Do I need a motherboard with PCI Express?

[Deisel Weisel]

About to order components for my first ever build. It’s a business computer. General office work including database and web. Networked to two other computers. Increasing amounts of video work, involving some encoding and making DVD’s. Must be very quiet (no screaming mobo fans), stable, reliable, compatible. No gaming. No overclocking. No raiding.

Here’s my board shortlist:

Asus A8V-deluxe (VIA K8T800 Pro & VIA VT8237) – no PCI Express
It has no PCI Express. I somehow feel, that by not having it, it might make the board less future proof, but I’m not sure, that’s why I’m asking. Board is being phased out, but it has/had the highest customer review score for a 939 board at NewEgg (4.74 out of 5). Been around for a while, but all the more stable for it. I’ve noticed it’s got 2 SATA ‘ports’ from the VT8237 and a further 2 from a Promise add-on – don’t know if that’ll compromise any video work in any way.

Some alternatives I’ve considered:

Asus A8N-SLI Premium (NF4) – with PCI Express
It appears tweaking and fine tuning fix most NF4 issues, but there’s a known hard drive corruption problem that has me worried - see here. I don’t want my big drives, choka full of video files, corrupting on me. It seems to effect Maxtor drives, more than any other, and Maxtor have just issued some firmware fix (or such like) for this problem, but I’m planning on Samsung or Seagate drives, so...??

Abit AT8 (ATI RD480 & ULI M1575) – with PCI Express
May be the best of the RD480 boards so far. Only recently on sale, which means, unlike the A8V-Deluxe, it’s stability isn't proven yet.

Planned system:
A64 4200+ X2
Crucial 1GB (2 x 512 - 3200 - CT2KIT6464Z40B)
Matrox G450 PCI 32mb (G45FMDVP32DB)
BenQ 1640 (DVD writer)
Samsung P80 HD080HJ SATA 80GB/8MB (OS & Programs)
Samsung P120 SP2504C SATA 250GB/8MB (x 3 – Video Storage)
Antec P150 case c/w NeoHE 430w

Please help me decide

[ROF]

I'd go with the Abit AT8.

I have experience building with all three boards listed.

The A8V deluxe has a somewhat noisy system board fan which you've indicated would not be desirable.

The Asus A8N Deluxe board has had several issues during my builds. I've had sound problems, nvidia driver issues, and my own personal experience with the hard drive issue you pointed to. I also got a DOA board with that model.

I like the Abit AT8. It's got alot of desirable features. All connections are in appropriate places with USB and firewire not hindering or hiding near slots. No system board fans. An onboard POST. Support for 8GB of RAM. Horizontal IDE slots. 4 SATA Channels. Something you may notice is the AT8 does not include any serial ports or an LPT Port. If you are planning on attached non-USB printers this might be an issue, but it's absence should be noted.

[Deisel Weisel]

Good info ROF, thanks

The A8V deluxe has a somewhat noisy system board fan which you've indicated would not be desirable.

Was the fan your only issue with the A8V-Deluxe, because I think you might be mistaken. It appears to be passive, no fan, see here: http://www.asus.com/999/images/products/238/238_l.jpg What about no PCI Express? Do you rate that as an issue?

[whitejremiah]

if your not using it for gaming, i wouldnt consider it to be an issue personally...particularly in an office setup.....pci express is basically made for high end video cards........i wouldnt worry about it too much either way, as even if you do have pci express you probably wont put it to use in a buisness computer....

[ROF]

My apologies I was looking at issues in my logs and the board that a customer said was making noise was an Asus A8V-E Deluxe which is the PCI-Express version of that board. The A8V is indeed a passive system board. No related issues noted during two builds and delivery of those systems. You could probably find this board(the A8V) much cheaper than the other two listed. Since you aren't even planning to use AGP or PCI Express(I see you list an older PCI board) you might want to invest in this board rather than the Abit AT8. I still like the AT8 board design though.

[redwudz]

I prefer Nvidia chipset motherboards for the AMD 64 CPUs. They seem to be the best combo with AMD. I've had a few problems with the K8T800 chipset motherboards. But they perform well enough for business purposes.

As far as PCI-E, you won't find many 64bit motherboards without it, or PCI-X, any more. I would recommend it for 'future proofing'. PCI-E isn't just for high end video, it's rapidly becoming the standard with AGP being phased out. There's no real development of AGP cards any more.

SLI is probably overkill for a business computer, though you can run most MBs with just one PCI-E video card.

For quiet, the AMD 64s are a good choice as they run cool. The factory cooler is fairly quiet and adds a couple years to the warranty if you get it with the CPU as a package.

If the motherboard has 'Cool and Quiet' capabilities that work with the factory cooler, even better. Or there are a few aftermarket coolers that are a little quieter. Go with a case that has low speed 12CM fans, same with the power supply.

The rest of your specs seem fine to me.

[Bjs]

If you are worried about future proofing your new system .

1: Choose 64bit ready motherboard setup .
(amd cover both 32 and 64 well)

2: For less headaches , make sure it has onboard video .
(This way it dosent matter what they do in video card development)

Be aware there are "2" version's of the 64bit os from ms .

One designed specifically for intel systems , the other for amd system's .
Use the wrong one only prevent's you from getting the full potential from the new system , no harm done ...

3: As for sata , that's entirely up to you ... since they came out there has been little in the way of improvments in development ... where as ide keep's forging ahead .

PS : On planned system .

Good cpu choice .
Ram - good to see someone thinking (2 x)
Video card ... your choice
Dvd writer - holy crap (consider sony / lg / pioneer)
Hard drive's - samsung , very good choice (dont get hot as other's)
430 say what ... really , go for 550w unit , you'll be better off .

Motherboard with nvidia chipset would get the best out of the cpu , but also consider via chipset and/or sis chipsets as well , highly stable .