Section 03 - I'm lazy! What do you reccommend? [INTEL]
Budget with IGP
Boards in this category
- Will have onboard video
- WIll have as many features as possible (although not necesarily the class-leading in any of them)
- Will cost less than $75
- All be LGA775 compatible
- If any graphics expansion slots are present, they will be PCI-Express for future value
JetWay P4M890DMP
Price: $51.99
Chipset:
VIA P4M890 +
VIA VT8237R
Formfactor: mATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 1xPCIEx1, 2xPCI
Memory: 2xDDR2-533
Drive Controllers: 2xATA100, 2xSATA/150
Onboard Video: Yes
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN: Yes, 10/100
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: For a low price, this board provides all the basic functionality required to get a box up and running
MSI RC410M-L
Price: $60.99
Chipset:
ATi Radeon XPress 200 Intel + ATi SB450
Formfactor: mATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 1xPCIEx1, 2xPCI
Memory: 2xDDR-667
Drive Controllers: 2xATA100, 4xSATA/150
Onboard Video:
Yes
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN:
Yes, 10/100
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: For not that much more than the previous, this board offers a whackload more features including twice the SATA connections, a less finicky graphics chip, support for faster memory, and high-definition audio
ASUS P5RD2-VM *** Praetor's Pick ***
Price: $72.99
Chipset:
ATi Radeon XPress 200 Intel +
ULi M1575
Formfactor: mATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 1xPCIEx1, 2xPCI
Memory: 2xDDR2-667
Drive Controllers: 2xATA100, 4xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video:
Yes
Onboard Audio: Yes
LAN: Yes, Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: Wow, for a cheap budget board this thing packs a lot: support for RAID5, SATA-3.0, Gigabit ... the only downside (in comparison to the MSI board) is the unspecified audipo
Budget without IGP
Boards in this category
- Will not have onboard video
- WIll have as many features as possible (although not necesarily the class-leading in any of them)
- Will cost less than $75
- All be LGA775 compatible
- Will be PCI-Express based
Albatron PC915P-2V *** Praetor's Pick ***
Price: $49.99 (after $15.00 MIR)
Chipset:
Intel i915P +
Intel ICH6
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 2xPCIEx16, 2xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR-533
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 4xSATA/150
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN:
Yes, 10/100
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All single-core Intel 90nm chips
Comments: A basic's oriented motherboard, this doesnt support dual-core processors but then again it's less than $50!. With the PCI-Express configuration and the forward looking DDR2 in conjunction with the price this is a definitely a bargain
Foxconn 915A03-P-8LRS
Price: $71.95
Chipset:
Intel i915P +
Intel ICH6R
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 1xPCIx16, 3xPCIx1, 3xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR-400
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 4xSATA/150
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio: Yes
LAN: Yes, 10/100
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All single-core Intel 90nm chips
Comments: For a fairly low price this board tacks on RAID support courtesy of the ICH6R however it takes a step back and uses DDR rather than the more forward looking DDR2
Mainstream
Boards in this category
- Wont have integrated video
- Will have at least one Gigabit LAN
- Will have at least 6-channel audio
- Will at the least, be 90nm DualCore compatible
- Will cost less than $120
EPoX EP-5P945-J
Price: $87.99
Chipset:
Intel i945P +
Intel ICH7
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 2xPCIEx1, 3xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-667
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 4xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN: Yes, Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: A pretty impressive starting board - as a basic board, this has pretty much everything you could need.
ABit AW8
Price: $89.99
Chipset:
Intel i955X +
Intel ICH7R
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 2xPCIEx1, 2xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-800
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 4xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio: Yes
LAN: Yes, Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: Last generation's flagship board, for well under $100, this is a steal of a board with all the expected features: PCI-Express based Gigabit, high definition audio and additionally it has support for DDR2-800. This is probably the best-value board from this category.
Gigabyte GA-8I945P-G
Price: $92.99
Chipset:
Intel i945P +
Intel ICH7
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 2xPCIEx1, 3xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-667
Drive Controllers: 3xATA100, 4xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN:
Yes, Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: For less than $100, this board packs a whopping amount of features: it has enough drive controllers to be a light fileserver, high-definition 7.1 audio, PCI-Express based Gigabit as well as the standard support for all 90nm processors.
ASUS P5LD2
Price: $116.99
Chipset:
Intel i945P +
Intel ICH7R
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 2xPCIEx1, 3xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-667
Drive Controllers: 3xATA100, 4xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN:
Yes, Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 90nm chips
Comments: Better than the Gigabyte board above, this ASUS board packs a tried and true PCI Express based Marvell Gigabit connector, support for Intel's MatrixRAID courtesy of ICHR7 and ASUS's time-honored implementation of Intel boards.
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 *** Praetor's Pick ***
Price: $142.99
Chipset:
Intel i965 Express +
Intel ICH8
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 1xPCIEx16, 2xPCIEx1, 3xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-800
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 6xSATA/3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio:
Yes
LAN:
Yes, Gigabit
USB2: 10
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 65nm chips
Comments: Support for Core2 chips, Intel's 65nm chips, a whackload of drives and faster memory than it's 945/955 brethen, this board packs a crapload of features for it's pricetag. The plentiful and forward-thinking feature-set this board offers scores it the pick.
Enthusaist
Boards in this category must
- Have 4xDDR2-800
- Some form of non-basic RAID
- Dual-Gigabit
- 8-Channel Hi-Def Audio built in
- Support all Intel 65nm chips
ABIT AW8D
Price: $164.99
Chipset:
Intel i975X +
Intel ICH7R
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 2xPCIEx16, 2xPCIEx1, 1xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-800
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 6xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio: Yes
LAN: Yes, Dual Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 65nm chips
Comments: A lot of features for what, comparatively, isnt a whole lot of price-tag.
ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP *** Praetor's Pick ***
Price: $249.99
Chipset:
Intel i965 Express +
Intel ICH8R
Formfactor: ATX
Expansion: 2xPCIEx16, 1xPCIEx1, 3xPCI
Memory: 4xDDR2-800
Drive Controllers: 1xATA100, 8xSATA-3.0
Onboard Video: No
Onboard Audio:
LAN: Dual Gigabit
USB2: 8
Power: 24p
Compatibility: All Intel 65nm chips
Comments: A
major step up in functionality compared to the previous, this board packs a crapload of features in addition to being able to operate as a HTPC base and as a WAP and even as a fileserver with multiple RAID banks. The raw featureset here wins it the pick