Looking for a new MOBO, need some suggestions

[zeerith]

Hello all,

Current setup:
Intel 3.16ghz Dual Core - 1333FSB
Zalman 9500A Fan/Heatsink
4gig Corsair XMS - 800mhz (two 2gig sticks)
GTX-260

What I am looking for:

My old ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium just took a dump on me, so I am looking for a replacement MOBO. I am not looking to OC at this time, but I like to leave that door open for the future. I am also looking for a board that is SLI ready (that the design has been thought out without leaving 1/16th" between the cards), as I would like to go 2x on my GTX-260 before summer. Beside that, I just want a board that is reliable and stood the test of time so to say. Price range anywhere up to 250-300 is fine with me as long as the board is stoat enough to last 2-3 years. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[o1die]

I would send the board in for an rma to asus. Many have a 3 year warranty. Asus may send you a newer replacement board if your current board is out of production. In the meantime, get a cheaper newegg open box board while you wait for the rma. If you don't have any warranty left, look at the asrock boards, which is what I use. Asrock is an offshoot of asus. I use the p45ts-r, which is only $78. Asus has some rebates going at newegg right now. I don't recommend any brands for longevity; it's a crapshoot. Just handle your new board with an anti static strap (they cost about $1) and use a quality brand of power supply, such as seasonic, corsair, or pc power and cooling. I always replace the power supply when I install a new board if it's more than 2 years old.

 

[MTIH1992]

The Gigabyte EP45-DS3 is good, I use it for the following setup:

CPU: Intel Core2Quad Q9550 E0 Stepping (OC@3.0Ghz)
Graphics: nVidia XFX GTX 260
RAM: 4GB OCZ DDR26400 (with heatspreaders)
3 X SATA 250GB (16MB Cache)
2 X DVD-RW
650W Xigmatek NRP-MC651

The price is good too!

 

[zeerith]

Yeah, I looked at RMA'n the old MB, but it is out of warrenty sadly.

Thanks for the suggestion on the asrock boards, I will check them out. I have been a ASUS fan for years, and never had any problems with them, so that is mostly what I have been looking at so far.

I did forget to say above, although it is probably obvious, the chipset for the cpu is 775, and that this is mainly a gaming machine.

As for the PS, I already plan on picking one up, just havent decided how large to go at this time, as I want to make sure that it will be large enough to handle both gtx-260's, for after I get the 2nd card so I don't have to back track later on.

 

[zeerith]

The Gigabyte EP45-DS3 is good, I use it for the following setup:

CPU: Intel Core2Quad Q9550 E0 Stepping (OC@3.0Ghz)
Graphics: nVidia XFX GTX 260
RAM: 4GB OCZ DDR26400 (with heatspreaders)
3 X SATA 250GB (16MB Cache)
2 X DVD-RW
650W Xigmatek NRP-MC651

The price is good too!

Thanks for the reply, however after checking this MB out, it is not capable of supporting 2x GTX-260's as it only has one PCI-Express 16x slot.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[zeerith]

After looking around a bit this morning, I have come across these two boards so far that have caught my eye.

ASUS Striker II Formula

ASUS P5Q Deluxe

Sadly though the first board has alot of negative reviews on Newegg, but I am hoping that someone here might be able to shed some unbias light on this Mobo. It has all the features that I would like at this time, with the options to upgrade in the future to a higher MHZ DDR2 if I would like. The spacing on the PCI slots for SLI is large enough with room between them to fit in my PCI SB-Extreme card and maybe even a Killer NIC (something I am toying around about purchasing).

The second board is what am I leaning toward at the moment though, cheaper price, same function, even comes with a half decent sound card in the bundle package, lol, I know, sounds like I have already made up my mind, however I would still like to hear what everything thinks about these 2 mobo's

However I am still open to suggestions, and would appreciate any feedback I can get, positive or negative.

 

[Amg]

only get a SLI mobo only if going for SLI, the nvidia chipsets are not the most forgiving of chipsets and they are not the most loved ethoier