How do I choose a motherboard?

I WISH TO UPGRADE FROM MY P233 AND I BELIEVE I HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH THE AMD K6-3 CHIP AT 450 MGHZ. HOW DO I CHOOSE THE BEST MOTHER BOARD FOR THIS CHIP. I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESSOR WILL HANDLE UP TO 2MB CACHE ON THE BOARD AND WOULD LIKE TO MAXIMIZE THIS (1 MB AT LEAST). I WILL BE INSTALLING 128 MEG MEMORY AT 100MHZ SPEED. AS YOU CAN SEE I HAVE QUITE A FEW COMPONENTS. THE BOARD CHOICES SEEM HARDER TO DEFINE THAN THE CHIP SELECTION.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

RICK

This question was answered on September 2, 1999. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Choosing the motherboard (MB) is an important factor when building or upgrading a computer First I always recommend using a name brand MB They tend to have the best quality and also better support Before purchasing any MB I would also try and locate their company web site on the internet Go to the website and see what support they offer, such as drivers, updates, etc. If you search for a manufacturer and can't find them, then I would go elsewhere with your business (Unless it is a company I own stock in, Ha! Ha!) Another question to consider is for what purpose will the computer be used? A computer used for word processing has different needs than one used for gaming What is the size of the computer case you plan to put your new MB inside? Some MB's are too large for smaller cases How many ISA or PCI slots will you require? Does your video card fit in an ISA, PCI, or AGP slot? What type of RAM and how many slots are there for it on the MB? As you can see there are many questions that must be answered before you buy a MB

To help decide on a particular MB you might ask your friends if they have any recommendations If they can't help you, the internet has many web sites dedicated to reviewing MB's If you find a review on a MB that you like, try to find compare it with other reviews to get a second opinion After all, not all information you find on the internet is correct I found many web sites using an internet search engine by searching for motherboard AND review

So get yourself a drink and a snack;

Cut and paste those three words into your favorite search engine;

Click the search button and get ready to spend some time reading.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

About the author

Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on September 2, 1999

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