Simple Newbie Question for the Experts

[LinuxHobbit]

Hi Gang.

 

Just joined this Corsair forum in hopes of getting some good advice about a new computer system that I want to assemble. This is my first "home brew" attempt and I'd certainly like to avoid any serious "gotchas" that are due to my not adequately checking things out prior to putting my system together.

 

My "big picture" consideration is that I need to ascertain a good motherboard that will work very well with the Corsair memory that I have *already* purchased. And I'd also like for the price range for the mobo to be somewhere between $80 to $150, if this is possible.

 

Here's the Corsair memory that I just received from Newegg :

 

- CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

 

I purchased 2 of these "Twin" kits, giving me a total of 4GB of RAM.

 

And here's the CPU I intend to purchase :

 

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

 

With this AMD CPU & Corsair memory in mind, I now need to select a good mobo at a reasonable price. And I'd like to learn if there are likely to be any problems with the voltage of my new Corsair memory. For example, even though there are LOTS of motherboards that claim that they support the 240-pin, DDR2 800 standard, I've noticed that some of them list that they only support "1.8 volts" for the memory. But almost all of the DDR2 800 sticks have a voltage rating of somewhere between 2.0 and 2.2 volts (the above Corsair memory sticks have a 2.1 voltage rating).

 

I've already used the "Memory Configuration Tool" that is provided on the Corsair website to help me decide what mobo would be best for my system, but I'd like to find out if there are likely to be any conflicts with this voltage stuff. All of the boards I'm interested in show that they support the 240-pin, DDR2 800 standard, but they don't indicate whether or not they also will support the 2.1 voltage rating without me having to do some special re-configuration after everything is assembled & I turn on the juice.

 

Here's an example of a motherboard that seems to fit within the general guidelines that should work with my Corsair memory & AMD CPU (this is from the Newegg website) :

 

- ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Price : $129.99

 

This particular motherboard is one of the ones that is listed when I used the memory config tool, and it seems to be highly rated by most of the Newegg customers who have purchased it. But since I don't intend to take advantage of the special "SLI" capability by implementing 2 graphics cards, I'd certainly be willing to buy a less expensive board if it will work with my Corsair memory with no problems.

 

Anywho, for those Corsair gurus who know their stuff, I'd certainly very much appreciate your input regarding my upcoming purchase of an effective motherboard. And since the folks at Corsair obviously do a lot of testing with the various mobo's that are available, I'd like to think that matching my new Corsair memory with a good motherboard & ensuring that everything is properly configured would be a reasonably straightforward procedure.

 

THANKS in advance for any advice any of you may care to contribute. :biggrin:

 

All the Best . . .

[PimpYo]

On my AMD system I had the Foxconn 590i SLI board.

 

Best motherboard I have ever owned. Great bios, on-board LED readout of what the problem is instead of beep codes. Even has a power and reset button right on the mobo for out-of-case testing.

 

Using Corsair Twinx1024-8500C5 1066mhz memory @ 2.1V, I was able to take the system from 2.0Ghz to 2.66Ghz in less than 5min.

 

Im not sure what it retails for now-a-days, but it is an AMAZING motherboard.

[RAM GUY]

LinuxHobbit

That would be OK the MB and memory you asked about but I would try and get the M2N32-SLI Deluxe as its a better MB.