Member Avatar for clasher097

i need links to a nice non-all in one motherboard

like a motherboard w/o sound and video card

or can u put a sound card + video card on a motherboard that already has one?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Catweazle

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Short, practical checklist to find a motherboard that won’t force you to use built‑in audio or video, and to make add‑in cards work cleanly.

As and started to point out, compatibility and layout matter more than buzzwords. First step: match the board to the CPU and the case form factor (ATX/mATX, etc.). Next, read the motherboard spec sheet and the user manual before buying — look for the section that lists "onboard devices" or "back panel I/O" so you can confirm whether audio/video are present and how they can be configured. Retail search tools (use the vendor filters or a site like PCPartPicker) make it easy to compare specs across models.

Quick checklist to follow before purchase:

  • Confirm CPU socket and chipset compatibility with the processor you plan to use.
  • Confirm expansion-slot type and count (AGP vs PCIe, full‑length vs short PCI) so your discrete video card fits and gets the right lanes.
  • Verify power/clearance: case max GPU length, CPU cooler height, and PSU connector availability for high‑end cards.
  • Check BIOS options in the manual for "primary graphics" or "onboard audio" controls — these determine which device the system prioritizes at boot.

Installation tips and troubleshooting:

  • Install the discrete video card in the correct slot and set the BIOS video priority to use it. If the OS still sees an onboard device, uninstall its drivers or disable it in the BIOS/Device Manager.
  • If a sound card is not detected, try a different PCI slot and make sure front‑panel audio headers aren’t unintentionally connected.
  • Update the motherboard BIOS to the latest stable release before finalizing drivers.

Further reading: Motherboard — Wikipedia and PCPartPicker — Motherboards.

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Member Avatar for clasher097

is this an all in one motherboard

this is the rocessor im going to get

this is the sound card i want
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-162&depa=0
video card
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-251&depa=0&manufactory=BROWSE
srry about the multiple posting (editing time ran out)

Member Avatar for DuncanIdaho

You can disable onboard sound and video on most motherboards that have either, and then put in add-on video and sound cards.

The motherboard you've listed is a decent board, (though it has onboard sound and ethernet, not too unusual today). I prefer motherboards by Asus, but that's personal preference, there are probably people here that would prefer MSI, as they are a good brand. One point: I'm not a fan of VIA chipsets, after having some AGP 4X issues with one of their older chipsets. However that's a personal bias, you should ask around here what other AMD users would pick for a good motherboard/chipset, you'll probably get some good advice.

That case is 20.9 inches high x 8.1 inches wide by 20.5 inches deep. Use a ruler to imagine it's size. It's a nice sized case, and it is pretty easy to cool that particular tower. (I was looking at those, in fact, around 6 months ago, still haven't decided what my next case will be though).

It think that about covers it. :)

Member Avatar for Catweazle

If you're getting an Athlon64 and a decent video card, then you want a decent motherboard to go with it, and the VIA chipset boards are certainly NOT king of the hill ;)

Find a motherboard with an NVidia nForce3 250 chipset on it, and forget about worrying so much about what features it includes. You can disable the ones you don't want. By the way, I haven't really come across any such boards with onboard video, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Member Avatar for clasher097

thanks for ur help

Member Avatar for clasher097

and also what is socket A. do i need to worry about it?

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Socket A is the type of socket an AMD Athlon XP processor plugs into. A motherboard with one of those isn't suitable for other types of processor.

The processor you've chosen to buy is an AMD Athlon64 socket 754 processor, so you'll need to get a motherboard with one of those processor sockets on it ;)

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