Upgrade: Best Board Under $150?

Well, I sold my old E6700 for $150 on eBay, and I plan on putting the profit back into my computer. It seems like a motherboard upgrade would be most beneficial; I was wondering, what is the best board for under $150?

I've been looking at these so far:
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Asus P5Q-E

Are there any other boards I should consider?

MattNo5ss said:

Well, I sold my old E6700 for $150 on eBay, and I plan on putting the profit back into my computer. It seems like a motherboard upgrade would be most beneficial; I was wondering, what is the best board for under $150?

I've been looking at these so far:
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Asus P5Q-E

Are there any other boards I should consider?

Click to expand...

i got that gigabyte board and love it, i will be overclocking my e8400 once i get a better cooler, also you may want to read this thread http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=583259 to get a better idea on the UD3P

I think you'll be happy with it, I sure am. (I got the R, because I don't intend to ever run crossfire).

jediobi1 said:

i got that gigabyte board and love it, i will be overclocking my e8400 once i get a better cooler, also you may want to read this thread http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=583259 to get a better idea on the UD3P

Click to expand...

I'll definitely read that thread before I make my decision.

bobad said:

I think you'll be happy with it, I sure am. (I got the R, because I don't intend to ever run crossfire).

Click to expand...

So, a PCI-E 2.0 slot is the only difference between the UD3R and UD3P? I didn't see another difference...

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It looks like the Gigabyte boards use 6 phase power, and the Asus uses 8 phase. Would that be of any significance?

Also, I plan on this being my last 775 board. So, if I plan on upgrading to a Q9XXX when dual cores become outdated, then should that affect my decision?

UD3: 2
P5Q: 0

Is it just unanimous that the UD3 is the best board? No more suggestions? I'd like some more input if possible.

I still have it narrowed down to UD3P and P5Q (E or Deluxe, I can get either for ~135). I know all three boards have different phase power, 6-8-16, I still can't find a definitive answer on the benefits of the different phases and whether higher phases is actually worth it. Do both OC quads well if I decide to upgrade down the road?

I would get the UD3P or the UD3R if you're not doing crossfire. I did after reading this review.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2335930,00.asp

+1 GA-EP45-UD3P

I have been a big fan of my biostar tpower. I like that it can save up to 10 OC profiles so you can dial up previous clocks and settings which I find handy. The board has been solid as a tank for me. The larger vcore steps have not bothered me on the biostar, however. That was the main gripe with others. Out of the 2 you selected I would say the giga. The tpower and e8400 chip has been a great match for me. Quads and the like I am not sure on, likely better to go with the giga.

If I am wrong and the giga runs better clocks over the tpower I may just have to try one of those gigas out. They do look nice.

You really won't go wrong with either one. I had a P5Q-E and it was great, and have heard nothing but good things about the Gigabyte. Either one will clock both duals and quads great.