Current AMD based MB with IDE socket & wish list

[videobruce]

I haven't upgraded since 2007, I usually don't wait that long, but my current MB has the features I like, but is now dated by processor limitations.

What I'm looking for is:

1. AMD based MB that has one IDE connector so I can easily access older IDE drives. The 970 chipset MB's don't have any IDE ports (that I found). The 990 chipset does, but I didn't really want all the other bells & whistles, namely the ability to run multiple graphic cards. The cost difference is almost 2x which is hard to justify. (I really don't do any gaming.)

2. I'm also interested in power consumption since my current nForce 7 board and non green PS is a power hog (by todays standards).

3. The other question is the processor. Is a six core worth the difference in price over a four core when used for any HDTV application?

4. Serial port or at least a header (which many have).

5. Two PS2 ports (which many have).

6. Optical and/or digital audio. (not a priority)

7. Price? I would prefer to stay under $100, but that isn't cast in stone.

8. Boot menu outside the Bios screen.


I know there are IDE cards, but I would on board due to concerns for drivers and possible boot issues to use that drive as a boot drive if I need to.
I'm running XP and would like to stay that way, but I understand there are hardware issues (as usual) so I may be forced to go with Win 7 (forget 8).

Lastly, brand is flexible. I was leaning towards Asus, ASRock & Gigibyte and kinda wanted to stay away from MSI, Biostar & ECS. Opinions welcome here also.

[DanceswithUnix]

Couple of thoughts here...

Staying mainstream has benefits in availability, cost and often even performance.

Secondly, hard drives don't last forever and are not expected to last beyond their warranty period.

I would honestly look at upgrading to a modern SATA hard drive, and use it to install Win7.
Get a USB to IDE adaptor, they are reasonably cheap, and backup your IDE drives. I take it you have a bunch of them full of video?

[AJRDLawrence]

I'd broadly second what DanceswithUnix says but also:

A Six core CPU won't really offer you much advantage when merely watching HD videos but if you were encoding them, you may get a reduction in processing time.

Serial ports and headers are harder to come by now legacy devices are largely being phased out. You can get serial to USB adapters relatively cheaply though.

Chances are you'd have also have problems running XP on newer hardware. You don't have to go for Windows 8 but Windows 7 would be reccomended. If you really must make use of Windows XP, buy Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate to access the Windows XP VM which isn't included in Home Premium.

You may be able to find a budget motherboard with 2 PS2 ports or a mid range motherboard with a single dual purpose PS2 port, but higher end motherboards tend to be USB / UEFI only.

I'd personally stay away form ASRock too

[Jonj1611]

Or just get an IDE card, they are pretty cheap these days and will give you 2 x IDE ports.

[Jonj1611]

Chances are you'd have also have problems running XP on newer hardware.

Why would you have problems running Windows XP on newer hardware???

[videobruce]

I'd personally stay away form ASRock too

Why??

Doing some searches, I have found many boards that still have PS2 ports (more a single port then two), serial ports (at least a header), but finding one with IDE is tough. I know I can get a card, but that adds to the cost that would more sense to spend more up front for a step up board with additional functions than a separate card.

The board I'm leaning towards is a ASRock 990FX Extreame4.

The next question is does it have the ability to display a boot menu without entering the BIOS? I will have multiple HDD's all with separate, bootable partitions.

[Bambooz]

Price comparison site with nice filtering options: edit: for finding the board with the specs you want..
http://skinflint.co.uk/eu/?cat=mbam3...riell~643_PATA

Avoiding ASRock is stupid. I'd rather avoid RMAsus..