Note that AMD processors are usually (partly) compatible with earlier AM socket versions; you can't really go far wrong picking an AM3 or AM2+ mobo (unless you plan to use AMD's next generation of AM3+ tech, expected to market Q3-4/2011); Intel processors/sockets aren't interchangeable
   Consider what hardware you have (or plan to get) for this mobo
   Most current mobos support PCIe 2.x (with dual-16 or quad-8 lanes), SATA2, USB2, PCI, 10/100/GbLAN
   Some support older IDE, USB1, legacy (PS/2), etc
   Some support different lanes/slots/configurations for PCIe or PCI slots
   Some add faster speed SATA3, USB3, etc
   Any adapter/controller hardware you need (for extra HDDs, etc) should be mobo-integrated or you'll have to use extra PCIe/PCI cards
   You might consider certain features (SATA3 speed, USB3, FireWire, for example) very important
   Mobos can come with or without integrated graphics, audio, ethernet, etc - if you plan to use PCIe/PCI cards for (better) graphics, audio, etc then don't pay extra for mobo features you won't use
   Consider the kind of RAM your mobo supports (usually DDR2 or DDR3); whether it can use your existing RAM, how much RAM you'll need/want, how fast it should be rated, and how much it will cost
   Consider mobo PSU requirements, ie: what PSU you can reuse or need to purchase

In short, pick your budget, pick a processor, pick the features/compatibility that are important to you, then select from the mobos which support them.

I personally view chipsets made by SiS and ALi/ULi as junk. VIA and nForce chipsets aren't great either but are often the best (or only) options for Mini- and Pico-ATX form factors. Can't go wrong with Intel or AMD, though it might cost more.

I'm a bit of an Intel fanboy ... the extreme end is (currently) dominated by i7-980X processor on X58 mobo (i7-990X expected Q4/2010, P65 processor and X68 mobo expected Q2-3/2011). But AMD's top product is an X6-1090T-Black processor on 890FX mobo; I'm not sure what the benchmarks are but the AMD proc+mobo combo is probably at least 90% as good at less than 40% the total price for "stock" ratings, the Intel combo is unstoppable when overclocked.

If you're planning to buy older or used tech it's often more economical (and convenient) to purchase complete working systems. Purchasing OEM systems is often more economical than build-your-own, though you have to be careful to avoid being trapped by semi-proprietary OEM compatibility restrictions or loaded down with junk hardware/software you just don't want; the "hot selling" best features are always proudly advertised while specs for all the other (often minimal or inferior) components are carefully never mentioned. Upgrade options often turn out to be limited and more costly in the long run.

If you're budgeting a complete system build then don't forget to include the prices of any extra cables you may need to purchase (AC wall plug, IDE/SATA power and data cables, GPU-card power and bridge cables, USB cables, etc) and the price of any software you need to purchase (Windows OS, Office, etc), plus of course your keyboard/mouse.

[davbren]

I saw this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225558...edium=products its an Intel Gigabyte An ok price, woulda liked a bit cheaper but I'm prepared to pay that. Its got enough clout i think.

Whats your opinion?

[x88x]

It looks like a decent MBB, and the miniITX size will be nice for your plans. Keep in mind though, that since it only has 2 RAM slots, if you want to hit its RAM max capacity of 8GB you'll have to use 4GB sticks, which are still quite expensive.

Most current mobos support PCIe 2.x (with dual-16 or quad-8 lanes)

Not that it matters in this specific case, but this is not correct. The majority of MBBs still only support a single 16-lane connection, and if they have another slot and another card is added they will either go 8/8 or sometimes 16/8 of 16/4. MBBs like the EVGA SR and SR-2 are the exception to this as they have an additional PCIe controller that gives them (iirc) 64 more lanes, enabling then to support up to 4x16 or 1x16+6x8.

[Konrad]

Your link pointed to Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3, LGA1156, H55 Express
It looks like a good mobo, similar to a Gigabyte I used to have.

I would personally choose ASUS-P7H55-M, LGA1156, H55 Express

A close comparison shows that both mobos are based on the same processors and chipset, are OC-friendly, and generally very similar. Each has some nifty hardware, firmware, and software features which the other lacks. The Gigabyte might still turn out to be the better choice for your needs. I haven't found any reviews/benchmarks useful for direct comparison (both boards get good reviews and have excellent support, ASUS benchmark metrics are generally higher but not meaningful because of differing hardware configurations), but I would judge these mobos as basically equivalent.

