Decent Boards

porterjw

porterjw

Spaminator
Staff member
So, I'm using the Abit IL9 Pro that, at least for now, I'm dealing with and we are mutually-respectful to each other. My ECS and Intel boards were both absolute nightmares, and this was the least bothersome out of the three, so I'm trying to love it, I really am :)

The thing is, it does have it quirks, made apparent in both Windows XP and Ubuntu 7.04/7.10. Some are general quirks, lack of good BIOS tweaking, and some are OS-specific, CPU scaling in Ubuntu, random things in XP.

Without going for the super-uber top-of-the-line models, what are some good Boards I should take a look at based on my usage. I need a Socket 775 with at least 4 SATA2 ports, 1 each IDE FDD and IDE DVD drive port, and and a full-speed PCI-E x16 slot. I would prefer in addition to the afore-mentioned 4 DDR2 slots, three 3-pin jacks for system fans (not counting the CPU fan), and support for my Pentium D940.

I *do not* need SLi-capabilities, support for future-installs of DDR3, firewire, or the newest and best chipset. Any of these above are considered bonuses, but I do not require them, nor will I spend extra money 'just to have' them.

My usage is as follows: Triple-boot XP/Kubuntu/Ubuntu (primarily Ubuntu) for e-mailing, internet, music, the occasional DVD, and text-based online-gaming. I do not, nor will I ever, use it for the newest graphical games or resource-intensive activities such as video-editing or anything else. I do not need a quad-core CPU, and plan on keeping my Pentium D 940 for quite some time, but if there is a great Dual Core combo deal (great meaning CPU + Board is only slightly more than just the Board, and it's a Board that falls into the above criteria) on any trusted website, I would at least consider it.

Boards just aren't my strongest point when it comes to computer builds. Thanks so much for your help!

--Jay
 
Both look nice. what is the advantage of the 31/35 chipsets over say a 945 or 965 or a Via?
 
imsati said:
Both look nice. what is the advantage of the 31/35 chipsets over say a 945 or 965 or a Via?
Click to expand...

VIA chipsets are not made for overclocking. 945 and 965 I'm guessing are VIA chipsets. VIA are usually made for normal use. If you don't plan on alot of gaming, then go for it. If you plan on some slight overclocking, then go with Nvidia's chipsets. This is how VIA did to me:

I bought an E4300. Reviews from Newegg said that some people have gotten it from 1.8 to 3.6GHz, using alot of fans. I bought an Abit IP-95, with an VIA chipset. I barely got from 1.8 to 2.1 and then it crashed. I'd recommend the P31/35, but mainly it's your choice.
 
oscaryu1 said:
VIA chipsets are not made for overclocking. 945 and 965 I'm guessing are VIA chipsets. VIA are usually made for normal use. If you don't plan on alot of gaming, then go for it. If you plan on some slight overclocking, then go with Nvidia's chipsets. This is how VIA did to me:

I bought an E4300. Reviews from Newegg said that some people have gotten it from 1.8 to 3.6GHz, using alot of fans. I bought an Abit IP-95, with an VIA chipset. I barely got from 1.8 to 2.1 and then it crashed. I'd recommend the P31/35, but mainly it's your choice.
Click to expand...

Well, my CPU is 3.2 as-is and I really have zero need to make it go higher. And I love the IP-95 :) Gave it away for a family member's build, and I'm considering grabbing another one from e-bay for me.
 
imsati said:
Well, my CPU is 3.2 as-is and I really have zero need to make it go higher. And I love the IP-95 :) Gave it away for a family member's build, and I'm considering grabbing another one from e-bay for me.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. well it IS an quality motherboard. It might just be my crappy RAM :P. Their nice, but I can't turn my stepspeed off :(
 
oscaryu1 said:
Hmm.. well it IS an quality motherboard. It might just be my crappy RAM :P. Their nice, but I can't turn my stepspeed off :(
Click to expand...

