It's About Time I get a New Motherboard, What Should I Get?

[mrooobaa]

Hello all,
I have an ECS P4M900T-M, and it just seems to be the thing slowing down my system. Emulation and things just don't seem to run as well as they should, so I think I need a new mobo. Here's what I have:
Intel Duo Core E6420
2GB DDR2 RAM 533mhz
256MB GDDR3 Nvidia BFG 7900GS OC
Windows XP Pro

My price range is about $150 tops, what would be a good fit?
Thanks for any help

 

[lonelypauly]

Gigabyte has a good socket 775 board in that range

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128083

 

[blacksci]

Also you would see a noticable improvement if you upgraded your ram. 533 mhz is a little slow these days.

 

[Lavacon]

A mid range p35 board will do you well. You can get an Abit IP35-Pro for 144 after a rebate. I know before rebate its a lil more then you want to spend but its one of the best p35 boards out there under 200$$

 

[blacksci]

Lavacon are you saying my GA-P35-DS3L isnt one of the bestboards out there? lol jk,jk

 

[mtyermom]

I would recommend the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L and replace your existing ram with 2GB DDR2-800

GA-P35-DS3L $79.99
and
2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2-800 Dual Channel kit $48.99

Total: $128.98 before shipping

This is assuming you don't need the raid features. If you do need raid, then the board lonelypauly linked is the way to go.

 

[aevm]

Since when is the aBit IP35Pro mid range??? It's one of the best P35 boards, along with the GA-P35-DS4. $144 is a great price for it, better deal than $100 for a GA-P35-DS3L IMO. I do like the GA-P35-DS3L a lot, but the aBit adds a second video card slot, 8 SATA devices instead of 4, RAID, Firewire, 2 more SATA cables, etc. If you can get all that for only $44 more it's well worth it.

Edit: GA-P35-DS3L is only $80 now? Wow!

 

[mrooobaa]

I'm not really looking to have 2 video cards, and I have a nice Adobe Firewire PCI card, so that combo mtyermom recommended sounds great. Thanks for all of the replies

Just one more question though, right now my RAM is 4-4-4-12 timing, and I noticed that although this RAM on newegg is 800mhz, its timings are still 4-5-4-15. So even though it's 800mhz, would it still be better although the latency is higher?

 

[blacksci]

Its always best to go with the timings the ram manufacturer specifies, not doing so could void your warranty.

 

[Lavacon]

Blacksci, Your Mobo is perty sweet too

 

[night_wolf_in]

I would recommend the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L and replace your existing ram with 2GB DDR2-800

GA-P35-DS3L $79.99
and
2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2-800 Dual Channel kit $48.99

Total: $128.98 before shipping

This is assuming you don't need the raid features. If you do need raid, then the board lonelypauly linked is the way to go.

i agree with this person very much.

 

[mtyermom]

Those small differences in latency, in my opinion, aren't going to make much of a difference, especially if you aren't overclocking.

I was going to recommend this:
Crucial Ballistix 2GB DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 Dual Channel Kit $64.99

It costs a little more, but still keeps everything in your budget. I use that same RAM (well, the tracers actually, but there's no difference save for LEDs), but it's not really needed unless you're overclocking.

In other words: the OCZ RAM should be fine, I doubt you'll notice the slightly higher latency, but you can spend a little more for the Crucial and have some outstanding RAM with excellent timings.

 

[Mr_Man]

I'm a personal fan of the MSI P6N SLI-FI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082R). Newegg for some reason only has the OEM version right now, but it's quite a low price and has pretty much everything you'd want, especially for your particular setup. I'd also recommend getting new RAM, DDR2-800 is really cheap right now, with rebates you could pick up 4GB for under $70. Additionally, your processor is apparently a good overclocker (what C2D isn't?), and the board I recommended only helps. You could likely get it to 3GHz on stock voltage.

 

[mrooobaa]

Thanks for posting that lower latency RAM, with the rebate it's actually cheaper than the original one you posted!

Hmm that MSI P6N SLI-FI is very tempting too. I'm liking the lower pricing with the nearly identical functionality, but the OEM part is a turn-off. I know I'll need that Rear I/O Panel Shield, but where would I get it from?

Again, thanks for all the responses, I really appreciate all of the help you're all putting in

 

[MrCommunistGen]

I don't like that the P6N board is open-box. I've also been staying away from MSI since I had issues with 3 (2 different models and 3 of 3) of their S939 boards.

-mcg

 

[tommmm111]

hi. pls, i have a simple question 2 ask. my p35-ds3r fsb goes to 360 only. ever heard of this? i tried everything, but can't go past 360fsb. i'm using e6320 & super stable at 2520frequency w/ 360fsb. any idea how 2 get it up/ past 360? gosh, i'd love some help.

 

[mrooobaa]

I don't like that the P6N board is open-box. I've also been staying away from MSI since I had issues with 3 (2 different models and 3 of 3) of their S939 boards.

-mcg

Yeah, I'm starting to lean more towards that GA-P35-DS3L. Although it's $20 more, it's brand new and it has a panel shield.

I'm thinking the GA-P35-DS3L + the Crucial 800mhz 4-4-4-12 RAM seems to be the best choice, so I'll think I'll go with that. Thanks again for all of the help and everything!

 

[chuckm]

I have to throw in the Asus P5k-E in this price range. $10 less without wifi

 

[Shadow703793]

For motherboard:
P35-DS3x(ie DS3L, DS2R,etc)
P5K-x(ie P5K-E)

For RAM:

Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 (D9 chips W00T!)
or if on a budget Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800
both should be 2*1GB kits.

@OP:
Check out P35DS3L OCing How To

 

[mrooobaa]

Well yesterday I just got the GA-P35-DS3L + the Crucial 800mhz 4-4-4-12 RAM set, and I'm way happy with it. There was much more improvement than I expected. Things just load faster and my games run way better. I'm actually able to play Crysis at medium!

Thanks a ton to everyone that helped out, I really appreciate you guys taking time out of your lives to guide someone who's clueless about motherboards

 

[mtyermom]

Glad to hear about your success with the new parts, happy fragging.