Money aside which motherboard would you guys recommend?

[clay12340]

I'm looking at building a new rig, but I screwed up the motherboard choice last go round. It has been a real hassle ever since. I upgrade most components as the need/urge arises, but I try to avoid changing my motherboard as long as possible.

X48 doesn't seem overly impressive, 780i seems even worse. I've not seen anything solid on the other upcoming chipsets.

If you guys were looking at a board to build a system around what would it be? Keep in mind that I'd like the board to stay reasonably current for the next 2 years or so. Any maker/chipset combo out there that is really exceptional, or should I just wait for what is around the bend? If I'm waiting what chipset is it that looks so promising?

 

[Gravemind123]

Asus P5K-E or P5K-Deluxe. Even if you have the money for X38/X48, they don't offer enough added features to be worth it. SLI and crossfire aren't very useful when it comes down to it and P35 overclocks just as well as X48 or 780i seems to. Save the extra money for a future GPU upgrade when the real next generation comes out(9-series doesn't seem to be too big of an improvement over the 8-series).

 

[systemlord]

There is a new thread on this topic, link below. Give me your current spec's so I can better help you, and what you want like SLI or Crossfire. In late 2008 - early 2009 Intel will be changing sockets from 775 to something new so it might be hard to get you a mobo good enough for two more years.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248215-30-rate-mobo-here

 

[hcforde]

A good x38 board will last 2 years at least. The new (socket / cpu's MB), etc need some time for the kinks to get worked out. By that time you will have been able to upgrade to a better LGA775 cpu cheaply if you need to. Also the new Socket will need DDR3(EXPENSIVE) like the x48's but the current X48 boards don't give revolutionary performance for the extra dollars you are paying. The ASUS Maximus Formula series is great - overclockable & stable & fast. I would stick with a DDR2 X38 MB from ASUS or Gigabyte. Look at them and tell us what you like and see if there are any PRO's or CON's from owners.


THanks

 

[blotch]

Well if you plan on possibly using crossfire and money is not an issue i would recommend a Maximus Formula. It will support all CPUs up til Nelham and can be easily OC'ed. I will mostly likely get on myself instead of a P5E just because of the slightly better heat sinks( i always overclock).

 

[clay12340]

Well as far as current specs the new machine will be replacing an old 4200+ X2 machine.

I've had good luck with ASUS up to this point and unless some other manufacturer is offering a board that is considerably better I'd prefer to keep up the brand loyalty.

I've looked at the current offerings and it seems like the same options are more or less available in any of the newer chipsets. Though I must admit that I'm not really up to snuff on the ins and outs of each of the new chipsets and what is in line to become available.

I want a board that has performed reasonably well in the realm of overclocking. I always overclock my machines, though I don't generally start pushing them too terribly much until I'm likely to upgrade soon anyhow.


So my priorities would be
1. Future Proofing
2. Overclocking Performance
3. SLI or Crossfire support(SLI preferred, but I don't like the 780i chipset)

 

[lonelymanav]

go for asus maximus formula. great board.