Parts recommendation

[spanky1339]

I recently had some problems with my new build and returned the motherboard and processor to the seller for a refund. I was told on this form that my motherboard and power supply listed below were of low quality.

- ECS P4M800PRO-M Motherboard w/ Pentium D Dual Core CPU (3.2GHz 2 x 1MB Cache)
- ChiefMax 550 Watt Dual Fan Power Supply w/ SATA Connector

I also purchased some OCZ RAM (1 GB PC2-4200 Gold XTC Edition 2 X 512 MB) for the build. I've seen some other posts on this forum that don't rate this memory very well. So I have a few questions:

1) What type of motherboard, processor, and power supply would you recommend for the following uses: Minimal game playing, web design using Macromedia Dreamweaver and Flash, and general tasks such as web surfing and using Microsoft Office.

2) Should I look to return the memory I purchased above for another brand or should I stick with it? What types of RAM would you recommend?

Thanks,
Mark

[chuck4456]

Budget?

[spanky1339]

I would say around $400 for the motherboard, processor, and power supply. I already have the other parts. I should mention that I already have an 8X AGP Video Card and 1 GB DDR2 PC2-4200 of RAM so the motherboard would need to be compatible with these components.

Thanks,
Mark

[blue60007]

You are going to have a hard time mixing DDR2 and AGP and current CPU socket (ie, LGA775). I found a couple boards on Newegg, but those pretty well put you back in the same boat as before.

May be time to ditch the AGP video card. At least get a PCI-E board with onboard video, and add a PCI-E video card later when you have the funds.

AGP is dieing out and I don't think it's wise to put any more money into an AGP build.

[glc]

Good onboard video like the latest Intel should tide you over for a while. Look at an E6300 processor, an XClio 450BL power supply, and an Asus P5B-VM. If the ram gives you grief, then look at replacing it - it may work just fine.