Looking for the best mid-range motherboard

stupidbiznitch9 · May 10, 2008, 05:22 PM

Ok, i am looking for the best mid-range ($100 at the most) motherboard that supports 1333MHz FSB, the Core2Duo e6550, has nice features and optical audio.

Any input would be nice, i prefer 4 DDR2 slots and do NOT want a mATX board..
THANX ALL!

kenkickr · May 10, 2008, 05:28 PM

We build alot of intel systems with this board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127049

stupidbiznitch9 · May 10, 2008, 05:36 PM

that is pretty good, but it doesn't have coaxial or optical outputs...i will consider that board though

trt740 · May 10, 2008, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stupidbiznitch9

Ok, i am looking for the best mid-range ($100 at the most) motherboard that supports 1333MHz FSB, the Core2Duo e6550, has nice features and optical audio.

Any input would be nice, i prefer 4 DDR2 slots and do NOT want a mATX board..
THANX ALL!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130098

here is another good board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059

FR@NK · May 10, 2008, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stupidbiznitch9

that is pretty good, but it doesn't have coaxial or optical outputs...i will consider that board though

That board does have optical output, its hard to see in the pics...

stupidbiznitch9 · May 10, 2008, 05:53 PM

considering the MSI board, even though it doesn't have optical out onboard....but with that crazy heatsink there, i just might go for it... :P

niko084 · May 10, 2008, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenkickr

We build alot of intel systems with this board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127049

Would strongly urge against that... Look on Abit's forums, a lot of people are complaining about almost all of their P35 boards and the complete lack of any acknoledgment from Abit on support.

I would suggest this-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128337
Great support, solid board

sneekypeet · May 10, 2008, 06:04 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136038

I touch over budget, but a great mobo none the less.

stupidbiznitch9 · May 10, 2008, 06:35 PM

Those both have virtually the same features, the DYI mobo has 2 more SATA ports, but i dont think i'd use them, and i personally prefer GIGABYTE anyways, :P; thanks for your input

sneekypeet · May 10, 2008, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stupidbiznitch9

Those both have virtually the same features, the DYI mobo has 2 more SATA ports, but i dont think i'd use them, and i personally prefer GIGABYTE anyways, :P; thanks for your input

Hope you enjoy the Gigabyte Vdroop when OC'ing....something that is rare on the DFI's.

But to each their own!

trt740 · May 10, 2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneekypeet

Hope you enjoy the Gigabyte Vdroop when OC'ing....something that ir rare on the DFI's.

But to each their own!

that Gigabyte is perfectly fine and overclocks very well.

niko084 · May 10, 2008, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneekypeet

Hope you enjoy the Gigabyte Vdroop when OC'ing....something that ir rare on the DFI's.

But to each their own!

It's not that bad I have nailed 4ghz with e6750's on the DS3s without modding them.
True that its not as bad with the DFI though.

Both boards non the less are very good solid boards.

sneekypeet · May 10, 2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko084

It's not that bad I have nailed 4ghz with e6750's on the DS3s without modding them.
True that its not as bad with the DFI though.

Both boards non the less are very good solid boards.

Agreed, but the #1 complaint IMHO for Gigabytes is constantly the vdroop issue, just to clearify my intention!

niko084 · May 10, 2008, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneekypeet

Agreed, but the #1 complaint IMHO for Gigabytes is constantly the vdroop issue, just to clearify my intention!

I figured that was your intention... Ya, its true, same of Asus boards

Odin Eidolon · May 10, 2008, 07:16 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130098

msi is the best!
i have it and i assure you it is great! An OC monster for that price...

Cold Storm · May 10, 2008, 07:22 PM

Sneeky, you just can't get enough out of the boards you have??? Oh, how i wish I had kept mine... wait.. you have it! lol.. I was amazed about how the blood iron did with my system. Had both a E6400 and a q6700 oc'ed quite well. And had no problems with the board one bit! I'm seconding the Blood Iron. But thats just me and my experence with DFI

stupidbiznitch9 · May 10, 2008, 08:05 PM

I have an e6550, which doesn't OC well anyways, and i'm not looking to OC to like 1000GHz, lol i just wanna bump it up by like .5GHz or so.........so VDrooping (IM GUESSING) won't have much effect on light OCing....

sneekypeet · May 10, 2008, 08:24 PM

Vdroop causes instability and extra heat due to the waste of energy having to go somewhere.

