Which MOBO should I buy
saltydog806
Bowie MD
I'm in the process of building a new rig and need to select the MOBO. My case is the Thermaltake Armor Super Tower ATX Case - Black VA8003BWS $84.72 at Circuit City after rebate. http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Thermaltake-Armor-Super-Tower-ATX-Case-Black-VA8003BWS/sem/rpsm/oid/191044/catOid/-13015/rpem/ccd/productDetail.doThermaltake http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/chassis/fulltower/armor/va8003bws.asp
This is what I’m looking to do. I want an intel rig that I can overclock and game on. I don’t have to have the top components however I do want a nice system and the ability to upgrade.The bank isn’t endless so I’m looking to keep the cost between $250 and $350 for the MOBO though I can go higher. Here are my questions, PLEASE feel free to add ANY comments/suggestions you like.
1.An SLI or a Crossfire board? (I’m leaning towards SLI)
2.A socket 775?(I have a core 2 duo 1.86 in my current system) I was told a new intel socket is coming out soon is this so and should I wait?
3.To keep the cost down I’m looking at staying with DDR2 (though a board that will take DDR2 and DDR3 would be a plus).What is the difference between DDR2 and DDR2 Dual Channel and which do I want?
4. I understand that ASUS has some nice boards though I am not locked into a Manufacturer. Is one manufacturer better than another (customer service is important to me, Bios updates, questions ect.)
5. Finally what MOBO recommendations do you folks have?
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SLI or Crossfire? I'm not a gamer, so you need to temper my remarks. I would have automatically replied "go SLI," but ATI has just released a couple new GPUs that appear to be very good performers for the money. Consider also one top of the video card instead of two medium-powered cards, unless of course you had been thinking of two top of the line cards.
Any Socket 775 board will be dual channel, as long as you have a DIMM slots 1 and 3, 2 and 4, or all of the slots filled. There is no such thing as a non-dual channel capable Socket 775 motherboard. Someone doesn't know what they're talking about. There is the new chipset from Intel, "X38," but Socket 775 is here for a long time more.
We can't advise on a motherboard brand and model unless you specify your needs (and wants) better. How long do you want to keep it? What processor upgrades might you consider in the future? What features do you need?
UPDATE: take a look here at some more pics of the
Thanks Leonardo and SPIKE09. I already bought the Thermaltake Armor Super Tower ATX Case - Black VA8003BWS. I hope this answers your questions Leonardo.
My needs can be filled by any system I build, my wants follow.
<DIR>1.A board that will support high end gaming.
2.Able to run two video cards in tandem.
3.Upgradeable to liquid cooling (in the future).
4.Handle 8-16 gigs of DDR2 ram (if it would take DDR3 for future upgrades it would be nice).
5.Intel 775 CPU
6.Support Intel® next generation 45nm Multi-Core CPU
Compatible with Intel® 06/05B/05A processors
Front side bus 1600 / 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz
7.Able to Overclock
8.I like to play games, Soul Reaver, Halo and want to be able to play the most recent.
9.How long do I want to keep it? This is probably unrealistic but 10 years would be nice. During that time I expect to upgrade the CPU 3-5 times. I don’t have to have the highest end machine however I want some power and it would be nice to be able to upgrade (without changing MOBO) and keep up with new games.
10.I think I want SLI video however I guess I need to look at Crossfire.
11.Good customer support from the manufacture, Bios upgrades ect..
</DIR>If you need any other information please ask. You can also include MOBO’s out of my price range if you feel it would make a difference.
Just want to say thanks in advance for any help. I haven’t built a rig in over 10 years, so there has been a change or two. The bottom line is I don’t want to have to change the case or MOBO. I can update the other things as time demands and money allows.
Based on the needs you've listed, I've selected three motherboards that would serve you well. They are all well-cooled for overclocking, are SLI ready, and have a very good history behind them:
Abit IP35 Pro
Abit IP35
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0
These three boards already have official BIOSes out that allow them to accept both the current Q6 series dual core processors as well as the yet unreleased to consumers 45nm Intel quad core processors. Any of the three boards above would make you happy for some time to come, I'm sure. You need to look at their specifications and reviews and decide which features sets appeal to you most. The most economical of the three I posted is the Abit IP35.
What power supply unit do you have picked out? Or do you? Overclocking quad core CPUs, especially in concert with SLI is very demanding on a power supply.
Customer support: the most important support you need is flexible RMA policy from the vendor. Usually, if a board has problems, it shows up right away when you build the machine. In that case, a store return policy or online vendor RMA policy is very, very important. I know from experience that Newegg's RMA policy is reasonable and their service is fast. Concerning customer support: I have RMAed an Abit board to the USA-Abit depot before and the process was very reasonable. Abit is also developing a good reputation for web-based and email customer support. (Abit went through a major transition in the last couple years, and is "coming back" so to speak.) Abit also has a very solid and growing Abit-USA forums. It's a rich source of advice on Abit technical issues. It also is visited by official Abit representatives.
That just ain't gonna happen. When you want to stay on the cutting edge, upgrades beyond processors and video cards are required.
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=337
Is this a good buy and will I be able to overclock, or am I better off spending $150 on another board. I am running a core 2 duo and have 4 mb of 800 ddr2 on the way? I have a 350 watt pSU and realize I will probably have to upgrade.
Just my 0.02
If you need something inexpensive, go with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127029 or any of the variants that meet your price expectations.
Also look at any of the other Gigabyte P35 or G33 offerings.
That's just the icing on the cake. These guys are right, Intel chipsets for Intel CPU.
Do you have a better source? I haven't had too much time to really look into this issue yet, but as a system builder I will need to know for certain. At some point I'm also going to have to decipher just what the hell "almost all" really means...
Here's another source, mas0n.
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