Best motherboard?

[Linkgabbie]

What do you think the best motherboard is for gaming? i don't really care about cost...I like Abit...and Asus..but will go with what ever you guys think is best

[dajogejr]

Asus, Abit, MSI are all good choices.
More important question, AMD or Intel?
No...not looking to start a flame war here.

Do you plan on building an AMD or Intel based system?

Next...do you plan on overclocking?

If you choose Intel, stay away from the RDRAM based mobos...stick with DDR.
Easier to find, cheaper, and much more accepted.

[BipolarBill]

Asking for simple answers to complex questions in order to spare yourself from doing real research is a bad idea. The right motherboard is the one that YOU need. There is no universal answer.

[Linkgabbie]

I will be running a 3.0 P4 800 FSB
ATI 9800 XT
ddr 400

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spare yourself from doing real research is a bad idea
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I'm not spareing myself from real research..this is a board i would like to know what you guys think...I like gigabyte but have heard lots of people do not... So i'm doing my research by asking what other people think...It seems that theres no better info then from other ppl..

Jacob

[dajogejr]

Asus P4P800 or P4C800 are good choices.
The main difference being the first has Intel 865 chipset, the second has 875 chipset...

[BipolarBill]

That's an Intel board, so AMD boards are obviously out. The brands already mentioned are all quite good. You have to decide whether you want and i865 or i875 chipset. You have to decide whether you want SATA, RAID and Firewire. Do you need 6 PCI slots or are 5 alright? Does your case have USB 2.0 ports? If not, you need as many rear USB ports as you can get to avoid having to install brackets in perfectly good PCI mounts - thus limiting future expansion.

Once you narrow your choice, look for reviews in the usual places - Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, here. Go to Newegg and read the reviews that buyers have already posted for those motherboards. Look for pet peeves, problems, kudos, etc.

Once you've narrowed it down to 2 or 3 boards, ask us what we think.

[bassman]

If you don't really care about price, IMO, go for the ABIT IC7-MAX3 (or the MSI 875P Neo)

[Linkgabbie]

Originally posted by bassman
If you don't really care about price, IMO, go for the ABIT IC7-MAX3 (or the MSI 875P Neo)

thank you...i will look into them...and read about them

[Bat25]

Originally posted by bassman
If you don't really care about price, IMO, go for the ABIT IC7-MAX3 (or the MSI 875P Neo)

Agreed - I would go with that or the 865PE IS7 Abit board and be done with it. Both are great - but the 865 PE is just as fast. If you wan to go AMD just get an Asus A7N8X deluxe, or Abit NF7-S, or MSI KT6 Delta if you like VIA. All of these are great motherboards.

[Linkgabbie]

Originally posted by Bat25
Agreed - I would go with that or the 865PE IS7 Abit board and be done with it. Both are great - but the 865 PE is just as fast. If you wan to go AMD just get an Asus A7N8X deluxe, or Abit NF7-S, or MSI KT6 Delta if you like VIA. All of these are great motherboards.

Thanks i went with the MSI 875P Neo can't wait untill tomorrow! hope the rest shows up also..

[Bat25]

Great :) MSI has very good quality.

[Linkgabbie]

Originally posted by Bat25
Great :) MSI has very good quality.

on the other sysopt board they said somthing that the 875p only does ecc? Please tell me if this is true so i can order some!

[Bat25]

No, on that paticular board non-ECC works just fine. I suggest Kingston Hyper_X. it seems to really work well on that motherboard. You'll also get a better latecy factor with non-ecc

[bassman]

I bought one of those and you can use plain old regular DDR on it, no problem.

[ReefDogg]

Hey Linkgabbie, I'm no pc expert or guru! But follow Bipolarbills advice. Do your research on the type of mobo you want, narrow those puppies and come back. That's how I've done it and have no regrets!

I've even did this with friends & family who live across the sunset. I came back with what they were looking at and got the feedback from all who used or worked with them.

Buena Suerte dude!

Reef :t