Hi guys, this is my fist post on here but i've always been reading without making an account.

Anyways, I'm going crazy picking a Motherboard , you don't have all that choice with AMD boards. So I need your help here since my last Intel System was a Pentium 2 266MHZ and after that always went with AMD till now.

First of all, I'm building this for Gaming.

I've ordered a E8400 and it should come tomorrow.
With Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800mhz which I already have
And a BFG 8800GT OC 512MB or a HD4850

So I'm looking at these boards : (I've searched reviews , i've read alot of posts and can't pick one)

Here is my list:

EVGA 750i FTW SLI X16
Asus P5E Deluxe X48 CF X16
Asus P5E X38 CF X16
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P P45 CF X8
Asus P5Q DELUXE P45 CF X8

I'm very interested in the P5E models but don't know which chipset choose.
I don't care SLI or Crossfire. I got a 8800GT OC and I got a HD4850 in another pc so I would prefer getting crossfire so I could put 2 x 4850 but don't mind making a SLI machine too.

Give me suggestion but I would prefer stay in the range of 200-250$

PS: Should I get a board who is DDR3 ready ? Or If I upgrade to DDR2 1066 I should be ok. And I'm not a overclocker so everything will be at stock.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to post. I Know there is alot of posts about boards and i've read them.

Nah, ddr2 800 will serve you just fine. There isn't enough performance difference in either ddr2 1066 or ddr3 (horrible latency) to make it worth the price premium yet.

The E8400 is a very good CPU yet still overpriced for what it does vrs other options.

As far as selecting a motherboard,if you plan on overclocking DFI makes the best bar none. They hold the World Overclock title each year for many years running with the same PSU/CPU/RAM as used vrs any other MB brand.

See my forum profile for my "3 year old" LAN systems (7) that have a 50% OC on air and stock volts (PSU is important).

Zolddude..and just what other options are you thinking of ...rofl PHENOMS...X2's...lol...e7200's...? lol. There isn't anything that can touch it stock.

Amd is good it cheaper then intel but intel is just the bomb
if you have like $200 go with the e8*** core 2 duo
but i have a q6600-D so fast but costly

Sorry for the flame olddude, but you made me have a good laugh man Have a good monday

umm...there's a little thing called the E8500 at 3.16ghz stock have a good monday

Thanks guys for the replies,

I already bought the E8400, on AMD side I was looking at the 6400+ since I only wanna play games and I don't want to overclock. But E8400 is way better than the 6400+.

As for the board, I can't decide : P45, X48, 750i, 780i, X38 ?? Too many choices here. Like I said my price range is between 200-250$.

EVGA 750i FTW SLI X16
Asus P5E Deluxe X48 CF X16
Asus P5E X38 CF X16

And I'm looking at this :
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P P45 CF X8
Asus P5Q DELUXE P45 CF X8

Is there a big difference between using CF X16 or CF X8 ? Which card would you guys pick ?? Any other suggestions.

PS: I won't be overclocking

hey in my 4th system i have a xfx 780i it pretty good clocker i have no issues since 1yr past (i built it in 2007)

if you looking for gfx below $160 OMG trust me go new egg buy a zotac amp edition 8800gt it 700cloc MHz!! wow where you find that?

^^ Look at this BFG one like mine :
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] omoid=1046

129$ for a BFG 8800GT OC 512MB

Anyone can give his opinion on the motherboards ?

What about this one guys :

Asus P5E X38

It offers 2 x PCIe x16 (both @ x16 mode) supports CrossFire Technology

Leaving AMD? too bad - no patience.

Phenom just broke 3.3 gigahertz on a NEW 790GX /SB750 MOBO

HAHA = USING LOWER VOLTS!!!! AND DDR1066 - but royalclown says you can't use ddr1066 - or ntel can't - oh well.

You really should have known. Too bad you can't cancel that order - or can you. And now yer lost w those other guys sporting monopoly. Had enough yet?

Check this out. Breaking news. More tomorrow. New bios, oclox interface, and something else brand new.

You might be able to cancel that order? buyer's remorse? I don't care; but you do.

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=471

I am a self-confessed AMD fanboy for ethical and personal reasons.

Peace. It might not be too late.

^^ Thanks for the info. But yea it's too late the order is already being at the process of delivery.

But I can't go wrong with a E8400 since i'm not a overclocker and the E8400 already made his proofs.

I'm moving from this:

AMD X2 4200+ AM2
Asus M2NPV-VM
2GB Crucial Ballistix 800mhz
BFG 8800GT OC

Has for OCing the CPU

''The Processor Core 2 duo E8400 (3.0 GHz) under dry ice overclock to 5413 MHz. This was simultaneously a new record in Wolfdale overclock and on system bus (610 MHz).''

http://xtreview.com/addcomment-id- [...] clock.html

I'm a gamer, I don't think I need the Quad Core since I play at high resolution so I might need Crossfire and two good GPUs so I might pair a HD4850 for now and wait what will happen.

I'll probably go back AMD since I always liked them, so I'll have both AMD and Intel Systems.

O.K., first of all, why are you buying an Intel system if you're not going to overclock? Until I read that little line at the bottom of your post, I thought, O.K., fair enough, this guy wants to squeeze the life out of an E8500 Core2Duo or something for maximum gaming pleasure, but since you DON'T want to O/C (I can't imagine why you wouldn't, but it's your prerogative not to).

The reason I'm saying this is because there actually suddenly becomes a strong argument to stay with AMD if you are specifically NOT going to overclock. I am talking about the Phenom 9950 here. At 2.6GHz stock, you're actually getting quite a lot of CPU for the money ($235.00). TigerDirect even has the A64 X2 5000+ BE on for $79 right now - a 2.6GHz dual-core CPU for 80 is exceptional if you're on a budget)

Although the Intel Core2Duo E8500 does give you somewhat better gaming performance right now for about $199.00, it has two important shortcomings compared to the AMD A64 X2 5000+ BE/Phenom 9950 route:

1st, it has only 2 cores, and although games and some other apps are more clock-rate sensitive than #-of-cores sensitive RIGHT NOW, that isn't going to stay that way indefinitely. New apps and games are becoming better optimized for more than 2 cores, and you'll eventually see the dual-core CPUs lagging the 4-core ones, even with slightly lower clock speeds.

2nd, ANY board you buy right now for ANY Intel CPU will NOT run Nehalem or later CPUs. That means pretty much whatever you buy on the Intel side, you're going to have to scrap the CPU, Mobo and probably, ram once you want a Nehalem or newer Intel CPU. On the AMD side, the strong likelihood is that the .45u AMD quad cores will be socket AM2+ and will almost certainly be drop-in compatible with current generation socket AM2+ motherboards. Thus, if/when you want to go to a faster CPU, AMD buyers now will be able to do so with their existing mobo/ram combos, but NOT Intel buyers. This might not matter to some people, but it does to me and others.

Just some thoughts in deciding whether to go Intel E8500, Q6600 or AMD X2/Phenom. Also, remember that if you pair that A64 X2 5000+ BE with a nice crossfire AMD motherboard, you'll save enough money to go for 4870 card instead of a 4850 card. That means you'll be able to spring for another 4870 card in about 6-8 months and be able to crossfire them, and it's pretty well common wisdom at this point that gaming performance is much more GPU limited than CPU limited, so the benefits of the $200+ CPU (Intel or AMD) start to look marginal compared with having over $100 more to spend on a faster graphics card. It means you can spend $300 on a graphics card instead of $200 for most people.

Just some thoughts from a long-time enthusiast.