Which motherboard for Core 2 Duo system?

[jfuze]

First off i'd like to say i've been researching this for the past week and im just swamped with information. Alot of it being out of date.

So my question is...

If I build a C2D system, which motherboard will last me the next 5 years without a doubt? Are there any particular features I should look for?

I built a 939 system 3 years ago and I cant even update it without spending a crap load so im just going to build a whole new system.

Is it possible to get a "future proof" mobo under $150? Maybe even with SLI?

Hoepfully someone here has advice for me because im lost and DROWNING in all of the information on the interwebs! :lol:

 

[chookman]

"future proof" doesnt exist in computers these days

Anything you get now will have the CPU socket and RAM type changed within 12months and youll start all over.

If you can wait , possibly Nehalem from Intel will give you more future proofing as this will have a new socket and the new RAM (DDR3)... but its a gamble... its a wait that you may not want.

Currently cheap board for C2D i would go with Gigabyte P35-DS3L although this doesnt have SLI (i dont see the point in it anyways) and the board is getting fairly old now... but its cheap and solid.

SLI wise you could go with 680i or 780i although these have been riddled with issues from CPU compatibility to post issues and what not.

Personally id either wait for Nehalem, or build a cheap system now that you can replace in 1-2years time.

 

[g-paw]

Agree with chookman, the problem wiht waiting for the Nehalem is that it'll like be 6 months or so before prices start coming down and I probably wouldn't want to buy the first generation of a new chip set. ASUS P5K series is good depending on the features. The P35 will run the upcoming new 45mm from Intel. Problem the 775 is at the end of its life cycle. You could easily get 3 years out of a good build and by then the new stuff will have shaken itself out. If you post your budget and how you use the machine in the New Build section, you'll get some good suggestions

 

[jfuze]

dang well im pretty bummed. didnt realize a new intel socket was coming out later this year.

Sigh...

 

[cjp3]

It depends a bit on what you mean by "future proof".

1. Minimize monetary cost in the long run.
2. Be able to put lots of meaningful RAM/CPU upgrades into the board.

For 1., the answer is clearly to buy not the high end boards, but lower priced "value" boards. This means you sacrifice being on the front of development (say, X38, X48 today), but stay with the second from the top (e.g. P35 today).

This way, you do need to buy a new mainboard relatively soon (less than 5 years), but you do not "waste" much money. You get exactly your moneys worth. For a high-end board, you spend a premium for it being new; worse if you have to wait for other components to actually put it to use.

For 2., there is no real answer, I think. Nobody knows the future, and sockets change regularly enough that it's unusual to be able to upgrade just the CPU and still get a meaningful performance boost in real applications (not synthetic benchmarks).