Help me decide on a motherboard

[bottomrungho]

I have read until my eyes are about to bug out of my head and I can't make a decision on the motherboard for my new gaming rig. I plan to do basic overclocking (nothing advanced or extreme) so I want something capable, reliable, and user friendly. I plan to start with a E6750 and move to a quad when I need to upgrade. I also plan to start with 1 8800GT graphics card. I would consider an SLi capable board if it meets the overclocking needs and fell under $150. In general, I am looking for the best value (price/performance). I do not need most of the bells and whistles on the high-end boards (like RAID, Firewire, etc.).

The three boards I have been considering are:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L
$99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP
$139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131196

Abit IP35-E
$115
http://www.directron.com/ip35e.html#caption (the only place I could find it today)

Please help we decide which one I should get.

 

[Groveling_Wyrm]

Of the boards you listed, I recommend the Asus P5K-E WiFi, or it's counterpart, the P5K-E for performance bang/buck. The Asus has a little better components, including 8-phase power, and better Northbridge cooling than the 2 others. It will also overclock quite a bit better than the others you listed.

 

[QuadFusion]

Asus P5K-E

 

[cnumartyr]

Apples and Oranges.. those boards aren't even in the same price bracket/ball part as the Asus...

So yea, the Asus.

 

[RL08]

I have the Asus board P5K-E/WIFI-AP and it's working great.

I'm not sure about Gigabyte though. They have no phone support and they don't reply emails in a timely manner.

 

[lord_kld]

go for asus

 

[Thanatos421]

Another vote for Asus. I've always bought Asus. Rock solid products, with great ingenuity and performance. When you spend that extra money, you'll know where it went when you feel the board. When it boots on the first post! When it runs nice and cool due to their great cooling designs! Honestly, I've heard their customer service kinda sucks, but the beautiful thing is, I've never had to find out for myself I've never had an Asus DoA board, or had one fail over time, even overclocking.