Need info on motherboards/chipsets

First I'd like to say hello !
I've been checking out this forum for awhile now and I've learned alot just from reading others posts. Lots of info for a newbie like me!

I am possibly going to have to replace my MB (might just upgrade regardless) and am looking at these;

ASROCK P4V88
ASUS P4P800-MX
ASUS P4S800D-X
ASUS P4P800SE

They all have the features I want (Skt.478, 800MHz fsb, Dual Channel, HTT) but I'm not sure about the difference in chipsets ( VIA, Intel 865GV, SiS665FX, Intel 865PE) , which would be best. Is one chipset better than the others? I am leaning towards the Intel, but whats the difference between the 865GV and the 865PE ?

I mostly use this computer for gaming/surfing and would like to be able to overclock some time in the future, but right now I just want something stable.

I would also need my current hardware to be compatible. My current system (my first build) is:
AOpen MX46-800N
P4-2.8GHz 800MHz fsb Northwood w/ HTT
Maxtor 160GB 7200rpm ATA133
BFG GeForce FX5900XT-OC
Patriot 256MBx2

All of these motherboards are available at Newegg for under 50 bucks (refurbished) which fits my budget at this time.

Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Stick with Intel chipsets, they're the best. As for the difference in i865GV vs. 865PE, I'm not sure, but usually the "G" means onboard graphics which you don't need if you have a vid card.

The P4P800se is the best out of all those motherboards.

Thanks for the input !

I was thinking of getting the ASUS P4P800SE, it seems to be a popular board, but after reading some other posts here about the southbridge chip (ICH5 ? I think) I'm a little worried about just getting another pain in my you know what. From what I understood about it ASUS might not be the best to go with.

Any recommendations on another quality board that I might keep an eye out for ? Or do you think ASUS is just getting a bad rap.

Thanks again

Of the ones you listed, the P4P800SE is the best one. I haven't heard anything bad about the southbridge, what have you heard? Personally, I think the Abit IC7-G is the best socket 478 motherboard, but you'll have to spend more cash for that one.

The post I was referring to is in the sub-forum "Asus Intel Motherboards" titled "Asus p4p800-e dlx burned out...." if you want to check it out.

Btw, have you ever heard of Matsonic motherboards ? They have one that they compare to the Asus P4P800, model MS9087C, for a heck of a lot less. Although I doubt it has the O/C abilities of the Asus board. You can check it out here:MS9087C

I'll check out the Abit board, I would not mind paying more if it means getting better quality/ service and room for future upgrades. I've been getting the run-around from AOpen about my current board and I really don't want to go through this again.

How about this one ? IS7
I don't see much difference between it and the IC7 except the northbridge chipset and some extra SATA and RAID connections.
Is there much difference between the 875 and 865 chipsets ?

The price fits my budget and it's over 40 bucks less than the IC7 ($99.00 refurbished at Newegg for the IC7).

Thanks again Batboy,

Nutcase

Thanks Karl !

The Abit IS7 is perfectly fine with Northwoods, but if there is a possibility of upgrading to Prescott in the future, then the power circuitry of the IC7 series is better suited for the power hungry Prescotts.

Thanks for the help Batboy. I'll probably stick with my 2.8 Northwood for awhile, but that seems like a pretty good price on the IC7 so I might have to re-budget a little..... Never know, Santa might have a Prescott for me this year



Thanks for the welcome Karl !