I've been researching motherboards to purchase for my first build. I've come across many reviews, but so many of them conflict. I've got my eye on this board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540

However, I've been told that board isn't good for first-timers.

Can anyone recommend AMD-compatitble / socket 939 motherboards that are stable and reliable?


thanks

The ASUS A8N-SLI is a good board, as for it not being for beginners, that would depend on your knowledge base and preperation for the build. One thing you could do is download the manual and see if the installation is something that you can follow and work from. There are several web site that offer turorials on building your first machine, here's one that I found to be ok. http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/

If you have any problems once you have assembled your computer, you can always come here for advice, there's usually at least a couple of people here that have been there and done that to help.

What else are you going to use in this build?

This is the processor I've got:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor

and this is the heatsink I've got:
ZALMAN CNPS7000B-Cu LED

that's all I've acquired so far. I've got my eye on some products, but I'm trying to do all the research I can before I get a board.

I should start out saying I nearly always use ASUS-Tek motherboards in my builds. I find their instructions and hardware to be first rate. I have not built anything with the board you have indicated interest in but as long as you take the proper care and precautions most systems can be built without a lot of problem. Be careful of AMD processor heat sink installations as they are fairly critical so make sure you understand that aspect of the assembly before you proceed to build the system. The case and wiring connections are also something you will need to be aware of and plan on spending some time completing. The more features you have such as front panel USB and Firewire ports, the more time and care it will take to get the system assembled. One last item to be aware of is that hard drives are very fragile and even small bumps while assembling a system can result in 50% or more of the life of the drive to be lost. While they may work when you put them in at first if they are handled roughly they may fail far sooner than if they had been handled correctly.

In the ATX form factor, board architecture is paramount for my purposes, and the Intel D975XBX is a winner for several good reasons. Most notable is the position of the 24 pin motherboard power socket at the extreme upper right corner. Why, for instance, would you want a 24 conductor, bulky harness extending across the board--in the way of HD power and data cables? It's ridiculous, right? Secondly, parallel HDs are really a thing of the past, or at least they should be. This board is devoid of superfluous IDE sockets that would otherwise be aesthetically obtrusive and occupy real estate that could be (and is, in this case) reserved for print, chokes, and capacitors. Personally, I prefer host adapters over onboard RAID, but this board has all the onboard functionality any RAID devotee would need, except, perhaps, Raid5. 8 GB RAM capacity is wonderful and was, a short time ago, reserved for BTX or expanded server boards. This looks like a very clean, practical foundation for any serious builder.
Stephanie Trapasso

In the ATX form factor, board architecture is paramount for my purposes, and the Intel D975XBX is a winner for several good reasons. Most notable is the position of the 24 pin motherboard power socket at the extreme upper right corner. Why, for instance, would you want a 24 conductor, bulky harness extending across the board--in the way of HD power and data cables? It's ridiculous, right? Secondly, parallel HDs are really a thing of the past, or at least they should be. This board is devoid of superfluous IDE sockets that would otherwise be aesthetically obtrusive and occupy real estate that could be (and is, in this case) reserved for print, chokes, and capacitors. Personally, I prefer host adapters over onboard RAID, but this board has all the onboard functionality any RAID devotee would need, except, perhaps, Raid5. 8 GB RAM capacity is wonderful and was, a short time ago, reserved for BTX or expanded server boards. This looks like a very clean, practical foundation for any serious builder.
Stephanie Trapasso

LanParty...... Period.

I concur. DFI LanParty. The best, and most suited board for gaming and overclocking.

FoxConn is good too. So is MSI (I have 2 MSI boards, both are functioning like a charm, even after overclocking)

I have the Asus you linked and also a DFI LP Ultra-D. I like them both. The Asus is actually noobie friendly and also extremely quick and reliable,