I am about to commence to build myself a new desktop computer with the following requirements:-
1. Capability to power a dvd player/recorder (if necessary 2 separate units)
2. Two hard drives
3. Existing 4.1 Speaker system
4. New motherboard (AMD or INTEL undecided yet)
5. 500 watt (minimum) power supply
These are the basic requirements as it also be required to connect to the internet and print with existing Canon printer.
I am looking for some guidance on a suitable mobo as I have not been involved in this area for several years and have never used the uefi type bios that seems to be prevalent today.
The case is already available in my old windoze computer which is about to be dismantled. I already have a Linux mint powered computer in daily use.
Sorry this is so long when all I need is a recommendation for a motherboard.
All assistance would be gratefully appreciated.
Tikiman.

Tikiman,

Suggestions:

Intel i3-6100 CPU (rated at 5493):
https://www.ebuyer.com/725318-intel-...-bx80662i36100

ASUS motherboard:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-M-2-LG...-A+Motherboard

This link is a bit dated but the mobo appears to be compatible with the then latest Ubuntu 15.10:
https://dlcdnimgs.asus.com/websites/.../Linux1606.pdf

https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/H110M-A-M-2/

https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards...pecifications/

Memory:
8GB (2 x 4GB) Crucial DDR4 RAM:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT8...419153031&th=1

PSU:

Seasonic M12II EVO 520W Modular:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w...bronze-atx-psu

Cooler Master N300 case:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Mast.../dp/B00CTBK2QK

Optical drive:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ERJXT..._t1_B01J48UVBQ


This may be relevant to the mobo's Intel I219V LAN:
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2356217

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi Tikiman,

I have done this type of thing several times in the last few years.

I am not partial to any particular systemboard manufacturer - other members may chime in with their opinions.

Your most important choice will be the CPU, as you say, Intel or AMD, which will then guide your choice of boards. In my experience, the only time the choice of Intel or AMD *really* made a difference was when I was planning on using the build for headless virtualization, amongst other things. In that case, Intel CPUs are more forgiving, especially if you are going to be virtualizing MacOS. Otherwise, I find AMD slightly better value, but even there we're not talking a huge difference.

The rest of your needs are pretty basic. Just go for the best deal you can find.

As for UEFI, it's now standard and your biggest challenge will just be familiarizing yourself with the way booting works. There is a *ton* of info on this - of everything I've read, Rod Smith's (the developer of rEFInd) site is both comprehensive in its coverage and fairly easy to read.

Hope this helps !

Cheers - don't hesitate to come back for anything else ...

*EDIT* Just saw beachboy's above post - he has alot of recommendations - check it out.

Just two HHD? I'd keep the door open for further expansion.

1 members found this post helpful.

Tikiman - I agree with this - was going to mention it but forgot (thx BW-userx) .. A *minimum* of 4 SATA ports should be pretty standard on most boards these days ...

Ain't it fun building your own?

If you go with AMD--specifically the Rizen CPUs--and go for a budget-priced m'board (which may be not quite the latest-n-greatest), take note of the BIOS version on the board. I recently went with a Gigabyte board with Ryzen 3 2200G CPU and had to take the board and CPU back to the store to let the technician do a BIOS upgrade. Without that upgrade, it appeared to boot but without any video output I really couldn't tell. [ugh] That was this past Spring so, hopefully, that may not be an issue any more. Back then the boards that stores had in stock were not quite Ryzen-ready. If the vendor offers to do a little pre-assembly, testing, and BIOS update, save yourself the disappointment and aggravation and let 'em. (In my case it cost $10 but I spent more than that in gas and time making the second trip.)

Good luck.

The peak power consumption of a dvd/bluray recorder is around 25-30W only when burning a disk. Playing one is much lower. Compared to expansion video cards this isn't an issue. With a 500W PS you won't have a problem.

An issue would be to get a case with two 5.25" bays if you wanted two units. The Cooler Master N300 case has two 5.25" drive bays. Many newer cases don't have any 5.25" drive bays as optical drives are much less popular now.

Are you talking about two mechanical HDDs or one SSD and one mechanical HDD ? I strongly recommend the latter configuration.

Hi,

I would size the power needs for the whole system relative to the equipment you have and expect to be purchasing. Most newer vertical desktops will have vertical mount points for 'SSD' and you could still use your rack mounted HD positions(s). Be sure to count your I/O SATA to have enough to drive your needs. You may have some issues recycling an older case.

If you want a quiet system then look into water cooling system since the prices have fallen to allow the use for both your processor & GPU thus a quiet cooler system.

Re-fitting older cases can sometimes create more hassle than they are worth since the case costs are not that much for a good quality case.

Do not skimp on the PSU power nor price. It will dictate your systems life.

Plus you are not the first to request help with builds, try a LQ Search to get some past queries.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

IMO, first decide on the CPU and video type, then the features you wish the motherboard to have. When shopping for low price CPUs and motherboards, you should find little difference in prices, and RAM will be the most expensive of the three if choosing more than 8GB.

I've bought 3 motherboards since last December, all socket 1151 with B250 chipsets. My goal was at least one M.2 socket, more than 4 SATA ports, PCIe X16 slot, and onboard DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI video ports. The first was a new in box Gigabyte. At 5 months of occasional use, it locked up and would not POST. It took nearly 8 weeks to get the problem diagnosed and the motherboard warranty RMA'd. Gigabyte RMA is an infuriatingly slow process. While trying to determine the failure mode the delay resulted in a wasteful RMA of the Geil DDR4 RAM first. Geil RMA is also slow. Ultimately RAM slots 3 & 4 had somehow gone bad, so it was impossible to use more than 2 sticks, and impossible to use RAM in dual channel mode. The second was an ASUS refurb. I misread its specs and photos. I thought it had a mini DisplayPort, as the search on newegg.com that lead to it errantly reported, but it turned out to be a USB-C port, so I returned it after verifying it was otherwise OK. The third was another refurb ASUS, which works fine. Average cost of the three motherboards was around $70 USD. For the first I bought a new 51W TDP G4600 for $84 USD. With the second I bought a used 35W TDP i3-7100T for $110 USD, but I moved the G4600 to the two ASUS and put the i3-7100T in the Gigabyte. I spent $76 for the 2 4GB GEIL DDR4 sticks that are currently in the Gigabyte, to be moved to the ASUS when the 2 8GB generic DDR4 sticks I ordered this AM for $122 USD arrive.

This comment is coming out of left field as water cooling is only needed for overclocked gaming systems. For regular computing a good air cooler will result in quiet operation. I don't game but my Noctua cooler keeps my system quiet. The OP has not even mentioned buying an expansion PCIe GPU at all and may just be planning to use the CPU's onboard video.

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi,

Not necessarily true. If someone wants a cool quiet system then water cooling is a viable system to choose. I do not need gaming and did wish to have a quiet efficient system so water cooling was my choice and recommendation Not everyone needs to over-clock or be a gamer to use water cooling. Size your system your way and I will do mine!

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

1 members found this post helpful.

So sorry for not being able to respond before now. I have been ill and have now recovered.
The response from the forum members has been amazing and is very very welcome. I do take the point about old computer cases and may review that decision. Also a good point has been made about HDD’s as I intend to have 2. I hadn’t made up my mind about which type but think that I would like to have one at least 300 odd gb and the other one would be simply for the district so that a solid state drive would be best choice for that.
I really just wish to thank ALL who have contributed to this discussion. I have read every one and will take on board the comments made.
MANY THANKS TO ALL
Tikiman