OT motherboard/cpu suggestions sought

[Darryl Clarke]

On 12/6/05, Todd Slater <dontodd at gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, the computer I built about 6 years ago is on its last legs and
> I'm looking to build another, but quite a lot has changed since I
> built my last one! I rather prefer to stick with AMD processors, but
> don't know whether to go with an AMD 64 or not. Also, what mobo
> chipset should I be looking for? If possible, I'd like to get a mobo
> with onboard sound and video to save a few $$ to start. Any "gotchas"
> I should be aware of in terms of using it with Ubuntu?
>
> This will be a family computer we'll use for photo organizing/editing,
> cd/dvd backup, and mostly general office apps--no gaming here.
>
> Feel free to respond off-list to keep the chatter down.

I just recently upgraded to a dual core amd64 cpu, on an NForce4
motherboard (gigabyte, a8n-sli?) and it runs fantastic with Ubuntu.

It's probably a little overkill for you though - so a lower-end amd64
would do you fine. A motherboard with the nforce4 chipset is good. 
Lots of support for various devices, firewire, usb2, pci-express,
serial ata, *good* onboard audio (yes I said good, it exists), and all
the normal stuff.   All supported by Ubuntu without any major issues.

If you're not really one to fiddle around with ubuntu, I do however,
recommend sticking with the 32bit version (it works fine and fast on
amd64's) until Dapper (Ubuntu 6.04) is ready.  Since, there are a few
minor inconveneinces with 64bit and 3rd party plugins (flash, and
various firefox extensions for example will not work)

--
~ Darryl  ~ smartssa at gmail.com
http://smartssa.com / http://darrylclarke.com