Best chipset for new mobo....

[Fish111]

Buying this guy Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

And this guy Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

So obviously needs 45 nm c2d support and ddr2 1066, other than that, I dont really need sli or crossfire support.... the more usb ports the better i suppose.

Which chipset and mobo manuf would yall recommend?

(preferably not more than 150 bucks)

thanka

[Teck]

I like these companys: ASUS, EVGA, Foxconn, Gigabyte, & Intel...

If your looking to spend ~$80-150 I would recommend the P35 Chipset...

I would seriously recommend looking at the GA-EP35-**** Series... (IIRC the ones i ordered were ~$85/ea)

[BuddhistSoldier]

x38 x48 or p35... again make sure you look to see if it supports ddr2 because depednign on the model it may have ddr3 slots

[Unbroken]

Newegg.com - ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

the board i plan on gettin, pricey but nice

[Fish111]

Yeah Ive considered models that support ddr3 1333 but with the performance comparison i decided not to go that route.

Its fine if the mobo has two ddr3 slots, but if I really wanted ddr3I would want one im gonna be able to load up with 4 gigs of the stuff when the time comes, and not just 2 dimm slots that support it.

Buddhist, I checked out the x38/x48 but theyre pretty much 20 and up, a bit too much for me... are they alot better than the p35?

@ teck, you mean like this one? Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Seems too good to be true for 85 bucks, but the reviews are good... and looks like its got my 6 usb ports in the rear. Sound I already have a dedicated card for so thats a non-issue. Do you use that board in a gaming type machine?

[Fish111]

unbroke, that mobo is pretty pricey, considering its only got 4 usb ports in rear and 5/100 people said they got doa's and another couple said their mobo died after a month or so.

[CoffeeShark]

there are a few mobos that carry 2 slots of ddr2 and 2 slots of ddr3, might want to check for those.

[Fish111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoffeeShark

there are a few mobos that carry 2 slots of ddr2 and 2 slots of ddr3, might want to check for those.

Typically its 4 slots ddr2 and 2 slots ddr3, its like a "grow with you" type bus.


The thing is, once 4 gigs of ddr2 becomes obsolete something tells me 2 dimms of ddr3 anything wont cut the cake either, thats just me

While I've got you guys here, what do yall think about hsf's... Goin with teck's mobo suggestion im saving about 30 bucks, figure i can throw that at a nice cpu cooler (preferably quiet too since i got a special video cooler sposed to be under 25 dBa and a case with special quiet fans....

meh > ? Newegg.com - MASSCOOL 8WA741 92mm Ball CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

more meh > ? Newegg.com - Thermaltake CL-P0372 92mm Enter CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

[CoffeeShark]

4gb in 2 dimms of ddr3 is going to haul ass, and if you're not running a 64 bit OS, not much reason to go more. Plus you can run ddr2 until then on the same mobo. Better than buying DDR3 now, and better than being stuck on ddr2 later.

Newegg.com - MSI P35 Platinum Combo LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

[Fish111]

Maybe true, but what are the odds I would need a new mobo to support some new cpu when i do move to ddr3? Ive been an amd builder for quite some time, so im not familiar with how often intel changes socket, seems like 775 has been around awhile?

also, coffee, that group of the 4 usb ports on that mobo are absolutely sick, i like that better than grouped close together


quite a few reviews on the lower end of the rating spectrum for that model though... bitching about non-booting and rma difficulties, 60 dollars more than the gigabyte?