Any really solid MOBO's out there for a 1st timer

[shorecat99]

So I've taken on this new hobby and have most of my parts chosen (many delivered already) but have been reading MOBO reviews for like a month now (part time at night and mostly on Newegg, Tiger and the like) and just when I think I've got the MOBO picked out - somewhere in the stack of GREAT REVIEWS are 5 or 10 "REVIEWS FROM HELL".... even on ASUS, GiGabyte, and other top brands. Rather than go in circles again, I'm going to ask for some recommendations from y'all.

What I'm looking to do: Mainly video editing and general web browsing. Not a gamer at this time but trying to design with that in mind for the performance and I used to love DukeNukem3D back in the day and may revisit.

What I have already: EVGA 8800GT 512MB, Western Digital 500gb Sata HD, ANTEC Nine Hundred Case, OCZ Gamestream 700w PS, Sata DVD(all) by?? Logitech USB keyboard & mouse on the way. Combination FDD & Media reader on the way.

What else I'm considering: Processor - either Intel e6750 or q6600. 2g DDR2 memory which I'll pick by MOBO Mfr recommendation once it is chosen. Monitor - probably Samsung 226CW. Printer - Probably Canon MP830. O.S. - might just go with XP as Vista seems to be a big pain in the a$$.

Scattered thoughts in choosing the MOBO: Want it to be somewhat forward compatible for if and when the Intel Extreme 45nm Processors become reasonably priced in the future. I don't need SLI or Crossfire but do need 1 PCIE-X16. I like what I read about the Intel p35 Northbridge & Ich9(r) Southbridge chips although x38 is good but I might be wasting features I won't use. Not intent on overclocking but would like somewhat of a option to experiment mildly with once I get this working right at stock speeds.

 

[shorecat99]

I'm replying myself to add some more as I must've hit enter by mistake and posted my writeup. I did kind of like the Gigabyte boards a lot but most of them have parallel & serial ports, which I won't use, taking up space which I think is a waste. I thought I was the only person left using a parallel printer nowadays on my existing system but see that they are still making many boards with it. Anyway, I would appreciate some suggestions for a good solid board with some overclocking capability but moreso something that could also "auto-configure" things like ram bus speed in the beginning (if that is a valid option - I think I have read posts like that). Also something I won't have to flash the bios and/or cmos on right away. Thank You Thank You Thank You - Stan

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I am not as much up on Intel as on AMD as I go with AMD builds, just used them for like 10 years, and so I prefer them b/c it's what I know. Personally though, on brands, Gigabyte makes a nice board, that's what I have in my main rig and it's a nice board, the nicest I've ever owned probably. I've also used Biostar boards, if you want a good board at a decent price, biostar boards seem reliable, I've had one of those, and worked on other machines that had them, and they don't seem to give too many fits. People Asus is good, MSI, I had a bad experience with theirs, but I think the PSU I had was trash and might have fried the board perhaps. Avoid ECS, they are a cheap board. PC chips, those boards are ok, but there are better for a little more.

 

[Silverion77]

How many Sata ports do you need?

The Gigabyte P35-DS3L and R are good. They are exactly the same but the R gives you Raid and 8 sata ports versus the 4 on the L. They are both solid and easy boards to work with

 

[shorecat99]

Well, only 2 Sata's needed to start and won't be using raid so 4 will probably do me good. Some more info: What I'm really looking for is a board that doesn't have "DOA's" in the reviews and no matter which board I looked at, I usually find multiple DOA's which for a first timer isn't good because you don't have spare boards to troubleshoot with. Another thing I find in reviews is some people post "5 stars" which means excellent yet they list some serious problems in the "con's" section which means they really should have skipped 1 or 2 stars. So you can't necessarily go by the "star" rating. Last night my eyes started going funny about midnight from staring at the screen. Maybe I should just dive in and hope I don't get a bad one. Oh by the way I wouldn't mind spending $200 - $300 if I knew the boards really went through some rigorous testing to prove they would not arrive DOA (except by damage of course). I'm not necessarily looking for a "cheapie"

 

[Silverion77]

Its rare youll get a bad one.

So 1 or 2 people complain about a DOA out of 100 reviews
but there are still the other 300 that bought it and didnt review it
Its very unlikely it will happen and some arent better than others in that field, theyre all the same.

 

[ImajorI]

Mines very highly rated..the Abit IP 35 Pro ...I love mine

 

[MrCommunistGen]

I've used the DS3L in a couple systems and I have no complaints. Runs like a champ and OCs well enough (combo'ed with E2160).

-mcg

 

[shorecat99]

Thanks for all your input. I was looking at the abit ip35pro seriously(IMajorI) til i read a review on newegg last night that said the sata controller sucks and "beware". But thinking about it (as Silverion77 says) more people probably don't post reviews than do and the ones with problems are more likely to post, so in reality, if I see 2 bad out of 100, it's probably more like 2 bad out of 1000 counting those who don't post. It's crazy to try to go by reviews alone. I'm thinking maybe te Abit or I might even overbuy and go with a Gigabyte GaX38dq6 even though it's a little on the high side and will provide much more than I need but it'll be forward compatible for a while and what the heck! I'm 48 and have been frugal most of my life. Now it's time to treat myself - besides it looks pretty too. Thanks again... Stan By the way, how do I get rid of the thing next to Profile: which says "stranger".. I looked in the help section and in my profile and couldn't find anything in the short time I looked.

 

[chuckm]

Most reviews at Newegg, Tiger and the like have to be taken with a grain of salt, if you will. For the most part, all boards perform about the same and ALL have an occasional problem. You mainly have to decide if the board you want has the features you will or might use, such raid ,firewire,ect. If the board you like dosen't have a printer port, either get an add on card or a usb printer. Some manufacturers are even doing away with PS2 connections so that is something else you have to consider. As far as pure performance , you will not see anything special from an X38/DDR3 setup for the extra cost involved.

 

[dragonsprayer]

asus p35 mobos

i suggest the p5k-e wireless they are rock solid and easy to overclock