Maybe a bit of searching google on these matters will make for a more informed buyer?

Cold Storm · May 10, 2008, 08:28 PM

There are mods for vdroop so that you get less of a droop. But that depends on the board, and the fact if you want to do something like that.... Doing what Sneeky says is the best thing to do when your looking for the fact of how bad a vdroop is on the board.. Reviews from Here will show all that you need. Or just googling the board and the words REVIEW after it...

francis511 · May 10, 2008, 09:12 PM

I can vouch for the M.S.I. board. Wow , people really rave about those blood irons , I notice though!

trt740 · May 11, 2008, 07:25 PM

yes the blood iron is a great board.

spearman914 · May 11, 2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenkickr

We build alot of intel systems with this board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127049

Hmmm. So far thats like the best board. For $15 after Rebate, that MB is For The Win.

MrW · May 11, 2008, 07:59 PM

I'd get the blood iron.

AKA_Dawg · May 11, 2008, 08:13 PM

Over your budget but man, I love this board.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127030
I paid close to $200. $150 is a deal. Think of it this way, If you only use this board for a year, that works out to be 13 cents a day extra. I easily O/C to 3.2 Ghz with the same processor you specified. I have had zero problems with this board.

Processor:	AMD A10-5700
Motherboard:	GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4
Cooling:	Air cooling
Memory:	Corsair 8GB DDR3 XMS3
Video Card:	ATI Radeon HD7750
Hard Disk:	1x 1TB SATA Hard drive w/ 64MB cache @ 7200RPMs
Optical Drive:	LG DVD+RW on SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	DELL 19"/PRINCETON 19"
Case:	Black Antec ?
Sound Card:	On-Board High-Definition w/ Yamaha HTR-5740 reciever and jamo 5-speaker surround sound
PSU:	500 Watt Cool Master
Software:	Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate edition

System Name:	Wrigley II/ HTPC
Processor:	I7 X3820@ 4.7Ghz v1.39/ i3 2120 stock
Motherboard:	MSI X79 Big Bang (2.1 bios)/ Biostar H61GMC
Cooling:	H2O / Air
Memory:	4 x Samsung DDR3 1600 @ 2000 Cas10 / 4Gb kit OCZ DDR3 1600
Video Card:	7950 OTW + GTX 465(physx) / MSI 6570 2Gb
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force 3 128gb SSD, 2x 500gb Momentus XT Raid 0, 2TB Seagate , and 2TB WD Green / 500gb Seaga
Optical Drive:	Pioneer DVD burner / Lite On Blu Ray Combo drive
CRT/LCD Model:	3x Hanns-G 27" Eyefinity baby!! / 42" Plasma Samsung
Case:	Rosewill Blackhawk Ultra / Antec Minuet
Sound Card:	X-fi Titanium HD w/ PAX drivers / AMD HDMI
PSU:	Cougar 1000W / Antec 300W
Software:	Windows 8 Pro, Windows 7 Ult(Hyper-V) and Ubuntu Server(Hyper-V) / Windows 8 Pro w/ MCE

May 10, 2008, 05:36 PM	#3
stupidbiznitch9 Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 245 (0.10/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	that is pretty good, but it doesn't have coaxial or optical outputs...i will consider that board though __________________ COMPUTERS ARE LIFE, GET USED TO THEM!!!!!!!

Processor:	AMD A10-5700
Motherboard:	GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4
Cooling:	Air cooling
Memory:	Corsair 8GB DDR3 XMS3
Video Card:	ATI Radeon HD7750
Hard Disk:	1x 1TB SATA Hard drive w/ 64MB cache @ 7200RPMs
Optical Drive:	LG DVD+RW on SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	DELL 19"/PRINCETON 19"
Case:	Black Antec ?
Sound Card:	On-Board High-Definition w/ Yamaha HTR-5740 reciever and jamo 5-speaker surround sound
PSU:	500 Watt Cool Master
Software:	Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate edition

