Asus or Gigabyte? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

HuskyMan · #1 10-28-2009, 09:27 AM

upgrading the old PC (AMD Pentium III) so that I can run Windows 7 ultimate. would like to have both USB and PS/2 ports for both keyboard and mouse. may get into some blu-ray DVD authoring and creation. have read good things about Asus and Gigabyte.......any PC builders thoughts are appreciated......

KarTek · #2 10-28-2009, 10:13 AM

I just built a PC that I'm in the final stages of finishing now and I went with EVGA components. If you go to newegg.com, you can check everything out and see what other people are buying and how they rate the products.

If you're upgrading an older PC, you'll have to find out what size MB you have and then search for what's available. Newegg also sells combinations of MB/CPU's that are a real bargain.

Another thing to consider is that the old power supply in your existing case may not have the guts to run a higher end system. In addition, many newer boards use a 24 pin power supply cable that your existing PC may not have.

#3 10-28-2009, 10:16 AM

EVGA is my personal favorite to build with but both ASUS and Gigabyte are good Asus has a much better install instructions but IMHO Gigabyte has better features. EVGA has the best customer support. And I agree with Kartek if you are using an old CPU you will need to figure out socket used and size ect ect.

Rob Pruijt · #4 10-28-2009, 11:34 AM

Your old system is either Intel based (Pentium) or AMD.

Upgrading an old pc is not a very good idea.
You will need:
- board
- CPU + Cooler
- Memory
- VGA card (old one does not fit)
- Power supply (there are converters 20pin to 24pin
but the output will be to low)
- Hard disk, boards now use SATA instead of PATA

The only thing you can keep is the case, witch I would replace because of the cooling requirements of new systems.

If you have little experience in building pc’s the best option is to buy a complete system.
The only reason for building one yourself is that you can customize it.

Rob

#5 10-28-2009, 11:44 AM

If you are going to buy a new out of the box system go with Cyberpowerpc.com or ibuypower.com both are great systems with real performance

Ara T. · #6 10-28-2009, 05:34 PM

Either should be good, they are both good products. Just read the reviews on the particular boards to see if there are any common defects.

Gurkha · #7 10-28-2009, 09:59 PM

ASUS owns Gigabyte now and both are good. AsRock which is also a ASUS company is an excellent value as well. Foxconn is another dark horse, some excellent motherboards, they make OEM motherboards for Intel.

Ara T. · #8 10-28-2009, 10:16 PM

And dont forget to flash the bios

Zeus · #9 10-28-2009, 10:20 PM

IMO - Husky, do yourself a favor and grab a comfy chair and start reading. If you've been off the tech curve, it can take a while to catch up. HardForums is a great place for detailed info, as is anandtech.com. ASUS is a solid name, great mobos. Video cards are very cheap now, depending on your needs. If you're not a gamer, you can get a great card for $100 or less. RAM is cheap, get plenty (4 GB) especially if you are going to run a 64-bit OS.

Do yourself a favor and buy a new, solid power supply. New components need both a substantial amount of power and also constant power. Nothing like a fluctuating 12V rail to have you tearing your PC apart looking for reasons why it keeps suddenly hanging up...

I use Antec power supplies, they have a wide range of units to suit any need, and the build quality is excellent.

The Newegg.com suggestion is a great one - see what is popular and in your budget. Then take the time to read reviews on the aforementioned forums and find out if their are any model-specific quirks. Then build your system. Shop around for deals. If you are buying a new monitor, check out Dell and look for coupons online and discounts, they always have deals going on.

Have fun!

okyoureabeast · #10 10-28-2009, 10:35 PM

I bought a Mac for other things, but I use Windows 7 pro on my Macbook Pro and it is great.

I remember when having a Gig of ram was nirvana. Then two became the sweet spot. Now I run 4.

A couple things to remember when upgrading:

Since you're running a brand new computer, highly consider getting the 64bit version of Windows 7. 64bit is the next step in high memory management computing and it's unfortunate Microsoft is still keeping a 32bit verison of windows.

Performance is the biggest reason why you should go 64bit. Also consider with ultimate you can also run 32bit XP mode, which saved me since Texas Instruments didn't take the time to update their calculators and software.

pawoSD · #11 10-28-2009, 11:05 PM

I use Biostar Motherboards because they are the most reliable in my experience. At least aside from the real expensive server-class boards. I've also used Asus and Gigabyte, of those two I would use Asus. Of the 13 computers I currently oversee.....all but two of them are Biostar, with the others being an ASUS and an old gateway.

Wodnek · #12 10-28-2009, 11:26 PM

i have always likes ASUS and ABIT.

Dont build a system though until you spend a couple hours on:
http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

They offer good reviews and hands on of all components so you can see what works well together.

GregoryV022 · #13 10-28-2009, 11:46 PM

Ive always perfered ASUS.

but whatever you use, order from NEWEGG.COM. their prices = WIN.

and check out their recertified list. there are some crazy deals

HuskyMan · #14 10-29-2009, 12:17 PM

thanks for the replies, very informative and appreciated. seems that in this crazy technical world we live in that things are in a constant state of change. been also considering purchasing a new Dell system; however read on some other forums that they have begun using less than the best components. so.......still thinking I will build my own system.

question: is it possible to build a server system under Windows 7 and set up a secondary thin client (display, mouse and keyboard only)?

Gurkha · #15 10-29-2009, 12:29 PM

Go to newegg or tiger direct and build your own PC from all the parts there, they even assemble them for you for a nominal charge. For thin client I would strongly suggest you go with Ubuntu.