Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum but not Custom PC Mag and/or system building. I'm looking to replace my aging core2duo based system and need some assistance. I am 90% sure of the components I will be buying, but unsure of which motherboard to buy. I have a 4TB NAS so have no need for RAID etc, am hoping to maybe offset any savings made from the motherboard to be plunged into possibly buying higher spec components. What I would like is some advice on a motherboard which doesn't maybe have all the bells and whistles that I don't need, but still a good base for air-overclocking as I play the occasional FPS. One thing that I do use my PC for is Virtual Machines - I run a virtual lab to allow me to train for my Cisco Voice exams. Thanks for reading. Del
What is your current system? What is the budget? Everything else comes from that - no point in recommending you an i7-2600K if you can't afford it.
Well, virtualization, that one is tricky . First, you must decide if you need VT-d or not (device virtualization). If you do, then your choice is very limited - you can choose only one of few Q67 mATX boards, or the P8B WS board with the C206 chipset (Xeon workstation board, capable of handling desktop processors as well). Then, you need to scratch the i5 2500K/i7 2600K, as they don't support VT-D. If you don't need VT-D and you are satisfied with VT-x only (CPU virtualization), then you can choose any board and CPU. So - please define your budget and your exact requirements on the board.
Thanks for the replies. I'm only looking for VT-x thankfully. My current PC was build when the Conroe's first came out - YES !! a long time ago lol. Spec's are:- ASUS P5W HD Intel E6600 currently running at 3.2 GHz, air cooled 6 GB Corsair CM2X1024-6400 Seagate 200GB 7200 HDD ATI Radeon HD 57XX with 3 x 22" LG screens Creative X-FI Win 7 Pro X64 Budget is currently running at £650 - £750 mark. Will obviously need - MB, CPU, cooling, Mem, PSU and going to buy a new case, size depending on MB. The HD5700 suits my current requirements so may re-use. MB Requirements:- No RAID required PCI-E 2 USB-2 built-in 5.1 audio SATA II - will probably buy a Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD Having reviewed the prices of some MB's inclusion of RAID controller may not make a huge difference in price? Many thanks for your assistance, it's much appreciated.