Hey guys and gals, I just purchased a new motherboard to replace an existing motherboard that is on the verge of imminent failure (the caps are beginning to bulge). I have chosen an Intel DP965LT and with a Dual-Core E2180 LGA775 CPU, 4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 Memory. I've already prepared the existing O/S for migrating the server to the new mobo and pre-installed the inf files for the new chipset. The mobo has three PCI slots, two of which will be occupied by Adaptec RAID controllers, one 4-channel SCSI for the O/S and data, and a one-channel SATA for the backups. I would like to reserve the third PCI slot for an additional NIC for adaptive load-balancing the network traffic if necessary. The issue I'm having, and it's my OWN STUPID FAULT for making the assumption that all mobos come with integrated video, is that this particular mobo has no integrated video, so I have to order a video card. I don't need any high-end graphics controller, just something that is inexpensive and stable. Actually, the only time I'll be using a monitor with this box is during the initial migration and any time it needs to be brought down for maintenance. The rest of the time I either remote console into the box or use LogMeIn for "remote" remote control. Now that all that background is out of the way, my question is, "Could someone please advise me on which video cards are available at a reasonable price?" Please answer, as I'm afraid that my existing mobo will bite the dust...I don't want to spend a week recovering all the data from the backups...been there/done that before and don't want to take another 5 years off of my life stressing out through a data recovery. Thanks a lot for your help! Jon
Oops...I forgot to mention that I've been looking at the EVGA e-GeForce 6200 LE http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=128-TC-2N27-BX&family=GeForce 6 Series Family . It prices out to 24.99 USD.
The mobo and graphics card that you want to buy are pretty crummy. The mobo is decent, but you'd be better off with the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L. The graphics card is terrible compared to what you can get for a few bucks more, I think you should go with the GeForce 8400GS
This mobo would do you good too and it's cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128076
I'm not sure what Windows2k3 is though, do you use that just for server management or can it be used like a regular os? If it's only server management I don't see why you'd buy a graphics card, the mobo above has integrated graphics, all mobos do to my knowledge.
@faugs- he has already bought a new motherboard why do you keep making suggestions for different one? the one he bought will do fine for what he is doing. this video card is the cheapest on newegg and it will work for what you need. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102784
I didn't think a simple question would generate such a flood of discussion. krj15489, I checked out the X300SE and it might just do the trick. They don't say anything about Windows 2003 support, but I have never had an issue using W2K drivers on W2K3 and I can always use the standard VGA drivers if all else fails. I'll probably place an order for it. Thank you for the answer... Faugs, If you look at the specs for the mobo, you will see that it doesn't contain integrated graphics. In all honesty, I thought that all mobos had the graphics integrated too, so we were both incorrect, hence my question. I haven't purchased a new video card yet, I was just digging through my box of old salvage parts and found an old card that won't work with the new mobo that I just received yesterday from a local supplier. The card is an AGP card. As far as the mobo make, I prefer to use a genuine Intel board since I trust their quality for what I want to use it for (and I have a close college friend whom Intel recruited in his junior year of engineering at PITT). FYI, I'm using this machine as a File/Print server and it's also an Active Directory Domain Controller. It's not a gaming machine and I have no intention of even using it for playing games. I use it for storing user profiles and data, storing archives and thousands of digital photos that have been accumulating for the past 20-odd years. My workstations are disposible; if one crashes all I need to do is use an image, rebuild the workstation; join it to the domain and I have my desktop and all my files, which are "served" from the server. Yes, it's probably overkill but since I have the ability to do it this way, I do.
