Core 2 Duo Motherboard Suggestions

[BJDwrk]

Hi all-
Yes, I search and combed through posts, but I wanted a specific answer of a motherboard that will fit all my needs.

I am planning on using the Core 2 Duo E6420 CPU, unless someone has rumors on cheaper CPUs or updates that will be coming soon. My criteria is:

ATX formfactor
Firewire Port
Preferably 6 SATA-not that important
Intel chipset
name brand
more than 4 USB ports on the back
no onboard video chipset

So...what are my options in the less than $130 range for a good stable board. Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

My other question is on the DX10/8800 series cards. I want a good card, and am willing to spend about $250. Does anyone know whether or not the prices will be coming down on the cards. I'm thinking one of the ones that are like doublewide on the back panel. What is everyone's suggestion on which of these cards would be good for gaming/video editing. It'll be the latest games and I guess I want future proof and be able to run with the eye candy on, but still don't want to spend the money for the 700 meg cards or whatever.

thanks

[minsonngo]

This is the board for you then:

ASUS P5B-Plus LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131177
$138.99


As for the video card:

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130082
$269.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate

[Staren]

There are some problems with the P5B Plus vs the P5B-E. Yes some of the capasitors are better, but the north and south bridge headsinks seem to be a little weak, plus it isn't a full size ATX board. It doesn't reach the front row of stand-offs so that could potentally be a problem if you move the case around or upgrade something and forget to support the edge. Personally I'm sticking with the latest BIOS rev. of the P5B-E until I have more info.

[BJDwrk]

StAREN-
I am confused at what boards problems are you talking about. Would you mind rephrasing that statement a little and possibly giving me an alternative option?

thanks.

[Staren]

Sure. There are two P5B boards with firewire that aren't really expensive, the P5B-Plus and the P5B-E. The Plus is a bit newer board and the capacitors (basic parts) are of better quality then the -E. But there are some down sides to it. The heatsinks (the black blocks) on the main chips are known to be weak so the board adds a little more heat to the inside of he case then it needs to. The other kind of weird thing about this board is that it's like 2/3 the size of a normal ATX motherboard. It fits in a normal ATX case fine, but the front edge of it kind of hangs in the air rather then being screwed down on all four sides because the front end of the board doesn't reach to the last line of screw holes. Depdending on how you handle the board, that last point could mean nothing or could mean you trash the board not watching what your doing.

The P5B-E is a little bit older, and about $5 more expensive then the Plus, but Asus seems to support it better right now. It's not a perfect board either though. It's main failing is that if you get stuck with an older one with the first revision of the BIOS, it is a little picky about memory. You would want to look for memory with a voltage rating less then 2.1v. That isn't real hard to do though. So personally I'd get the P5B-E over the P5B-Plus.

[minsonngo]

Originally Posted by Staren The other kind of weird thing about this board is that it's like 2/3 the size of a normal ATX motherboard. It fits in a normal ATX case fine, but the front edge of it kind of hangs in the air rather then being screwed down on all four sides because the front end of the board doesn't reach to the last line of screw holes. Depdending on how you handle the board, that last point could mean nothing or could mean you trash the board not watching what your doing.

Staren is right... that is why we always advise you to build the computer outside of the case first before putting it inside of the case...

It helps avoid bending the motherboard when you trying to mount the CPU heatsink and fan... or when you trying to lock in the memory into the appropriate slots on the motherboard.

Good habits help avoid trouble down the road.

[BJDwrk]

One other question-do the 8800 cards support vista yet? If not, when should those driver updates be released?

[Staren]

They fine with Vista now as far as I know. That was a fairly early problem and they seem to be past it. At least I haven't heard anything about that for awhile.