Need Some Motherboard Knowledge

[Valk]

I used to build alot of rigs for gaming but have been out of the loop for a few years now. Building a new system and I could really use some help with a few questions. Thnx a truckload for any wisdom ya can spew on me.

Questions:

1) What in God's name are all these different PCI slots for? x16, x8, x1, PCI X... The 16's I know are for the GPU's but I'm having problems selecting a mobo because I'm not sure what kind of slots I'll need. Is there a guide around on what the different ones are for?

2) Bus Speeds. I've purchased an AMD 64 x2 6400 Black Edition. There seems to be 2 choices for bus speeds the mobos come ready to handle, 2600 MHz and 1000 MHz. Why such a huge difference? (The new CPU's bus speed is 1000MHz (2000 MT/s) )

3) Memory and their speed. If I remember correctly, on AMD stuff you multiply the memory # x2 to get your bus speed? Like DDR2 200 would be meant to run at 400 MHz. (2x200=400) The new CPU's bus speed is: 1000MHz (2000 MT/s), and I'm gonna o/c it. What speed memory do I get?

I can't order the mobo and mem til I figure this out so I would really appreciate any help you guys could give me.

[Sinn Fein]

PCI Express - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express)

RAM matches the motherboard. 2600MHZ bus motherboard calls for DDR2 1066.

I don't have time to get into specifics, but here's some recommendations.

Buy this board:

ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131224)

And this RAM (to get started - buy two sets if you want):

Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134218)

[thelord68]

The PCI-Express slots are replacing AGP and PCI. The higher the multiplier the better. But, some motherboards that say they are compatible with x16 will allow x16 video cards to function, but in reality only operate at x8. Check the docs or read user reviews to determine. This is similar to AGP slots and cards running at 2x, 4x or 8x.

Also, as far as memory, check with the manufacturers web site to see which memory modules have been tested. Also check user reviews for anecdotal evidence on which brand of memory works with the particular motherboard. RAM runs at a variety of voltage s. Some motherboards may not function with some brands. You are generally safe going with a big player, like Crucial or Kingston, but this is not always the case.

I've had to step down on ram with some motherboards - ie. going from ddr2 800 down to ddr2 667 to make them more stable.

[Valk]

Good stuff, thnx gents.