Going NUTS trying to pick a new Motherboard!!!

[echolane]

I don't seem to be able to home in on a motherboard in spite of DAYS and DAYS in front of the computer or hours and hours bugging the people at Fry's......!

I want to upgrade my present homebuilt computer for something faster. Present mb is Intel's P865PERL/Penium 3 CPU/DDR memory. Definitely time to move on. But I have a great case and it's full of "stuff" I can leave in place and hook up to a new mb: 4 SATA harddrives, IDE R/W DVD and floppy. 3 PCI cards: Fax/Modem, Promise Raid Array, Creative Sound Blaster. Could get by with 2 PCI slots if I absolutely had to, but would prefer not.

So....I need a new motherboard, new CPU and new memory. Also, will probably be forced to buy a new graphics card (because the current one is AGP).

I thought I would choose the E8400 Core 2 Duo CPU because it has such a good price point, but I like the idea of a board that would upgrade to Core2Extreme when prices drop a bit more. I'd also like to find a board that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory and I would buy the much cheaper DDR2 memory for now and upgrade to DDR3 memory later when the prices come down.

Sounds easy, so what's the problem?

Mainly, the boards with ultra fast chipsets and DDR3 memory don't have support for legacy stuff like my old R/W DVD and floppy, or my 3 PCI cards.

And I can't find seem to find boards that support both DDR2 AND DDR3 memory.

I like all of the 3 Intel boards mentioned below, but I would have to make a compromise in each case...........

1. Intel's DP45SG (P45 Chipset) has 3 PCI slots and uses DDR3 memory. But it doesn't upgrade to Core2Extreme. And no legacy IDE that I can see. (So I'd have to buy a new DVD drive, and my RAID array card comes with a floppy, so how would I configure the RAID?)
2. Intel DX48BT2 (x48 Chipset) uses DDR3 memory, upgrades to Core2Extreme AND supports two IDE devices. But only 2 PCI slots. (So I'd have to discard my PCI Fax/Modem and buy an External USB Fax/Modem which ups the price and takes up more desktop space).

And which is the better chipset P45? or X48?
Also, The X48 I/O controller is Intel® ICH9 Family: ICH9, ICH9DH, ICH9R and the P45 I/O controller is Intel® ICH10 Family: ICH10, ICH10R. Do I care?

3. Then there's the DG43NB (G43 Chipset). 3 PCI slots and has support for legacy IDE devices and a Media Grapic Accelerator (I wouldn't have to buy a new graphics card). BUT it only supports DDR2, doesn't upgrade to Core2Extreme. This'd probably be a good choice based on price, but do I want to compromise on a board that only supports DDR2 and will not upgrade to Core 2 Extreme?

Intel classifies the first two boards as "performance" while it classifies the DG43NB as "Corporate Stable - Pro). Does that mean I'd get more stability/longevity but it'd be a bit slower?

I've been looking mostly at Intel boards because the Intel website has such really good tools to compare chipsets and motherboards. (Besides I'm an Intel stockholder . )

I've found it MUCH harder to figure out what ASUS has to offer in any organized way. Should I make a bigger effort to include ASUS boards in my search?

Any suggestions would be most welcome!

 

[echolane]

Thanks for the info and recommendations! I feel particularly informed by your comments on DDR2 vs DDR3 - thanks.

I've spent the last hour checking on Gigabyte boards, and found several good possibilities with 3 PCI slots instead of the 2 on your recommendation. So back to doing some more homework!

I hadn't thought to go beyond Intel or ASUS in my search because I've no experience or knowledge of the quality of Gigabyte boards and am pleased to note their good reputation.

Probably will be back with more questions .

 

[Proximon]

The UD3P is a great board.

There is really no reason to get Intel boards. I know one builder that likes them, but most seem to agree they tend to be problematic.

My guide here on the forums lists each chipset and it's strengths. Link in my sig.

Tests were done at the release of the P45 chipset that showed no improvement between ICH9R and ICH10R... but I know of no tests done since, now that the drivers have all matured.

If you are not going to use crossfire, and have no need of DDR3, then P43 or G43 is an acceptable option. Be aware that you generally get better build quality and more features from the more deluxe boards though.

I really consider the Gigabyte UD3P to have many of the build characteristics of the more expensive boards, at a very nice price. It's a SECOND GENERATION P45 board as well, meaning a more mature BIOS out of the box and little hardware glitches all worked out.