What determines a good motherboard?

[doublec16]

I am looking for a good motherboard to accommodate the DDR RAM I already have and some sort of Tbird processor. I have seen the "best DDR MB" question asked numerous times here and I have also asked that question.

The replies that don't consist of suggestions to wait until the new DDR motherboards come out or to go with SDRAM instead (which are more numerous than actual recommendations of DDR motherboards that are on the market now), name particular motherboards, but the person who recommends a motherboard never says why they recommend that motherboard over all the others.

Of course each motherboard has its own strengths and weaknesses so the best motherboard for me might not be the best for someone else with different computing needs and knowledge.

I guess what I am asking is what do people consider the properties that determine whether one motherboard is better than another and how can a person recommend a motherboard on the basis of what brand it is when they don't actually own the model they recommend?

 

[UnseenMenace]

I use the Abit KT7A-Raid and purchaced it for my first system built for the purpose of overclocking for the reason that not only had it obtained great reviews but it was widely respected by the overclocking community. I would describe this motherboard as being great but for none of the reasons mentioned above. the Abit KT7A-Raid has an exceptionally informative manual which communicates to the owner in clear and non technical manner which in turn made fitting and setting up the mobo exceptionally easy. The overall quality of the mobo is impressive, and I cant speak highly enough of the soft bios feature. When I wanted advice on a bios setting a email sent to Abit was replied to the very same day and included clear and informative advice.. The respect that this mobo has on this forum and around the overclocking comunnity suggests that I am not the only one to consider this a great product from a company that cares and knows what there customers want... this is why the Abit KT7A-Raid is not just a good mobo but a great mobo

 

[Rob Cork]

I prefer to choose boards based on features and specifications, not user reports of stability as this can vary greatly between boards. For instance one KT7a might do 155MHz fsb happily, another might struggle to reach 145 with exactly the same components in. Most mobos seem to have their share of compatability problems, in the case of KT133 and KT133a boards mainly due to the chipset itself (SB Live! problems seem to be abundant). I'd look for number of PCI slots (preferably 6), number of IDE ports / onboard RAID and then overclocking features like Abit's Softmenu III. If a board seems to get repeated good reviews from tech sites and users alike (like the KT7a and Iwill KK266 generally do) I'll take that into account as well.

Bottom line is you have to choose for yourself, but I'd be wary of comments like 'This board is a rock, it took me to 160 fsb stable!' - because the board you get may not take you there

 

[SickBoy]

As far as socket A mobo's, here's my hierarchy of features:

1. Presence/absence of multiplier settings (and whether it's jumperless/jumpered)
2. Socket clearance
3. Reported stability
4. FSB adjustment
5. Memory tweaks (though there's a workaround through WPCREDIT)
6. # of memory slots
7. PCI slots

I also consider price.... and intended use. If it's not for an overclocker, a lot of these features fall down on the list.

SickBoy

 

[Ridenow]

I look for features and upgradablity for my own system. If I am building one for someone else I look for dependability and stability, I do not want to have to help them with every little thing. For myself, no onboard sound, video or anything. That way I control what I have. That way if someone comes out with a sound card that blows away the SB Live! (not likely) I can buy it and swap it, no disabling of the old one. I closely look at how many drive headers, memory slots and card slots the board has. The fact that the Abit had one more PCI than the Asus greatly influenced my last purchase. What settings does the board allow me to change. I do not like the Gigabyte boards because they do not allow multiplier adjustment. I also look at the layout of the board. A major minus on several is that the video card blocks the memory slots. Sometimes I will test the support, I will email the manufacturer and see how long it takes to get a reply.