Processor:	Intel 2500K Sandy Bridge 4.9ghz 1.384v 24/7 5.0ghz whenever
Motherboard:	Asus Sabertooh 1155 motherboard rev.3.0
Cooling:	Pro Meg 79CF120mm x2 fans,200mm front intake fan, 200 mm top fan, 120mm rear fan,140 mm PSU fan
Memory:	8GB Mushkin Redline 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 6 8 6 24 t1
Video Card:	OEM GTX660 1.5GB
Hard Disk:	Wester Digital Black Edition 32MB 7200 RPM 1TB SATA 3.0 ,CAVALIER SE 16MB 640GB SATA 3.0 DRIVE
Optical Drive:	1 BLACK LG DVD BURNERS
CRT/LCD Model:	BLACK ASUS LCD 24 inch monitor 1080P x1920
Case:	Corsair Obsidian Series 650D black brushed aluminum and steel case
Sound Card:	Sound Blaster Live 24 bit 7.1
PSU:	Thermaltake 850 watt SLI 140mm silent fan Tough Power
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64

May 10, 2008, 05:22 PM	#1
stupidbiznitch9 Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 245 (0.10/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	Looking for the best mid-range motherboard Ok, i am looking for the best mid-range ($100 at the most) motherboard that supports 1333MHz FSB, the Core2Duo e6550, has nice features and optical audio. Any input would be nice, i prefer 4 DDR2 slots and do NOT want a mATX board.. THANX ALL! __________________ COMPUTERS ARE LIFE, GET USED TO THEM!!!!!!!

May 10, 2008, 05:28 PM	#2
kenkickr Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Springfield, IL Posts: 4,497 (2.22/day) Thanks: 1,024 Thanked 1,330 Times in 1,096 Posts System Specs	We build alot of intel systems with this board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127049

Processor:	3930k @4.5Gees
Motherboard:	Asus Rampage IV
Cooling:	Air :(
Memory:	64GB Crucial 833MHz CL8
Video Card:	Asus 7970 MatrixP
Hard Disk:	4x Intel SSD raid
Optical Drive:	Bluray and HDDVD
CRT/LCD Model:	Pioneer Elite PRO-101
PSU:	Corsair AX860
Software:	8 x64

May 10, 2008, 05:53 PM	#6
stupidbiznitch9 Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 245 (0.10/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	considering the MSI board, even though it doesn't have optical out onboard....but with that crazy heatsink there, i just might go for it... :P __________________ COMPUTERS ARE LIFE, GET USED TO THEM!!!!!!!

Processor:	Intel i7 3770K @ 3.5ghz
Motherboard:	Asus P8P67 Pro
Cooling:	CoolIt Eco120 (Push/Pull A.C. 120mm)
Memory:	4x4GB Gskill Sniper @ 9-9-9-24 1600mhz
Video Card:	HD7850 1150/1200
Hard Disk:	240GB Hyper-X 3k SSD, 2x WD Black 640 Raid 1
Optical Drive:	Sony/NEC AD-7241S
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus VE228H 21.5 1920x1080
Case:	Antec 300
Sound Card:	Focusrite Saffire PRO 14 -> Mackie MR8 Monitors
PSU:	Seasonic SS520-GB 520W
Software:	Windows 7 Pro x64

May 10, 2008, 06:04 PM	#8
sneekypeet Unpaid Babysitter Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 19,115 (7.28/day) Thanks: 3,062 Thanked 5,500 Times in 3,959 Posts System Specs	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136038 I touch over budget, but a great mobo none the less. __________________ Hers: ASUS Maximus V Gene / i7 3770K / Swiftech H220 / 4X8GB Corsair Dominators / ASUS GTX660 / Corsair AX-760 / Windows 7 64bit / Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 Test: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 / i7 2600K / A lot Of Coolers / Ripjaws Currently / HIS HD7950 IceQ Turbo / Silverstone SST-ST85F-G / Windows 7 64bit / InWin D-Frame Limited Edition

System Name:	His
Processor:	Intel i7 3770K Cooled with Swiftech Apogee Drive II
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus V Extreme
Cooling:	Swiftech MCR-320 Cooled With Corsair SP120 Fans
Memory:	4X4GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2666 C11
Video Card:	Asus GTX680 Direct Cu II TOP
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force GT 180GB / Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB
Optical Drive:	- - - - - - -
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 40" 120hz LCD
Case:	SilverStone Temjin TJ11
Sound Card:	Realtek on board > Sony receiver > Cerwin Vega's
PSU:	Corsair AX1200
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64

May 10, 2008, 06:35 PM	#9
stupidbiznitch9 Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 245 (0.10/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	Those both have virtually the same features, the DYI mobo has 2 more SATA ports, but i dont think i'd use them, and i personally prefer GIGABYTE anyways, :P; thanks for your input __________________ COMPUTERS ARE LIFE, GET USED TO THEM!!!!!!!

