Whats the diff between these high and - low end mobos anymore?

[Pyro2008]

The other day, I got myself an e8400 for my evga 680i and have been trying to get things to run right. Lost for answers, I am possibly coming back to that road of buying a new motherboard. Here is a link to my CPU problems:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/247310-29-e8400-doesnt-make-sense#t1758375

The question is, whats the difference between motherboards now a days?

Ya know, I went with this 680i because a lot of friends told me it was great (and it has been). I did moderate research before buying it but now that I am here again possibly looking for a new motherboard I gotta ask ... whats the difference between half of these things???
You go to certain online stores and use the compair features from lower priced motherboards to higher and there isnt much difference between the two.

The motherboard I just got for my fiance seems to be running great and I cant ask a lot more outta it. The only downside to her motherboard that I see is that it isnt 2.0 x16 and it isnt as overclock friendly as I am used to with my 680i.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337


What is driving the price on these things? Component quality? Features? Reputation? All of the above?


Here is a list of my current parts:

-MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W

-Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

-G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA

-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

-ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler

-EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

-CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply

-Vista 64bit Ultimate


I do not see myself running SLI, I will probably OC (moderately ... maybe 3.6ghz with the e8400 ... MAYBE 4ghz but not sure yet), not going to overclock the ram anymore than overclocking the cpu requires (link/sync).


Anyone have any insight here for me?

Thanks ahead of time!

 

[Pyro2008]

Yeah, not even sure if I want to oc anymore. I am lacking the time (most importantly) and the patience.

Besides, having just built my fiance's rig, I am kinda tapped out. So anything I go with has to be affordable. That right now is $50-150.

Thats actually the main reason for this post. Going with a lower budget board has made me wonder what is the real difference. If I am not going to bother with overclocking anymore, is there a point for the 750i?

Comparing motherboards through online stores has shown me there doesnt seem to be much difference. Thats why I am bringing the question here

 

[rgsaunders]

Seeing as SLI isn't important to you, and budget is a consideration, I would recommend a P35 based board, such as the Gigabyte DS3 series boards. Inexpensive, good performance, reliable overclocking, and no issues with the nVidia MCP and data corruption that you encounter when even slightly overclocking some of the nVidia chipset boards.

 

[Pyro2008]

Cool, thats one vote for the DS3!

Also, thats the board I just put in her rig and it seems to be running just fine.

 

[Mondoman]

Yep, the Gigabyte P35 boards are the way to go.

 

[Pyro2008]

Two for the board!

Guess I will just get another one of these...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

 

[Mondoman]

Since your rig isn't completely low-end, I'd consider going with the DS3R or DS3P, as you'll get more robust power circuitry, more ports, etc.