Pros/Cons that struck me as important: (in rough order of importance)

At £63.43 the ASUS mobo costs £18.03 less (that's ~$30 to me)

ASUS mobo uses DDR3 2200*/2133/1866/1800/1600/1333/1066, up to 4 banks (16GB)
Gigabyte mobo uses DDR3 1666*/1333/1066/800, up to 2 banks (8GB)
(Gigabyte is clearly inferior here unless you already have 1 or 2 DDR3-800 sticks you plan to use; and if you do, I'd recommend seriously considering an upgrade to faster RAM)
* note it's best to match DDR3 pairs for dual-channel operation regardless of which mobo you choose, and you don't have to fill to full capacity (at initial purchase, or at any other time)
* note Windows OS may impose limits on maximum addressable RAM, anything above the limit is just wasted (integrated graphics might be able use of some of this wasted RAM if the BIOS allows it)
The best deals I saw are
Crucial 1GB DDR3-1333 CL9 £20.41, Kingston 1GB DDR3-1333 CL9 £20.87, Kingston HyperX 1GB DDR3-1333 CL7 £25.89, Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR3-1333 CL9 £34.71, Extra Value 2GB DDR3-1333 CL9 £33.88, Extra Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1333 CL9 £55.48, Corsair 4GB DDR3-1333 CL9 £67.79; some of these DIMMs come with heat spreaders and you can order these at £0.75 each for the others. Anything much faster/larger than these starts getting costly, anything slower/smaller costs only a few pennies less and is not worth buying. I don't personally feel brand name matters (outside extreme performance RAM), but many people disagree.

ASUS mobo has PCIe 16/1/1, also 1 PCI slot
Gigabyte mobo only has PCIe 16
(The big PCIe slot gets filled up with one card, the usual assumption is that it's a GPU; the ASUS still has a few little slots empty for added expansion)
* note that if you don't use a PCIe GPU card on either mobo you'll have to be selective about which iCore you choose; specifically, one capable of Intel HD Graphics (currently i3-530/540, i5-670/661/660/650)

ASUS mobo supports 6 SATA2 and 2 PATA (UDMA-133/100)
Gigabyte mobo supports 4 SATA2 and 1 eSATA
(ASUS has compatibility with any old IDE HDDs you might have; I'll admit I don't really know what eSATA is but a variety of PCIe and USB adapters/controllers for eSATA appear to be available for < £30; Gigabyte would probably cost less if you really require eSATA, but ASUS can accept multiple PCIe eSATA cards)
* if you require support for many drives it would be more economical to upgrade to a mobo with more native drive controllers than to add numerous drive controller cards and accessories

ASUS mobo has 12 USB2.0/USB1.1 ports
Gigabyte mobo has 8 USB2.0/USB1.1 ports and 2 USB3.0/2.0 ports
(Do you need 8 or 12 USB2 ports? Do you need 2 USB3 ports? Consider ASUS has two slots which can each accept a 2-port USB3.0 PCIe card; these cost £19.04 each but no need to buy unless/until you need USB3 later; or you can get one now and come out a bit ahead, view it as buying yourself a few minor mobo changes plus 4 more USB2 ports for an added £1.01 overall cost)

ASUS mobo has Realtec ALC887 (ALC889?) 8-channel High-Def audio
Gigabyte mobo has Realtec ALC892R 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel High-Def audio
(I'm not sure if high-end audio matters to you, and I'm not sure which of these is better, Gigabyte I suspect, maybe a lot better, maybe not, they're both fairly pretty good; either way, only the ASUS has slots for an audio card with superior sound)
[Edit: Detailed specs can be found at the Realtek site.]

Again, the mobos use different GbLAN chips. I don't think there's any real functional difference.
(Again, only the ASUS can accept PCIe GbLAN expansion cards.)

ASUS mobo has D-Sub and HDMI outputs
Gigabyte mobo has D-Sub, HDMI, and DVI-D outputs
(Assuming your monitor accepts DVI-D but cannot accept D-Sub and HDMI, and assuming that you have the ASUS mobo, you can purchase a VGA-DVI or HDMI-DVI adapter for ~£6-7, just be careful to select the correct male/female end connectors)

IEEE1394 FireWire is common but not everybody uses it. Neither of these mobos has FireWire (though the ASUS can accept FireWire PCIe cards). I don't know if this is something you don't need or simply forgot.

I've been limiting my examples to your Ebuyer (UK) site, though of course there's many other places to shop.

[Konrad]

Not that it matters in this specific case, but this is not correct. The majority of MBBs still only support ...

Oops. You're right.

I'm used to X58 and 890FX mobos (and Socket 478 mobos, lol). I focus on mobos which support multi-CFX/SLI. I'd kind of just assumed and generalized above.

[davbren]

OK so after a lotta faffing they've finally shipped my monitor. It should be arriving in the next couple of days.

Click here for details... :-)

[davbren]

Ok So yet another 24" on its way. Fingers crossed.

Also, judgin by the size of a mini-itx there should be plenty of room in there for everything. I'll let you all know whats what when the lcd arrives.