I5 computer OC motherboard help!

[ultima_weaponx]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (ASAP) BUDGET RANGE: ($600) After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (Gaming. TF2, WoW, Aion)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: From my old build I will be using…
Corsair VX550W (3 months old)
Western Digital Caviar Black 500gb SATA (4 months old)
EVGA Geforce 9800GTX+ 512mb (3 months old)
2x Samsung SyncMaster T220 LCDs
I have a lame case to re-use (I want to buy a VERY GOOD CASE in a month or two)
Wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse
Ancient Altec Lancing ATP4 speakers I still like
I am going to use the Windows 7 RC for a while longer as I saved a code for this.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I want to select my parts from http://www.newegg.ca so I can actually buy them from http://www.memoryexpress.com which is very close by. They will prince match new egg if the product number is the same.

OF ORIGIN: CANADA

PARTS PREFERENCES: i5 750

OVERCLOCKING: Yes. I will learn, I definitely want to - However not anything 'extreme', just enough to get good value out of it.
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: SLI another 9800GTX+, but not anytime soon. I may not even need SLI for better performance in the games I play if I buy an i5 750

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 (two screens)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: So I need CPU, Memory, Motherboard
 I want a core i5 750 CPU.
 I think I will wait until the mux-120 comes out to overclock.

 I am unsure which memory. My supplier does not sell G.Skill ram, so I assume Corsair, OCZ, Kingston or Patriot.
*4gb or 6gb? Which’ speed’?

 And MOST of all… Which motherboard?
* I want to be able to overclock 'decently for what the i5 is capable of - nothing extreme) without breaking $200
* I do not want anything on the board ‘exploding’ as some posts have warned
* I want a good board layout (I suppose they all have good layouts) but I will not be attracted to a micro-ATX board without good reason.
* I want to be able to fit a grand heatsink on it someday, the mux-120 when it comes out
* From what I see – Asus, Gigabyte and MSI seem the most popular while EVGA sounds amazing but too expensive.

 I have read reviews at:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-p55-motherboard,2436-16.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/

So I can see that the motherboards are a tight race, with possibly no wrong decision. But I value this boards opinion greatly.

Thanks for reading!

 

[dndhatcher]

Right now I dont think anyone knows for sure how much voltage a P55 motherboard can really take. 3 of 5 pre-release demo models exploded on voltages between 1.36 and 1.45. If you are not increasing the voltage alot then you should not have to worry. If you want to do an extreme overclock maybe you should work on an i7 920/x58 motherboard build.

 

[ultima_weaponx]

I'm not quite looking for 'extreme' overclocking.
I am new to this and have liked the close-to 4.0 GHz mentioned possible in many reviews with the i5.
I do nto want to go down the i7 route as ultimately it will break my budget for not that much more usable performance in the games I play.

I am hoping there is a motherboard recommendation with good reason out there for what I've outlined. I'll keep reading though.

 

[dndhatcher]

There is a more serious problem with i5 motherboards and foxconn sockets right now. Better read this anandtech article.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3661

 

[Tomchew]

So do boards made by asus and gigabyte use the same sockets or are those brands safe to use?

 

[ghoulsrulefools]

If you aren't going to do extreme overclocking, it won't affect you. Also, Foxconn makes the sockets for other motherboard manufacturers, off the top of my head I do recall asus and gigabyte being on that list. This doesn't mean that all of their boards use foxconn though.

 

[Tomchew]

Is there anyway to tell if its got a foxconn socket? im planing on buying this mobo with an i5 750

ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273295

once i can find some 5850s that are in stock that is, but now im leaning towards getting an 1366. Then again im getting pretty confused because I probably wont OC it anyway since im a ocing noob and it would be mainly for gaming.

 

[ghoulsrulefools]

I'm not sure if you can tell what brand socket a board uses. I do know that some boards, usually high end, stick to one while other models may or may not always have the same socket. For instance, high end EVGA boards WILL NOT have a foxconn socket.

 

[Tomchew]

How is a guy to know if he is buying a high end mobo then? I'm guessing the price has to be over something like $200?

 

[silvergo]

well yea anything under 140 isnt really high end for a mobo.. right? and this problem is probably something they didnt even know well i hope =p damn you INTEL i hate you AMD for now on. good thing i dont overclock.