May 10, 2008, 07:16 PM	#15
Odin Eidolon Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rockclimbing somewhere in Italy Posts: 818 (0.42/day) Thanks: 395 Thanked 162 Times in 145 Posts System Specs	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130098 msi is the best! i have it and i assure you it is great! An OC monster for that price...

Processor:	e6300 @ 3000, stock Volts
Motherboard:	msi p35 neo2-FIR
Cooling:	HDT-1283
Memory:	2gb tracers 1066 micron d9GMH, cooled by a modded CoolIt Memory Cooler
Video Card:	HIS 4850 ICEQ4
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar 16 320gb WDAAKS + 640gb WDAAKS
Case:	CM RC-690 sligthly modded
PSU:	Bequiet darkpower PRO 850W (say overkill? :D)
Software:	kubuntu 8.10 + Windows XP, soon Windows 7 too

May 10, 2008, 07:22 PM	#16
Cold Storm Battosai Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: In a library somewhere on this earth Posts: 10,566 (5.08/day) Thanks: 4,245 Thanked 3,051 Times in 2,495 Posts System Specs	Sneeky, you just can't get enough out of the boards you have??? Oh, how i wish I had kept mine... wait.. you have it! lol.. I was amazed about how the blood iron did with my system. Had both a E6400 and a q6700 oc'ed quite well. And had no problems with the board one bit! I'm seconding the Blood Iron. But thats just me and my experence with DFI __________________ The only way success is before work, is in the dictionary Support for the mind. Support for your hardware

System Name:	Haru
Processor:	i7 3770k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard:	Biostar Tz77xme4
Cooling:	Koolance C370si loop
Memory:	8gb G. Skill Trident X 2400mhz at 10-11-11-28
Video Card:	XFX Double D 7950 / Zotac 620 for physx
Hard Disk:	Samsung 830 128gb (os)Muskin Chronos 120gb, Pyro 120gb
Optical Drive:	Asus Blu-Ray (SBW-06C1S-U)
CRT/LCD Model:	Testing: Vizio 37" lcd tv / Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24" & Hanns G 28"
Case:	Cooler Master Cosmos II
Sound Card:	Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 Opamp modded
PSU:	Silverstone Strider Plus 1000w pp05 cables
Software:	Win7 Pro64
Benchmarks:	i5 750 4.62ghz pi runs // Evga FTW p55

May 10, 2008, 08:05 PM	#17
stupidbiznitch9 Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 245 (0.10/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	I have an e6550, which doesn't OC well anyways, and i'm not looking to OC to like 1000GHz, lol i just wanna bump it up by like .5GHz or so.........so VDrooping (IM GUESSING) won't have much effect on light OCing.... __________________ COMPUTERS ARE LIFE, GET USED TO THEM!!!!!!!

May 10, 2008, 08:24 PM	#18
sneekypeet Unpaid Babysitter Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 19,115 (7.28/day) Thanks: 3,062 Thanked 5,500 Times in 3,959 Posts System Specs	Vdroop causes instability and extra heat due to the waste of energy having to go somewhere. Maybe a bit of searching google on these matters will make for a more informed buyer? __________________ Hers: ASUS Maximus V Gene / i7 3770K / Swiftech H220 / 4X8GB Corsair Dominators / ASUS GTX660 / Corsair AX-760 / Windows 7 64bit / Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 Test: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 / i7 2600K / A lot Of Coolers / Ripjaws Currently / HIS HD7950 IceQ Turbo / Silverstone SST-ST85F-G / Windows 7 64bit / InWin D-Frame Limited Edition

May 10, 2008, 08:28 PM	#19
Cold Storm Battosai Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: In a library somewhere on this earth Posts: 10,566 (5.08/day) Thanks: 4,245 Thanked 3,051 Times in 2,495 Posts System Specs	There are mods for vdroop so that you get less of a droop. But that depends on the board, and the fact if you want to do something like that.... Doing what Sneeky says is the best thing to do when your looking for the fact of how bad a vdroop is on the board.. Reviews from Here will show all that you need. Or just googling the board and the words REVIEW after it... __________________ The only way success is before work, is in the dictionary Support for the mind. Support for your hardware

