What is the best LGA-775 MicroATX Motherboard ?

[Tom55116]

I have a 2 year old Dell that I am looking to upgrade the motherboard.
It has a standard MicroATX Dell Motherboard in there right now.

I ordered an MSI P7NGM MicroATX a year ago and it fit fine and booted
but the onboard nVidia 9300 drew too much power and the fans ran so
loud that I put the dell motherboard back in and the MSI has sat in the
closet ever since.

Here's whats inside my dell right now:

E8600 CPU
4GB Ram
300GB Velociraptor
(3) 2TB WD Green drives (Yes 4 internal HDs)
DVD burner
ATI 4350 Video card


What is the best motherboard available that I can buy that meet these needs:

1. Over-Clocks
2. Takes an Intel E8600 LGA755 Socket CPU
3. Low power due to Dell's 250W powersupply
4. Integrated Video is not needed as I will be using an ATI 5570 video card

I would also consider cruising Ebay for a discontinued motherboard if someone
know of a really good option for me..


Thanks for your advice!

 

[Tom55116]

I've done some reading and it looks like good LGA-775 mATX boards are impossible
to find new.

It seems like the ASUS "Maximus II Gene" was the best LGA-775 mATX board ever
but it is no longer sold.

 

[Tom92602]

Sorry but you are dead wrong. My Dell Studio accepts a standard MicroATX board.

I guess you failed to read my post where I already stated that I successfully swapped
in an MSI micro ATX board and it fit and worked fine. It just drew too much power from
the small power supply that is in the case.

 

[Tom92602]

The Dell Studio 540 Slim is indeed a stripped down ASUS. The MSI drew too much
power due to its onboard nVidia 9300 video that I had to put the Dell motherboard
back in. But the MSI fit and powered up fine. I am using the original Dell motherboard
right now.

 

[Toxxyc]

I ran with an Asus P5KPL-AM SE motherboard (still sold at some places). Cheap as crap, and my PC went through phases of being a performance machine (overclocked quite well for a cheap board) to being as silent as it could. With standard usage the noise level of the PC with standard cooler and a GTX460 Cyclone was so quiet, I couldn't hear if the PC was turned on or not. Had to actually walk up to it and go see.

 

[kimlon8]

Take a look at this list of 775 motherboards for 2011 - just a top 10 list but it should do the trick.