No Speedstep switching? Really? I thought there was an option to do so. From what I discerned, it was the perfect 'let me function for 4 years stably without the need to upgrade' Board. My RMA period on the IL9 Pro runs out on the 30th, so if I'm not completely in love by the 29th, it's getting shipped back and I'm reacquainting myself with an old friend (IP-95 courtesy of eBay) just to have ease of mind, if not keeping it in the closet for a spare part, and may grab one of the Gigabyte models suggested earlier in this Thread to try out.

--Jay
 
imsati said:
No Speedstep switching? Really? I thought there was an option to do so. From what I discerned, it was the perfect 'let me function for 4 years stably without the need to upgrade' Board. My RMA period on the IL9 Pro runs out on the 30th, so if I'm not completely in love by the 29th, it's getting shipped back and I'm reacquainting myself with an old friend (IP-95 courtesy of eBay) just to have ease of mind, if not keeping it in the closet for a spare part, and may grab one of the Gigabyte models suggested earlier in this Thread to try out.

--Jay
Click to expand...

No, I can turn off stepspeed but my speed will remain like stepspeed is enabled, even though it's disabled. CMOS battery is fine, I AM saving, just probably an glitch... Well our motherboards ARE different :rolleyes:... Tell me how your IP-95 goes, I got mine at an rediculously low price:

E4300 W/ fan & preapplied thermal paste
IP-95

$140 USD (I mean, an E4300 is like $130 itself!)

Do you tell me what are the nightmares about the ECS and intel.i think intel is the best then others.
Click to expand...

And you only left out Abit, Gigabyte, Asus, Biostar, XFX, PC Chips, Asrock...

And please improve your grammar...
 
oscaryu1 said:
No, I can turn off stepspeed but my speed will remain like stepspeed is enabled, even though it's disabled. CMOS battery is fine, I AM saving, just probably an glitch... Well our motherboards ARE different :rolleyes:... Tell me how your IP-95 goes, I got mine at an rediculously low price:

E4300 W/ fan & preapplied thermal paste
IP-95

$140 USD (I mean, an E4300 is like $130 itself!)
Click to expand...

That's a good deal. On top of the CPU, the IP-95 was around $55 I think plus shipping when I got it.

>Do you tell me what are the nightmares about the ECS and intel.i think intel is the best then others.

Where should I begin? I found the Intel Board to be crude in every manner. For bearing the Intel name and having a price tag of $85, I expected it to be at the very least much more user-friendly. The BIOS looked like a monkey designed it, and fan speeds were all sorts of screwed up no matter what I did. The ECS decided when it wanted to behave normally and what features it would let me play with. It was $39, so that should have been my first clue. As for now, I'm not going to swear allegiance to only one particular company or Board model, but so far I'm happy with Abit for the most part. Also, based on suggestions, Gigabyte looks very nice too.
 
imsati said:
That's a good deal. On top of the CPU, the IP-95 was around $55 I think plus shipping when I got it.

>Do you tell me what are the nightmares about the ECS and intel.i think intel is the best then others.

Where should I begin? I found the Intel Board to be crude in every manner. For bearing the Intel name and having a price tag of $85, I expected it to be at the very least much more user-friendly. The BIOS looked like a monkey designed it, and fan speeds were all sorts of screwed up no matter what I did. The ECS decided when it wanted to behave normally and what features it would let me play with. It was $39, so that should have been my first clue. As for now, I'm not going to swear allegiance to only one particular company or Board model, but so far I'm happy with Abit for the most part. Also, based on suggestions, Gigabyte looks very nice too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, either they planned on losing money, or something. I bought it around 5 months after the C2D's were released... so the E4300 would have been more expensive...

Intel is pretty good. (In my opinion). I kinda respect it. My mom's Compaq Presario (Celeron 2.4, gives you an idea how old it is) around 6 years old or so. It hasn't been cleaned for dust in 5 years, ran, no overheats, the HDD and optical was used in other computers, and it's DELL memory ran perfect. I actually like some of those boards. Overclocking, no. Normal - Severe use, great!
 
Well, I just ordered the Gigabyte P31 DS3L. Should be here tomorrow if it was shipped out today. I'll post up on it tomorrow.
 
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