May 10, 2008, 09:12 PM	#20
francis511 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: N.Ireland Posts: 2,363 (0.97/day) Thanks: 145 Thanked 277 Times in 257 Posts System Specs	I can vouch for the M.S.I. board. Wow , people really rave about those blood irons , I notice though! __________________

Processor:	Core I5 750
Motherboard:	MSI P55-A FUZION
Cooling:	Titan Fenrir
Memory:	8 gb Hyper X 1600
Video Card:	Geforce GTX 275
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex 2 40g SSD /74g Raptor /1 TB samsung F3 /320g suxxor (Maxtor)
Optical Drive:	USB dvd-rw
CRT/LCD Model:	Viewsonic VX2260wm
Case:	Xigmatek midgard
Sound Card:	X-fi Titanium
PSU:	Corsair 950 w (Hur Hur !)
Software:	Windows se7en

May 11, 2008, 07:25 PM	#21
trt740 Eligible for custom title Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 10,186 (3.93/day) Thanks: 1,578 Thanked 1,136 Times in 961 Posts System Specs	yes the blood iron is a great board.

System Name:	Mine \| Dad + Mom
Processor:	E8500 E0 Wolfdale @ 4.6GHz 1.5V \| E2180 M0 Allendale @ 3.0GHz 1.3V
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus Formula (X48) w/ Rampage BIOS \| Asus P5Q Pro (P45)
Cooling:	Xigmatek Rifle HDT-S1283 w/ SFF21F Fan \| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Memory:	G.Skill Pi Black 2x2GB 1.02GHz CL5 \| OCZ Reaper 2x2GB 1.05GHz CL5
Video Card:	Sapphire 4870X2 2GB 820/1020MHz \| Sapphire 4850 1GB 700/1100MHz
Hard Disk:	WD VR 150GB 10K RPM + WD 500GB 7.2K RPM \| WD 200GB 7.2K RPM
Optical Drive:	Samsung Black DVD Burner \| Lite-On Black DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer P243WAID 24" 1920x1200 LCD \| Acer V193W 19" 1440x900 LCD
Case:	Cooler Master HAF 932 Full-Tower \| Antec Twelve Hundred Mid-Tower
Sound Card:	Fatal1ty Xtreme Gamer w/ Z-5500 5.1 \| On-Board Audio w/ S-220 2.1
PSU:	PC Power and Cooling 750W Non-Modular \| Corsair HX-520W Modular
Software:	Windows Vista Home Premium X64 \| Windows Vista Home Premium X64
Benchmarks:	Not Wasting Time!

May 11, 2008, 07:59 PM	#23
MrW Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 191 (0.07/day) Thanks: 5 Thanked 14 Times in 14 Posts System Specs	I'd get the blood iron. __________________

Processor:	Opteron 1212 @ 3.2Ghz
Motherboard:	DFI Infinity N-Force Ultra M2
Cooling:	Custom
Memory:	4GB Ballistix DDR2-1000
Video Card:	Ati Radeon X1900-AIW
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar 640GB
CRT/LCD Model:	21" Trinitron
Case:	Lian-Li PC-65
PSU:	Seasonic S12-500W
Software:	Vista & openSUSE

May 11, 2008, 08:13 PM	#24
AKA_Dawg Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 33 (0.01/day) Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts System Specs	Over your budget but man, I love this board. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127030 I paid close to $200. $150 is a deal. Think of it this way, If you only use this board for a year, that works out to be 13 cents a day extra. I easily O/C to 3.2 Ghz with the same processor you specified. I have had zero problems with this board.

Processor:	Core 2 Duo E6550 @3.5
Motherboard:	ABIT IP35 Pro Intel P35
Cooling:	ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm
Memory:	OCZ FLEX 2 PC 9200 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Video Card:	2 DIAMOND Viper Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4
Hard Disk:	WD Raptor 740 WD raptor 360(page file)
Optical Drive:	TDK combo/LG DVD RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer 19" 2ms on a DELL adj stand
Case:	Top Secret
PSU:	PC Power & Cooling 750w
Software:	XP PRO

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