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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Overclocking > Motherboards > Best Gaming Motherboard

Best Gaming Motherboard

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I wanted to post I am new on here but I am looking for the best gaming motherboard out there right now. I would like some feedback and some direction if you guys can help me out here. Again, the best gaming motherboard and what you would go with. Thanks! 8)

Vegita

p.s.--pm me or catch me online!

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For AMD or Intel?

I'm not sure which is the best chipset, but I got a pretty good idea of the best motherboard for each chipset. Of course budget is something you need to worry about. Is it worth spending an extra 100$+ on features that you will probably never use? I'm going to assume Intel processors, since that is the latest and greatest. Here are my recommendations:

Intel CPUs
Intel 965p chipset: Asus P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi/Gigabyte 965p-DQ6
Nvidia 680i chipset: eVGA 680i motherboard/Asus P5N32-E SLI

Reply to f1nal_0men

Definitely need more info to give you any suggestions. Which processor? Will you overclock? What gpu? 1 Card or 2?

For the most part the biggest differences will be in the chipsets. After that it comes down to quality/stability/performance of boards from different manufacturers within that chipset, and which features you need/want.

Reply to grifter33
- 0 +

Hey thanks for the input so far. I forgot to mention I am using the new intel core duo 2 6700 and plan on running 2 8800 gtx video cards. I also will have 4 harddrives in SATA and using Raid 0. Hope this helps and that I can get a clear direction on what the best board is.

Vegita 8)

Reply to vegita
- 0 +

Quote :

I forgot to mention I am using the new intel core duo 2 6700 and plan on running 2 8800 gtx video cards.


that pretty much limits you to nVidia 650i & 680i based mobos (Asus also have a mobo using hybrid nVidia chipset).
If you have the budget for 2x 8800GTX you might as well spend the extra & get the 680i.
You then have to decide whether to go with a reference design (BFG, ECS, eVGA, etc.) or a non-reference one from the likes of abit, Asus, Gigabyte or MSI (who also have a reference design too).

Reply to BUFF

Then you definitely need to grab a 680i chipset board. You could grab the most expensive, which is of course the Asus Striker Extreme. But I just can't justify the price. It doesn't overclock better then any of the other 680i boards out there, and has extravagant features that I don't think anyone seriously uses. LCD post screen is nice when your putting your comptuer togethor for the first time, but beyond that? Worthless. The LED lights on the motherboard? And 3 PCI-E slots? Most people will never touch these features, and I don't think A dedicated Physx card wont become the norm for awhile, but this is just speculation and that third slot could come in handy in time.

The P5N32-E is the little brother to that motherboard. And is still overkill on the features, but when it comes to the best, without spending a ridiculous amount of money, this is the one IMO.

Reply to f1nal_0men
- 0 +

DAMN SON! How can you afford 2 8800GTX cards? That is almost as much as my entire computer... I would also like to know the best mobo for gaming.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz
MSI K9A Platinum Socket AM2
OCZ 2GB DDR2 800
DIAMOND Radeon X1950XT 256MB
4x Seagate Barracuda 250 GB
Corsair 520W Power Supply
Asus 16X DVD-R/RW Burner
Gigabyte 3D AURORA ATX Full Tower Case
Scythe Infinity CPU Cooler
Zalman VF900 VGA Cooler

Should I wait for the 690 Chipset boards?

Reply to proof
- 0 +

Quote :

I wanted to post I am new on here but I am looking for the best gaming motherboard out there right now. I would like some feedback and some direction if you guys can help me out here. Again, the best gaming motherboard and what you would go with. Thanks! 8)

Vegita

p.s.--pm me or catch me online!



We got a winner here folks.
"Best gaming motherboard".....This obviously would be paired with the "Best gaming processor", the "Best gaming ram", "Best gaming hdd", "Best gaming DVDRW", etc.

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! They should make a section just for those questions. That would be one boring section.

Reply to proof

With your setup, it's the eVGA 680i all the way.

Reply to pongrules
- 0 +

Pong is right. Go to newegg.com and find the eVGA motherboards. You want the more expensive one. Its like $20-$30 more but it is the best for you. If you have the budget for dual 8800GTXs why on't you try out the Corsair Dominator?

Reply to proof
- 0 +

Why are noobs always in love with OCZ or Corsair. If you want true stability in overclock and a longer life span with your memory, get the Kingston HyperX. If you shop at Fry's, you can usually find it on sale (4GB for $100). You may also want to consider going Quad Core. The Q9450 is only ~$330. It overclocks stable very easily to 3.4GHz with a Zalman CNPS8700 NT CPU cooler. Also, if you really are going to build in dual SLI mode with 4 HDD, you will need a 750 watt PSU. You otherwise will definitely have a power shortage and your system will not operate at full capacity. It seems you do not have much of a money issue. Consider Quad SLI using the GeForce 9800 GX2 and get a 1000 watt PSU. As for motherboards, I prefer Gigabyte boards. They are more energy efficient and are supreme for stability and life span. They also overclock very well and have no useless features. Think about it!!

Reply to scidan

Um, scidan, this thread is more than a year old...

Reply to Dopekitten
- 0 +

scidan wrote :

Why are noobs always in love with OCZ or Corsair. If you want true stability in overclock and a longer life span with your memory, get the Kingston HyperX. If you shop at Fry's, you can usually find it on sale (4GB for $100). You may also want to consider going Quad Core. The Q9450 is only ~$330. It overclocks stable very easily to 3.4GHz with a Zalman CNPS8700 NT CPU cooler. Also, if you really are going to build in dual SLI mode with 4 HDD, you will need a 750 watt PSU. You otherwise will definitely have a power shortage and your system will not operate at full capacity. It seems you do not have much of a money issue. Consider Quad SLI using the GeForce 9800 GX2 and get a 1000 watt PSU. As for motherboards, I prefer Gigabyte boards. They are more energy efficient and are supreme for stability and life span. They also overclock very well and have no useless features. Think about it!!



Dopekitten wrote :

Um, scidan, this thread is more than a year old...



:lol: :lol: :lol: That was a very good one!

Reply to bOoOf

790i ultra sli

Reply to Aurora18

why dont you try the 780i from xfx

Reply to bonecrush
- 0 +

asus rampage 2 extreme the best i have tested so far

Reply to win

win wrote :

asus rampage 2 extreme the best i have tested so far



Cool. I bet he's been checking this thread everyday since 03.05.2007 to get this info.

------------------------------ E7200 @ 3.42GHz > GA-P31-DS3L > 4Gb DDR2 > 4850 512Mb > X-Fi Platinum
Reply to andyKCIUK
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