Looking for a New Motherboard

Recently when I tried to start up my system it would continually reset after 5 seconds (after the fans connected to the power supply go on but just as the fan connected to the motherboard is about to turn on). At this point it looks as if the problem is due to the motherboard.

My system is as follows:

Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P-DS3 rev 3.3
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 6600
Heatsink:Thermalright HR-01
RAM: Corsair Twin 2x 2048-6400C4
Hard Drives: Two Seagate 7200.10 500 GB
DVD Drives: Samsung 18x DVD RW and Pioneer 18x DVD RW
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS
Sound Card: X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1
Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-620HX
Case: Antec Performance One 180B


This was running on stock speed.

Since it's already past warranty I'm looking to buy a new motherboard. Which of the recent motheboards would work well with the rest of my components and is decently priced? Would buying one that can more than handle the system being overclocked work better for one that runs on stock speed?

Also, would I have to reformat my hard drive due to the change in motherboards or is there a way around that?

Thank you for your help!

How much are you willing to spend?

Arjun said:

Also, would I have to reformat my hard drive due to the change in motherboards or is there a way around that?

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You don't have to reformat, but in not doing so, you'll probably set yourself up for BSOD.

cabose1227 said:

How much are you willing to spend?

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Probably around $110, maybe more depending on how good it is.

You don't have to reformat, but in not doing so, you'll probably set yourself up for BSOD.

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This is even if I'm able to get the correct drivers for the motherboard installed?

I was hoping that I would be able to get around the hassle of having to reinstall all of my programs.

It works sometimes, but others it does not. I would try it, but be sure to uninstal the mobo drivers incluiding sound, eathernet, and any other things that came on that mobos disk.
this is a nice mobo, and its p45 so it will oc very nicely.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

I just got the GA-EP35-DS3L and its an awesome board. The plus side to this great board is that its pretty cheap too. It supports both dual and quad cores and 1333. All around good board.

cabose1227 said:

It works sometimes, but others it does not. I would try it, but be sure to uninstal the mobo drivers incluiding sound, eathernet, and any other things that came on that mobos disk.

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I'll try this the first time I'm able to startup Windows. Also, does the version of Windows factor into whether or not it'll work? I have XP MCE.

this is a nice mobo, and its p45 so it will oc very nicely.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

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Thanks for the suggestion! It does look nice but I'm also a bit wary of trying another Gigabyte motherboard at this time. Are there any similar motherboards by other brands?

And will there be any issues with my RAM since it's DDR 800?

no issues with ddr2 800 ram, whats wrong with gigabyte? there is a asus p5q that you could get its though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295

ds3 are great boards

That's an interesting issue, have you tried resetting the CMOS? Or more extreme, removing the battery and pulling the ATX plugs for about a half hour? You may also want to try plugging the CPU fan directly into the power supply instead of the motherboard's fan header. Lots of problems on the forums with cold boot issues and Gigabyte motherboards lately it seems. If you do buy a new motherboard and you want one with an intel chipset I'd also suggest a P45, but a P35-based board can also handle your C2D just fine, so if you find a P35 for cheap I say go for it.

cabose1227 said:

no issues with ddr2 800 ram, whats wrong with gigabyte? there is a asus p5q that you could get its though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295

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I've noticed a lot more problems with them recently and I'm not sure if I'd want to buy another Gigabyte board immediately after my previous one had problems.

benbaked said:

Lots of problems on the forums with cold boot issues and Gigabyte motherboards lately it seems. If you do buy a new motherboard and you want one with an intel chipset I'd also suggest a P45, but a P35-based board can also handle your C2D just fine, so if you find a P35 for cheap I say go for it.

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Are there any boards you'd recommend? I might look into the ASUS boards though it seems that people have had trouble with those as well.

You could look at the msi boards.
like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130180