[stettybet0]

i'm going to have to disagree with sarrik on this one. 2x512mb sticks give you very limited upgrade ability. once vista comes, if you are planning on getting it 2gb of ram is a must for gaming on vista. 4x512mb maxes out your memory slots, with just 2gb. In the future, you will definitely want more than 2gb if you are a serious gamer. I highly suggest getting 2x1gb, but if you only want 1gb, go with a 1gb stick, then you can buy another one later and use them in dual channel (assuming the sticks you bought support dual channel) and still have enough room for 2gb of RAM more!

and again, i warn you away from that mobo. if you ever want to use RAID or SLI (which most gamers do), you cannot on this mobo. and on top of that, about 50% of ASUS mobos just don't work.

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What we be a good choice instead of the Asus?

I found an intel one that looks pretty much the same
http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=1533
Would this one do the job?

[oddnerd]

What we be a good choice instead of the Asus?

I found an intel one that looks pretty much the same
http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=1533
Would this one do the job?

[Serrik]

Well if you are considering switching to that mobo it too does not suport SLI, and having read the manual online, I see no RAID support period.

I don't buy the 50% of ASUS don't work line, but there is no point in trying to sell you on it as there are plenty of other decent brands.

I do agree on the memory. Stettybet is right about future upgradeability when you get into Vista gaming. You will, in the near future, want to be able to get up to at least 4 gig.

Having combed through Tiger Direct Canada I haven't found much to recommend. Seems all the motherboards there that support that CPU and have SLI and RAID are all over $300 and just about all ASUS.

Maybe Stettybet0 would be kind enough to check Tigerdirect.ca and recommend something.

Edited by Serrik, 28 December 2006 - 10:28 PM.

[oddnerd]

I found a motherboard for $200 with 4 DDR2 Ram Slots
http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=2432

It only has one large PCI-E slot but the only thing i will have that requires that is a video card and i am not one of those megalomaniacs that gets two or three of them functioning as one. Do you guys think it is worth it? If not then i could always get this one
http://www.tigerdire...a...&CatId=1533

[stettybet0]

if it's in your price range, i would go with:
EVGA Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Edited by stettybet0, 29 December 2006 - 07:40 PM.

[Kurenai]

Asus makes quality motherboards, generally speaking. Both SLI and RAID are very nearly worthless in your average gaming system, unless you're going to run either RAID1, RAID 0+1, or RAID 5, which gamers generally don't do. The 680i boards aren't bad, but are developing more and more problems daily, it seems.

[oddnerd]

If you think SLI is useless do you think i should go with the first one below as opposed to my current choice of the second one? The only real difference I see is SLI compatibility and one less large PCI-E slot.
$178
http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2366120
or $255
http://www.tigerdire...a...274&CatId=0

[Kurenai]

Well, it looks like the P5LD-2 Deluxe comes with both TV out and Wireless cards built in to the motherboard (the Asus built in wireless works pretty well, not sure on the TV).

My initial reaction is to go with the second board you have listed. The secret to decoding Asus models is this: The more stuff they pile on to the end of the name, the further into the engineering process the board is, and the less likely it is to have issues. For example, the first A8N board had some ridiculously huge issues, so much so that I would be surprised to see one, unmodified, still in service. The A8N SLI was a little better, but not much; the A8N SLI Deluxe wasn't too bad at all, the A8N32 SLI Deluxe was great.