On 18 Feb 98 at 23:40, Ayaz Shaikhzadeh wrote:

> I am about to buy a new motherboard and processor for my system. I am
> looking at going to 200Mhz MMX Intel Processor..
>
> Which Motherboard is best for this processor. Any pitfalls that I should be
> aware of?

  There are several good choices; it is still possible to find
inexpensive boards that would be very poor choices.
  In order to support an MMX, or any split-voltage CPU, the
motherboard needs a voltage regulator for the CPU socket.  Some cheap
boards will claim such support because there is a place to mount such
a regulator -- should you ever manage to find one! -- on the board.
A good name-brand board will have the regulator built-in.
  There are two kinds of regulators, and a "switching" regulator is a
bit more reliable and runs a bit cooler.  That differenece might be
less important to you than to some other buyers.

  Your new board is going to come with some mix of PCI and ISA slots.
Since these boards mount their brackets in opposite directions, most
"Pentium" motherboards include one ISA connector and one PCI that
correspond to a single slot in the back panel; if the board appears
to list more than seven slots, this has almost certainly been counted
amongst both types, but can be used only for one or the other.  "5
PCI/3 ISA" is common and fine for a new system, but "4 PCI/4 ISA" is
probably better for upgraders, who are more likely to have legacy
devices to accomodate.  [I have ISA modem, sound card, and PCMCIA
adapter, and so have recently gone to a PCI network card.]
  [See the stuff about AGP below, which replaces one PCI slot.]

> Does the type of motherboard hamper/assist the speed of a processor?

  A key component of the board is the chipset, which dtermines both
features and performance.

  Many people prefer an Intel chipset.  The 430TX is their latest for
Pentium motherboards, and includes support for UDMA hard drives and
SDRAM (which you may want).  But its caching can't handle more than
64MB of RAM, which isn't as unreasonably huge as it used to be.
  The 430HX incorporates some performance enhancements, and can cache
memory up to 512MB -- but it doesn't support UDMA or SDRAM, and Intel
is no longer producing it.  [Boards using this set are still on
dealer shelves and in warehouses, but nobody knows for how much
longer.]
  The 430VX offers none of the above.  It's typically found on those
cheap boards that claim to support, but don't offer, a regulator.

  There are a variety of non-Intel chipsets out there, though, some
of which offer UDMA and SDRAM and >64MB caching, and some of those
also offer support for the new AGP graphics slot technology which you
may be interested in.  [A Pentium motherboard that supports the
latter is likely to be a superior board in all other respects.]
  WARNING:  A real AGP slot looks like a PCI slot, but is about 2"
further from the back wall of the case.  There has been at least one
board-maker touting a slightly-modified slot -- still in position to
work as a PCI slot -- as "AGP" (same letters, but standing for
different words) in hopes of luring uninformed buyers.  If in doubt,
ask back here about a specific board before purchasing.

  If you already have a good PCI video card, you may not be very
interested in AGP.  [There is an AGP 2.0 spec which looks much more
exciting, but is not yet supported by any boards.]  But if you'll be
buying a new video card soon, you may want to consider this option --
and, as indicated above, any Pentium board that supports it will
include all of the other recent features you might also want.

> What is USB? and should this be available on the motherboard?

  USB is Universal Serial Bus.  The concept is kind of similar to
Apple's ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) for keyboards, mice, etc.  Intel is
hoping that, by providing a much higher speed, USB will "take off" in
the way that ADB never quite did, especially as ISA gets
discontinued.
  Practically all Pentium motherboards include a header for a USB
connector; some ATX boards include the connector itself.  I have not
yet actually seen a USB device.

  ATX.  ATX boards add some nice features, but odds are good that
they won't fit your existing case.  So for an upgrade, you might want
to stick to the "AT" style of boards.

  Specific brand recommendations depend on what your local suppliers
carry, or whether you're prepared to go mail-order.  I recommend that
you shop around, and if you find a deal that looks good, ask back
here to see if others already have that particular model.

David G