[powerbuilder333]

Every time I check the reviews of a Mobo, there's a small percentage of buyers who claim it was DOA, or wouldn't work right.
I hope to avoid RMA's.
Any suggestions? I'm now (I keep changing my mind) leaning towards a socket 775 dual core, with PCI - E x16 for a dedicated video card.
Thank you.

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All boards are about the same in terms of DOA's. This fault is due to mass production and some manufacuring defects that do occure and are unavoidable. Just because someone received a DOA board, doesn't mean that they will all be plagued with issues. No matter what board you turn to, there will always be a chance. Ignore the reviews, you only hear about the bad and not the good. If a consumer has some kind of problem, I'd say they are 20x more likely to post a review.
This being said, I recommend the GA-P35-DS3L from gigabyte.
James

[james_8970]

All boards are about the same in terms of DOA's. This fault is due to mass production and some manufacuring defects that do occure and are unavoidable. Just because someone received a DOA board, doesn't mean that they will all be plagued with issues. No matter what board you turn to, there will always be a chance. Ignore the reviews, you only hear about the bad and not the good. If a consumer has some kind of problem, I'd say they are 20x more likely to post a review.
This being said, I recommend the GA-P35-DS3L from gigabyte.
James

[powerbuilder333]

Thanks. I'll look into it.

[Neil Jones]

Every time I check the reviews of a Mobo, there's a small percentage of buyers who claim it was DOA, or wouldn't work right.
I hope to avoid RMA's.
Any suggestions? I'm now (I keep changing my mind) leaning towards a socket 775 dual core, with PCI - E x16 for a dedicated video card.
Thank you.

Attempting to avoid RMAs is akin to driving on the roads and expecting not to see other vehicles - it ain't gonna happen.
Be assured that in most cases the boards will receive more damage being shipped around to the suppliers than they will receive being sent to your front door, so usually if it isn't dead by the time your supplier gets it, it'll be fine when you get it.

[powerbuilder333]

All boards are about the same in terms of DOA's. This fault is due to mass production and some manufacuring defects that do occure and are unavoidable. Just because someone received a DOA board, doesn't mean that they will all be plagued with issues. No matter what board you turn to, there will always be a chance. Ignore the reviews, you only hear about the bad and not the good. If a consumer has some kind of problem, I'd say they are 20x more likely to post a review.
This being said, I recommend the GA-P35-DS3L from gigabyte.
James

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L looks good, with a great New Egg price!
Doesn't appear to support RAID 0. Not a deal breaker, but how well does RAID controller cards work? I'd like to have the option of RAID.

[Troy]

Hi there,

Any serious RAID user will want to be using a quality add-on card, which would be rather expensive. You say you'd like to have the option, are you going to use RAID or just think it "would be nice" to have a feature you may never use?

That being said, Gigabyte have some more expensive motherboards with more features, such as RAID support. This one is an example.

Cheers

Troy

[powerbuilder333]

Hi there,

Any serious RAID user will want to be using a quality add-on card, which would be rather expensive. You say you'd like to have the option, are you going to use RAID or just think it "would be nice" to have a feature you may never use?

That being said, Gigabyte have some more expensive motherboards with more features, such as RAID support. This one is an example.

Cheers

Troy

"I think it would be nice". LOL.
I was researching F6 RAID drivers, but I'm not sure I'm techno savy enough to make a RAID array work - yet.
I'll prolly opt for the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L, with a E8400. I noticed on the Gigabyte website that there is a rev 1 and rev 2 editions. I can't tell which one New Egg is selling http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128059 ? I'm guessing rev 2 is better?

Thanks to all for your advice. Lots of good people on this site.

[james_8970]

For a consumer based PC, I strongly advice you do not build a RAID array. It's one of those things that either you do it right or it's not worth it at all. Building an array on a motherboard is very risky because if the motherboard fails, you need to find the exact same motherboard to access the information on the array because nothing else can read the information if you were using a different RAID controller. RAID controllers are less likely to fail and in most instances easier to find a replacement.
As far as the revisions go, I personally wouldn't worry about it, as it's essentially out of your control.
James

[jst42day]

I agree with what you've been told about the chances of having to send th MB back for another one, but I maybe you should look at more of the reviews for the MB you are now looking at.
I'm sorry that I don't remember who the reviews were written by, but there was a problem with a couple of the GA -P35 DS.... with the 4 pin power connector overheating to the point that it melted the plastic connector.
I want to stress that a few problems of this kind does not an epidemic make.
Just look carefully before spending your hard earned dollars.
jst42day

[james_8970]

I'm sorry that I don't remember who the reviews were written by, but there was a problem with a couple of the GA -P35 DS.... with the 4 pin power connector overheating to the point that it melted the plastic connector.

There could be a number of issues at play here, user error, poor PSU, manufacturing error (every board has this possibility) or the most likely scenario of a user demanding more then what the hardware can supply.
If you are talking about the 3pin fan connectors, well you shouldn't throw something that draws an excessive amount of watts like a panaflo or some other 100+CFM fan.
There is nothing wrong with this board, if there was, we would not be suggesting it
James

Edited by james_8970, 13 April 2008 - 03:44 PM.

[powerbuilder333]

I benefit from hearing all aspects and potential issues about a mobo - good and bad.

[powerbuilder333]

Does seem to use a 3 pin fan connector, and this reviewer claims a high North bridge temp http://www.xbitlabs....p35-ds3l_7.html

As a noob I'm hoping to find a Mobo rich in features and short on potential problems, at a reasonable price.
At some point I'll have to bite the bullet and take my chances on something....

[james_8970]

Does seem to use a 3 pin fan connector

Every motherboard does.

this reviewer claims a high North bridge temp

To be honest, you'd be hard pressed to find a modern north bridge that isn't hot.

Mobo rich in features

What features are you looking for?
James

[jst42day]

I'm sorry that I don't remember who the reviews were written by, but there was a problem with a couple of the GA -P35 DS.... with the 4 pin power connector overheating to the point that it melted the plastic connector.

There could be a number of issues at play here, user error, poor PSU, manufacturing error (every board has this possibility) or the most likely scenario of a user demanding more then what the hardware can supply.
If you are talking about the 3pin fan connectors, well you shouldn't throw something that draws an excessive amount of watts like a panaflo or some other 100+CFM fan.
There is nothing wrong with this board, if there was, we would not be suggesting it
James

If you thought I was pointing an accusing finger at you, then you're wrong.
I'm surprised by your response. This is a forum for discussion. Some of that discussion might not always be to everybody's liking.

The XBits review of the MB in question also stated that they thought it might be an unusual problem and hoped it was not something larger.
I was not wrong for mentioning it.

Also mentioned were boards from GA with different voltage regulators that they had not seen a problem with.

jst42day

[james_8970]

If you thought I was pointing an accusing finger at you, then you're wrong.

No, I'm sorry if you took it that way. You were not wrong at any point for bringing this up
I was mainly just trying to point out that all of these boards will have a lemon, it's unavoidable. Personally, what it ultimately comes down is not how many problems a board may have (within reason), but how a company responds when they do occur.
James

Edited by james_8970, 13 April 2008 - 06:56 PM.