- Joined
- Jun 15, 2003
- Location
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I've been busy w/ work and school and a crazy social life and have really lost touch with what's going on in the computer industry lately so I'd like some help picking a motherboard out here in the sux $150 range. I currently have a BadAxe2 (975x) but I bent the pins and can't get it to work so time for a new board!
Just to outline some things that should go into my decision here:
1) Money is very important for me. I can't afford a board over 150 and would prefer something closer to 100 if possible.
2) Stability is more important to me than overclockability. I don't mind tweaking the bios but I need a motherboard without lots of crazy bugs.
3) Overclocking the FSB is a must. I use phase change cooling and my processor is capable of at least 4 ghz but possibly more, I'd rather not be limited by the motherboard.
4) Overall performance and ease of use. I chose the BadAxe2 because of its great performance at the same clockspeeds as compared to P965 chipsets at the time. While FSB is important, if its performance is poor then what's the point?
5) Insulation for phase change. While not a big factor, if one board's a hell of a lot easier to insulate than another that is certainly something which will sway my choice. The easier to insulate the less likely you'll fry the motherboard via condensation.
Features aren't very important to me. I have a great soundcard so I don't need good onboard sound. My computer is hooked up via ethernet cable for the internet so I don't need Wifi. I don't run RAID so that's not necessary. Really I just need something fast, stable, easy, and barebones.
I'd like to stay away from P965 chipsets (for instance the used Asus P5B Deluxes in the classifieds going for a great price) just because I've heard there's lots of funky performance issues and tweaks to get the board running properly.
My boss has a Gigabyte P35 DS3R that I used to build him a computer so if that's still a good choice in this price range I might go for it since I'm a bit familiar with it by now.
Thanks for the help ahead of time folks!
Derek
Just to outline some things that should go into my decision here:
1) Money is very important for me. I can't afford a board over 150 and would prefer something closer to 100 if possible.
2) Stability is more important to me than overclockability. I don't mind tweaking the bios but I need a motherboard without lots of crazy bugs.
3) Overclocking the FSB is a must. I use phase change cooling and my processor is capable of at least 4 ghz but possibly more, I'd rather not be limited by the motherboard.
4) Overall performance and ease of use. I chose the BadAxe2 because of its great performance at the same clockspeeds as compared to P965 chipsets at the time. While FSB is important, if its performance is poor then what's the point?
5) Insulation for phase change. While not a big factor, if one board's a hell of a lot easier to insulate than another that is certainly something which will sway my choice. The easier to insulate the less likely you'll fry the motherboard via condensation.
Features aren't very important to me. I have a great soundcard so I don't need good onboard sound. My computer is hooked up via ethernet cable for the internet so I don't need Wifi. I don't run RAID so that's not necessary. Really I just need something fast, stable, easy, and barebones.
I'd like to stay away from P965 chipsets (for instance the used Asus P5B Deluxes in the classifieds going for a great price) just because I've heard there's lots of funky performance issues and tweaks to get the board running properly.
My boss has a Gigabyte P35 DS3R that I used to build him a computer so if that's still a good choice in this price range I might go for it since I'm a bit familiar with it by now.
Thanks for the help ahead of time folks!
Derek