How important is the Mobo?

[DigitalDragon]

Obviously i know that the most important parts of a computer for gaming are the Video Card and CPU.

But is RAM more important than the motherboard?

whats the difference between different models of Mobos? Do those which are US$ 100 more expensive give you a performance boost? Should i buy the cheapest board available? how exactly do motherboards compete with each other in terms of performance and/or stability, and are the more expensive ones worth it?

Thanks in advance

 

[dunklegend]

Epox nforce 4 ultra is a good mobo as well as the DFI mentioned before.
The DFI is probably the best for OCing but the Epox is good enough and it's cheaper too.

<font color=green>If you work on a thing long enough to improve it, It will break</font color=green>

 

[dunklegend]

You just pointed him to a nforce 4 ultra

<b><font color=red>"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying."</font color=red></b>

 

[RichPLS]

A good quality board is important if you place importance on stability and/or overclocking, also on longevity, warranty and construction.
Some manufacturers are notorious for using inferior components.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[ChipDeath]

Any manufacturer can buy the basic chipset components, and information about how to 'wire it up' from a chipset manufacturer (e.g. Nvidia).. But Nvidia only supply a couple of components, there's <i>loads</i> of other things to cut costs on. Stuff like the quality of capacitors used can greatly effect the longevity of the board, and the quality of the V-REGs (which help to deliver stable voltages in the right range for components - a big thing if doing moderate to heavy overclocking)...

Plus of course there's all the other features, like additional support for RAID (by embedding extra controller chips), Better quality on-board sound, extra LAN ports, etc.

And all that's before you consider what accessories they throw in with the mobo: Extra USB port brackets, Front USB/Firewire ports, extra ATA cables, the software bundle...

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<font color=red>"Life is <i>not</i> like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapeńos - what you do today might burn your a<b></b>ss tommorrow."

 

[o1die]

I wouldn't buy a premium board unless you overclock or plan on using the warranty. Most folks won't wait on an rma (return merchandise authorization) from the manufacturer, and many venders no longer process rma's after 30 days. I use the cheap combo deals whenever possible, since I have spare components and one spare pc. All these factors should be taken into consideration before spending your hard earned money. For memory, stick to name brand components with lifetime warranties. I've sent in 2 sets of memory that failed, and both were generic. Corsair, crucial (micron), kingston, ocz, pqi, and pny are all pretty good brands for regular speeds.

 

[ChipDeath]

or plan on using the warranty.

Umm... It's a pretty pessimisstic person who does that, surely?


---
<font color=red>"Life is <i>not</i> like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapeńos - what you do today might burn your a<b></b>ss tommorrow."

 

[endyen]

Performance wise,. the chipset sets the stage for everything.
The main costs of today's boards are the add on features. Raid 5 will cost more than JBOD. Good sound is often worth it.