MOBO to support Pentium D820?

[cinematek]

Hi all. It's time to replace my 1999-era 300mHz Celeron Gateway computer. (Hey... stop laughing... it got me through college!)

Anyway, this is my first attempt at building a complete system from the ground up. I bought a Pentium D820 CPU with an Asus P5ND2-SLI. I learned too late that the D820 is not supported by this mobo. The processor can't be returned, so I need a new mobo.

I am looking at the Asus P5WD2 Premium and the P5LD2 Deluxe (which has a slight edge for me right now because of the cheaper price tag).

I have no particular bias towards Asus, but based on my research, those are the boards that seem to be the best.

I am not a hardcore gamer. I do quite a bit of photoshop work and video editing, and while I have a separate system for my Avid, I may add Vegas or Premiere to the new system, although it will mostly be an internet/video watching/basic home computer.

I'd love to hear your opinions about what an appropriate mobo choice might be. Thanks.

 

[fishmahn]

Asus makes good Pentium4 boards. I hear more about the P5WD2 Prem. (probably the word 'premium' in there - after all its better than deluxe right?), but I haven't heard anything bad about the LD2. If the LD2 has the features you want/need (# of USB, IDE, PCI, etc.), get it.

Mike.

 

[cinematek]

Okay, maybe my original post was too broad. I have narrowed it down to a few choices and am having a hard time making a final decision. Since the CPU can't go back, I am trying to find a board to support it. In no particular order my choices are:

1) ECS PF22 Extreme - Feature set seems good, but their website and documentation seem a bit sparse. I don't get the sense that they have any kind of customer service.

2) Intel D945PVSLKR - Intel board would suggest good compatibility with my CPU, but most of the message board posts and online reviews seem to frown on Intel mobos. Is this because it's cool to hate the big names, or do Intel boards actually have problems?

3) Asus P5LD2 - This is actually my favorite of the three, but all of the reviews on newegg seem to suggest that the old BIOS won't support the Pentium D, and I don't have another P4 chip to re-flash it with, so I am apprehensive about taking a chance.

IF you had to pick one of the three, which would you suggest? If you have a better suggestion for my chip, let me know. Thanks.

 

[cinematek]

Thanks, fishmahn. You must have replied while I was typing my followup message.

Has anyone bought a P5LD2 from newegg in the past week or two? Do you know what BIOS it shipped with?