Motherboard advice

[beyond_amusia]

Okay, my mobo went out today and I need some advice on what to get. The board must be able to run DDR 800 RAM 4 GB or more (4+ slots), a Pentium D 925, have 3 or more PCE slots, a PCIe x16 slot, tons of USB ports, firewire, and have atleast one PATA. It must also be under $100 and be geared towards gaming. Long shot, but I figured you guys would be great at helping me track down a good board. ^_^

 

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

Gigabyte UD3 boards are probably a good place to start looking.... UD3R?

 

[MRCL]

I dunno what number qualifies for "tons of USB ports"... well, first board that comes to mind spontaniously is the P5B Premium by Asus

 

[mrhuggles]

asus p5k [not SE, anything normal or better]

 

[HellasVagabond]

The GigaByte GA-EP45-DS3L is also a good and cheap solution.

 

[mlee49]

Well based on your needs I would go with a 775 board with the 650/680/850 chipset. The 650 and 680i's are right at $100 and support everything you want. The 750 is $30 more but is a better chipset with more upgrade options.

Personally I wanted the XFX 680i when it came out. It's $99 at Tiger Direct:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3839553&CatId=2541
They also have the XFX 750 for $99 so I would personally go with that:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4316659&csid=_27

Personaly I just sold a P45(waaaaaay better) for $100 so I would look for a good used one here. Maybe even throw up a WTB thread and you'll definitely get a better bang for your buck.

Lastly is SLI a must? Will you have multiple graphics cards? That can make all the difference.

 

[beyond_amusia]

Npe, SLI and Crossfire are not an issue atm.

 

[mrhuggles]

asus p5k has crossfire, no SLI, extremely good performance, FSB 600mhz on air.

 

[mlee49]

The P5Q SE is another $99 choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131347
3 pci slots, 1 pci-e, 4 dimms, OC'ing potential: Decent little board all around

 

[PaulieG]

I know this is $10 over budget, but it's also probably the best board you'll find in the price range.

http://www.motherboardpro.com/DFI-B...-CrossFire-ATX-Motherboard-Retail-p-1034.html

 

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

^^^fact

 

[HellasVagabond]

Last time i checked the Blood Iron line of mainboards had many issues.....

 

[PaulieG]

Last time i checked the Blood Iron line of mainboards had many issues.....

I owned 2 Blood Iron boards, and both overclocked well, and were stable as a rock.

 

[HellasVagabond]

Well a quick google should provide countless links with overclocking issues and more.
Either case i know people with Blood Iron mainboards and they wish they had bought something else.

 

[mrhuggles]

oh yeah, aside from 600mhz fsb on air, you can also count on the p5k being around 50 bux used.

blood iron, i almost got one of those.... REALLY almost, couple dollars cheaper on the p5k saved me tho yay

 

[PaulieG]

Well a quick google should provide countless links with overclocking issues and more.
Either case i know people with Blood Iron mainboards and they wish they had bought something else.

That "quick google" would show true for most low end enthusiast boards, especially Asus. It's the nature of that particular market. Manufacturers try to fit a lot of performance on the cheap, so you often have some QA issues, so it's hit or miss.

 

[HellasVagabond]

True, this may be the case for every low end model, but considering you pay a bit more for the DFI name which stands for Overclocking you would expect it to have less problems than other low end mainboards but it doesn't.

Personally i think that a ASUS or a Gigabyte mainboard are the best solutions when talking about low end ( and high but that depends ).

 

[PaulieG]

True, this may be the case for every low end model, but considering you pay a bit more for the DFI name which stands for Overclocking you would expect it to have less problems than other low end mainboards but it doesn't.

Personally i think that a ASUS or a Gigabyte mainboard are the best solutions when talking about low end ( and high but that depends ).

Well, we all have our favorites and personal experience. Up until my Maximus Formula, I had nothing but problems with low-mid enthusiast boards from Asus. I had to RMA two of them w/in a month of ownership, including a "Black Pearl".

 

[HellasVagabond]

Well i never did have a low end ASUS, only high ends. But i did have many DS4 / DQ6 models by Gigabyte and although mid / high end they were all winners.

 

[beyond_amusia]

my last board was Asus and had a lot of isses, like, if i bumped a cable in the read of the tower, it'd instantly reboot, so sometimes, the Realtek thing would say i am plugging and unplugging audio cables for 5 minutes non stop... I think I will avoid them (another Asus I had... the onboard NIC died after 3 days of use).

EDIT: I am sitting at the bar looking at these suggestions. ty. ^_^

 

[mlee49]

If your sitting at a bar, then drink up

 

[beyond_amusia]

If your sitting at a bar, then drink up

I am trying - waiting for my friends to get me a beer, lmao.

 

[beyond_amusia]

hmmm... I think I will get Asus after al... the ASUS P5Q SE PLUS - it's a good deal, I feel... If it's rotten, I will RMA.