Best motherboard for budget overclocking

[oldgooseberry]

hi everybody

I'm looking to build a system under a lean budget. I want to maximise my budget by overclocking as much as I can so need a motherboard that'll let me do it.

I'll be re-using my old packard bell case and getting the rest from dabs.com

-Gigabyte S774 Intel G41 DDR2 mATX A L
-Intel CELERON E1500 2.2GHZ S775
-Zalman CNPS8700-NT Low-profile Heatpipe Flower Cooler
-XFX ATI Radeon 4650 HD 650Mhz 512MB PCI-E DVI (XXX)
-Crucial 2GB 800MHz DDR2 PC2-6400

My concern is the motherboard, I've read loads of review and there's loads that say it might arrive doa, the second memory slot won't work and opinion seems divided whether its good for overclocking. I'm new to overclocking and this will be my first real build, so will appreciate some advice

thanks
ken

 

[oldgooseberry]

it's a GA-G41M-ES2L motherboard

 

[jsc]

Good board - at least the one I got was. Good basic overclockabilty.

They work best with a CPU with a relatively low FSB and high internal multiplier such as an E5200 with its 200 MHz FSB and 12.5 internal multiplier. It would work pretty well with 65 nm Core2's with their 266 MHz FSB. I would not use it with a CPU that has a 333 MHz FSB.

The E1500 should work nicely with it.

 

[oldgooseberry]

that's great to hear. I think I'm actually going to change the cpu to a e3200, I hear it can be easilly oc to 4ghz with the stock cooler! Do you know if this board will be any good for oc quads? I'd hope to get a quad once the prices bottom out say in 5 years.