[the kazman]

Does anyone know what the good motherboard brands/manufacturers are? I'm looking for one that has good features and maybe has overclocking support.

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You have to look at model numbers, chipsets and features offered.
To me one brand isn't better then the other, there will always be lemons in the bunch no matter what you do. Others will have different oppinions on this due to past bad/good experiences with the companies. But like I said there will always be lemons that can't be avoided.
James

[james_8970]

You have to look at model numbers, chipsets and features offered.
To me one brand isn't better then the other, there will always be lemons in the bunch no matter what you do. Others will have different oppinions on this due to past bad/good experiences with the companies. But like I said there will always be lemons that can't be avoided.
James

[Neil Jones]

Brand means nothing these days.

As a couple of examples:

Asrock boards - budget Asus boards. Usually dirt cheap, some are better than others, most tend to last no longer than three or four years. Some overclock really well but others are too strict on forcing you to work in a certain fashion and won't talk to you otherwise. Asus boards tend to be, as of late, going down the Asrock route in terms of quality.

Abit boards - use higher quality components, at slightly higher price. Tend not to be all that overclockable in the real world but they're relatively reliable.

MSI boards look cheap, are cheap and have always been seen as a budget brand. They tend to source cheap components which mean the boards die sooner, but they are often found in mid-range OEM machines like Packard Bell, for example.

ECS boards used to be really fussy little beggers about what types of memory they'd talk to, what type of graphics they'd talk to... They tend not to be all that configurable in the BIOS.

Gigabyte boards are seen as a big-brand name, but some of their AM2 range still doesn't support the full range of processors available on that platform.

Foxconn/Winfast boards are commonly seen in OEM machines re-packaged as something else. They're generally reliable though Foxconn have made real turkeys of some boards that are common complaints online and no official word. One of their Socket 754 boards we were doing as standard at work had real issues that seemed to develop the longer the boards were in actual use. Eventually had to stop using them as they eventually stopped working out of the box.

[the kazman]

im thinking about getting an ASUS motherboard with an Intel P965 of 975x chipset. How does ASUS fair with these?

[ViprXX]

I personally like Asus motherboards. Haven't had any problems with mine yet and you can easily overclock them if you want.

good luck on whatever you choose.

[james_8970]

If your buying any Intel chipset, vier away from 975 and get the P35 as you'll be able to upgrade to future processors. Lately Asus has been hit and miss, they are a great company motherboard but it's ridicules that people have to get 3 boards send to their house to get 1 good one.
James

[the kazman]

thanks for the suggestions. i have taken interest in the ASUS P5K Deluxe WiFi-AP motherboard with the P35 chipset. Would this be a good choice? Would it be wise to go for the P5K3 model instead with DDR3 compatibility?

Edited by the kazman, 10 June 2007 - 01:30 AM.

[james_8970]

If you want DDR3 support, I recommend this board as it has both DDR2 and DDR3 for future upgrades (6 slots in total)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128048
The reason why I don't support a motherboard with only DDR3 support is because......well take a look at the prices.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145182
This is the only online set I can find that are currently selling and they are out of stock.
James

[Adebisi]

I have had very few problems with ASUS boards over the years.

Having said that, when they do break, getting them warranty returned is an absolute pain in the butt if you can pull it off at all.