Best C2D Mobo?

Necopotence

New Member
I've pretty much determined that the best budget gaming CPU for me is a Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor. Any arguments? I am pretty much aiming for something that can run something like World of Warcraft flawlessly.

What do you think the best and most expandable motherboard is for a C2D of this type?

Thanks for any info you can give. All the mobos I see for this model on newegg are only 100-120 dollars, that dosn't seem right for a newer cpu technology or am I just behind.
 
What do you think the best and most expandable motherboard is for a C2D of this type?

Thanks for any info you can give. All the mobos I see for this model on newegg are only 100-120 dollars, that dosn't seem right for a newer cpu technology or am I just behind.
There are more expensive boards, if thats what your looking for lol, but there are perfectly good boards in that price range like the the GA-965P-S3.
 
see sig. thats what ill be using but ill be using E6600 and that board runs around 280$.. but my build will be a piece by piece bought one slow build.. so ill be saving for each part after bills n other fun things i spend money on.. wont be done im guessin till around xmas will keep you posted on how it goes though once i get it finished
 
I'd go with the Gigabyte 965P-S3 that 34erd recommended. It's a far better board, and the best at that pricerange, IMO.
 
If you're super cheap, the S3 works. I'd spend the extra and go for the DS3. If you want the best, you're basically picking between the Asus high end P5W whatever it is with wifi or the Gigabyte DQ6 which is a badass board itself.

In the mainstream you have the Asus P5B and the Gigabyte DS3. Each are boards that have had some high end features taken away but still hold onto some of those great features of their "big brothers." For example, I am pretty sure both of them use the Intel ICH8 rather then the ICH8R. So neither support RAID natively, or NCQ and stuff like that. But both of them offer 3rd party chips (Jmicron I think?) that offer RAID functionality on a few of their ports, as well as NCQ. From what I've read and seen, I seem to favor the Gigabyte boards. But either will work just fine.

And in the budget realm the Gigabyte S3 competes with several other offerings. There's also an ECS board that is even like less then 100 dollars that performs well, though its overclocking abilities are basically crippled. But it'd be good for a stock build.

If I were getting a high end board, I'd probably go wth the Asus. But for the mainstream and budgets, I see the Gigabyte being almost unanimously good. No matter what you choose, Gigabyte or Asus, you're going to win though :) Honestly, these boards were the ones that were not just "Thrown out" like Abit, MSI, and others did. These are good products that aren't having bugs worked out AS THEY ARE SOLD. So whatever appeals to you and fits your budget, do it! :)
 
If you're super cheap, the S3 works. I'd spend the extra and go for the DS3. If you want the best, you're basically picking between the Asus high end P5W whatever it is with wifi or the Gigabyte DQ6 which is a badass board itself.

In the mainstream you have the Asus P5B and the Gigabyte DS3. Each are boards that have had some high end features taken away but still hold onto some of those great features of their "big brothers." For example, I am pretty sure both of them use the Intel ICH8 rather then the ICH8R. So neither support RAID natively, or NCQ and stuff like that. But both of them offer 3rd party chips (Jmicron I think?) that offer RAID functionality on a few of their ports, as well as NCQ. From what I've read and seen, I seem to favor the Gigabyte boards. But either will work just fine.

And in the budget realm the Gigabyte S3 competes with several other offerings. There's also an ECS board that is even like less then 100 dollars that performs well, though its overclocking abilities are basically crippled. But it'd be good for a stock build.

If I were getting a high end board, I'd probably go wth the Asus. But for the mainstream and budgets, I see the Gigabyte being almost unanimously good. No matter what you choose, Gigabyte or Asus, you're going to win though :) Honestly, these boards were the ones that were not just "Thrown out" like Abit, MSI, and others did. These are good products that aren't having bugs worked out AS THEY ARE SOLD. So whatever appeals to you and fits your budget, do it! :)


couldnt of been said better
 
Great Info.

Great info guys, thanks alot. Still alittle confused on which chipset on the mobo would be best. I'm not even sure why WiFi would be something good to have on a mobo, taking that into consideration I guess I don't need it. Heh
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

Basically just the top of the line ASUS board. Very good, and as a bonus they throw in the little wifi thing too with it being their top dog. Appears they have a 20 dollar discount on it right now as well. Good deal actually.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

The S3, budget board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012

The DS3. More "reliable" with its solid capaciter design, some good specs, mainstream board. One of the top boards (with the ASUS P5 series).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128323

Finally, the DQ6. More expensive then its ASUS counterpart. Great reputation at this point, but also more expensive then the mainstream boards too.
 
If it's going to be built around XMAS then I'd wait for the Nforce 590 SLI boards. Supposed to have a boatload of features.

I'm not sure I can really use alot of these features. Alot of the features I've seen listed on alot of these higher end boards I don't really understand or I think I will never use. Like having a computer be a WiFi station, no clue why that is useful.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

Basically just the top of the line ASUS board. Very good, and as a bonus they throw in the little wifi thing too with it being their top dog. Appears they have a 20 dollar discount on it right now as well. Good deal actually.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

The S3, budget board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012

The DS3. More "reliable" with its solid capaciter design, some good specs, mainstream board. One of the top boards (with the ASUS P5 series).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128323

Finally, the DQ6. More expensive then its ASUS counterpart. Great reputation at this point, but also more expensive then the mainstream boards too.

Agian, great info. Thank you once agian.
 
I agree with Jet. The DS3 is a SWEET price point for price/performance.

Also I agree with shadow, and I forgot to mention that. The nVidia nForce 590's should start popping up in the near future which I REALLY want to see. The only way I would drop big bucks on a board would be for a full featured, uncompromised nVidia solution.

Otherwise my honest view for today is to go E6300, DS3, either Gskill HZ or Corsair XMS2 ram (most likely Corsair for its lower voltage and thus compatibility), and be done with it. Graphics I'd likely pick up a GF7600GT to get me by till DX10 cards come out. But this is getting away from the subject at hand and is personal conjecture.
 
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