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Best Future-proof Motherboard??

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June 12, 2006 11:41:22 PM

Hi Everybody <voice like Dr. Nick from Simpsons>

We all know that Conroe is going to be great - ie. bring large number of users to very high performaces (if the supply is good), above or equal to FX-62 bla-bla. And Intel is also looking to switch to 45nm in 2 years (we'll see)

We also know that AMD will probably have something very competitive when they switch to 65nm - I know they have some very competitive things now, especially with price drops.

My question is which motherboard will last me the longest, ie give me the ability to upgrade processors in 2-3 years without having to change motherboards again.

I know this is kindof the magical question but you guys must have opinions on AM2 vs. conroe compatible motherboard for best future upgrade proof board.

I also realize it is likely that some unknown tech will make us all have to buy a new MB in 2-3 years anyways but here hoping

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June 13, 2006 9:25:20 AM

For future proofing purposes, I would say LGA775 boards are the best. I've seen no plans from Intel to change sockets anytime in the near future. Granted there are some CPU/Chipset or CPU/BIOS compatibility problems, but some of these issues can be solved with BIOS updates.
June 13, 2006 5:59:58 PM

I guess what I'm asking is: will intels next generation chips (after Conroe) run on the Core 2 Duo MB?

and: will AMD's next geration 45nm run on the AM2 MB chipset?

Which do you think is a better bet for the future?
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June 13, 2006 6:31:56 PM

I wouldn't take either of those bets, honestly.
June 13, 2006 7:19:07 PM

I recommend an Abacus. They're pretty future proof.

Or if an Abacus isn't your style perhaps a slide rule. They're also pretty future proof.
June 13, 2006 7:37:11 PM

Quote:
I guess what I'm asking is: will intels next generation chips (after Conroe) run on the Core 2 Duo MB?

and: will AMD's next geration 45nm run on the AM2 MB chipset?

Which do you think is a better bet for the future?


That's something nobody right now can really tell you.

As for motherboards, you can be pretty certain that [at least with Intel] the 975X chipset is the choice platform, since it will run Conroe and require perhaps just a BIOS flash to take care of any new surprises from Intel.

My favourite [Intel based] pick of the crop: ASUS P5WDG2-WS

Quite expensive compared to most, but I'm guessing it will last you at least 2 years as far as platform changes go, maybe even more. It also has 8-phase VREG for overclocking, crossfire support and PCI-X for your serious RAID hardware.

I have found some reviews where people complain that this board is very hot, but I haven't experienced any issues. My system is heavily watercooled. As for the Marvell RAID controller not working, I have a separate card to do my RAID, and use the Marvel SATA ports as regular drive connections only.

This motherboard may not be perfect, since it has some known faults and some people do knock it, but I tend to look at what it CAN do. The advantages it offered my particular setup far outweighed the bugs it had. Also, I was able to get around the faults mentioned, so I came away very impressed with the finished configuration.
June 24, 2006 2:37:35 AM

circa june 23, 2006

asus P5N32 - for example.

asus A8N32 - on the AMD side.

future proof in the sense that, a system integrated with them will be very fast & last for a long time.

i think the asus M8N32 (or whatever their 8 phase M2 board is called) is a beauty, BUT ... it's new.

need time to work out the kinks. 6 months for the production line to assimilate all the millions & billions of design details that go into a motherboard and the IC's on it.

i don't think any board is really future proof, in the sense of being compatible with, for example, the socket 775 chip that intel releases around Xmas 2007, or, on the AMD side, the Xmax 2007 vintage video cards, used with the asus AM2 m'board.
June 28, 2006 12:20:02 PM

Quote:
I recommend an Abacus. They're pretty future proof.

Or if an Abacus isn't your style perhaps a slide rule. They're also pretty future proof.


Tried and tested technology, very sound advice. Don't forget the sun dial to tell time and a sexton to figure out were you are.
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