I'm looking to build a decent gaming machine without breaking the bank, and right now I'm having a hard time deciding on what mobo to get...I was planning on spending around 150 bucks for one. I also dont need one that has SLI/crossfire since i'll just be doing one video card.

Here are some socket T mobos I'm looking at ->

ASUS P5B
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
ABIT AW8D
MSI 955X PLATINUM
Foxconn 955X7AA-8EKRS2

Any ideas?

Go with the Gigabyte 965p-DS3. Its under $150 and its pretty good. I built my first system and it posted everything I had on one shot (had a lot of help in the forumz). If youre not into overclocking, sli/crossfire its great for its price. If you do choose it, make sure you follow the memory specifications.


My system:

Gigabyte DS3
E6300 (retail)
Corsair xms2 ddr2-533 x2 512mb (1GB)
Saphire x1900xtx
x16 Lightscribe DVD-RW-R
2x 250GB SataII 16mb cache
Floppy drive (lol was big in my generation)
soundblaster x-fi xm
Aerocool ExtremEngine 3T
Thermaltake PurePower 500w

what about an asus p5nsli? its about 120.00 or so at new egg. i know you siad you didnt want sli, but its still supose to be good.

well, the asus pn5sli supports up to ddr2 667, though I was planning on getting ddr2 800...

I was looking at the mobo you mentioned. Ive been steered away from it by a few people who recomended the gigabyte ds3 which Im totally happy with. I would be a little suspect of it also with its low price. remember you get what you pay If you do SLI then the Asus $200 board is so much better.

you might be right, its still very new, not alot of people have it yet. i was considering it & also the gigabyte board as well. have not decided yet. i could probably live with either, what i would like is a board to show up with all the connectors in the right place, like on the dfi lan party nf4 ultra d. that board has all the connectors in the right place. will most likely get the gigabyte board though

How about the GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 for 117 bucks? Its 30+ dollars cheaper than the GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3. It seems like it has the exact same specs.....though, since its cheaper, would that just indicate its lower quality?

The DS3 has better capacitors (the D stands for Durable) which in theory should make it last longer.

Only 2 of those boards are conroe ready if the title of the post means anything.

I'd recommend the Abit AB9 PRO though. It's around what you are asking and is so feature rich

Ok, so now its between the Abit AB9 PRO and the GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3. Any other opinions anyone?

Also, they both use the Intel P965 Express....but I heard that the P965 doesnt support dual GPU video cards? I'm not interested in doing SLI/Crossfire, but I might upgrade to a dual GPU video card in the future....

With the way that GPUs are going to change in the next 6 months, I'd forgo getting anything expensive untilt he newer R600 or G80, G81s come out to see how they are designed. As for deciding between the two boards -

The AB9 PRO has 3 more SATA connectors than the DS3 and it has eSATA, which the DS3 doesn't. I also like the overclocking ability that Abit boards have.

Whats eSATA compared with normal SATA?

It's an external SATA port that would allow you to use an enclosure that has an eSATA connection. THere is a difference between a SATA port and a eSATA port just to set you straight - it's in the design of the plug itself. SATA plugs have a 90 degree bend in them, eSATA plugs do not. However, they do both use the same bandwidth and such. It's an added convenience, basically. It gives you more chocies for connectivity when using things like an external enclosure.