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

 

[GhislainG]

Which motherboard? GA-G41M-ES2L, GA-G41M-ES2H? If you want to overclock, why not buy an ATX motherboard like the GA-EP45-UD3L (since you're buying a video card, you don't need on-board video)? If you're really into overclocking, the GA-EP45-UD3R would be better.

 

[oldgooseberry]

it's a GA-G41M-ES2L.

I'm pretty much going by the reviews on newegg, the GA-EP45-UD3L has vastly more 5 stars but still loads of doa's. Is that the norm, should I expect every board to have about 10% doa reviews?

Also I was planning to buy from dabs uk because they are pretty much the cheapest I can find and with a simple RMA policy. Although I'll look into the GA-EP45-UD3L, it seems quite pricey at twice the price

 

[GhislainG]

When reading reviews, always take into account that a significant number of buyers won't bother posting a review if they didn't run into issues. The DOA percentage probably is much lower than your estimate.

In North America, the GA-EP45-UD3L costs less than 50% extra over the GA-G41M-ES2L. Few mATX motherboards are good overclockers.

 

[oldgooseberry]

That's a relief to hear, I've heard some scare stories about doa's being replaced by more doa's

mATX boards aren't good overclockers? so are atx better? I can budget in an atx case