My computer is kind of craping out on me, so I've been thinking of building a new one. Problem is that I don't really follow motherboards at all, so I need help. I know that many are tailored for different purposes so I will just ask for a discussion of personal preference. If money was no object which motherboard would you get for yourself at this moment and why? and also, if money DOES matter what would your choice be and why? (I'm gonna be going with Intel on this one btw, not AMD so umm, yea) Thanks in advance
What CPU etc do you want to use with it? [The Abit IP35-E is a good start] Or even more simply - what do you want to do with this computer, how much have you got to spend, and do you have any parts already?
just looking to replace my main computer, which will be used for gaming, haven't bought anything yet, was thinking I would go with core 2 duo, not even sure which one, seems most boards will take all of em, was gonna buy an 8800gt, nothing killer, basically just an upgrade to my current one ( p4 3.2 with a 6800gt ) which isnt doing too well lately, i can figure out the bits and pieces but the motherboard is the only part I don't really have a clue about sinse I've never build a computer from the ground up, just made upgrades. As far as money goes...the fund is unlimited, in the sense that I'm gonna have to save up money to buy everything, so long as its worth the money I'm willing to spend it.
Boards now do seem more tailored to different needs, so if you have an idea what you want to put in the system it narrows down the field. No point wasting money on frills you'll never use. Work out how many SATA drives you're likely to install, and whether or not you want RAID. Do you need Firewire? How many LAN ports? What level graphics are you looking at? What processor? Then just find a P35 board to suit.
well when i look up motherboards on newegg i honestly get blind sided with all of them and it hurts my brain, I might do a little oc'ing, but nothing crazy, i would like to have two pci e slots as an option if i wanted to do that the most drives i would have is 2 maybe 3, so I mean, its nothing crazy, I would just like one that I can have that just has no problems and causes no headaches and can upgrade well for later? that probably describes half the motherboards out there, but I'm just lost and confused
One more vote for P35 boards. I had the same problem a couple months back and after reading lots of reviews about existing boards and new technology coming out decided that P35 mobos are the best for my needs. At the end of the day I went for GigaByte GA P35 DS3R (rev. 2.0) because they offer very nice balance between price and performance. I don't need RAID to be honest but decided to get this board due to better quality components used. I haven't had a single problem with this board. And it overclocks nice as well. I was also considering one of the Abit's IP-35 boards (AFAIR the midlle one) and decided to go Giagbyte route instead because of nicer reviews and a bit better ocklocking potential but I think you can't go wrong with either. It probably all depends how much you want to spend - I think Giagabyte is a bit more expensive.
@op - another concern is cost. If you're serious about unlimited budget, I would recommend either a X38 or X48 based DFI board. They have several P35-based ones as well they are equally good. In fact, since you're not planning to overclock it to the edge of stability, I agree with what others have said about the P35 chipset. That said, and depending on your time lines, you might wanna wait until June or so when the P45 boards will be released. From what I've read, that will be the s*it. Performance, cool running, efficient etc. thanks to the drop from 90 nm to 65 nm in the FAB of the chipset. I'm chomping at the bit for a new system myself and am waffling between the X48 and waiting for the P45 based DFI boards...
