Are all Mobo's problematic?

[Srotten]

I'm Really struggling to find a good motherboard. I've looked on several threads and it seems all the mobo's have some sort of issue. ASUS wont read over 3GB RAM (plus I've had an Asus die on me in past), Gigabyte has a tendency to lose overclock settings and revert back to original BIOS etc plus the whole DPC Latency issue. Does anyone know of a solid Mobo that is out there?

I want to build a Quad Core that can hit 3GHz (probably a Q9450 or Q6600), Can you do any OC with an Intel board? What about DFI?

I'm only planning on using 1 video card so I assume the P45 is better than the X48 chip?

Any help is appreciated, I feel like I'm running in circles.

Main use for system will be for gaming, 3D animation (hence need for Quad Core) and typical MS Office stuff, email etc.

 

[o1die]

The 3gb limit is with any 32 bit windows operating system; 64 bit xp or vista will recognize more than 3 gb. If you want stability, go with an Intel, Dell, Hp, etc board with few bios adjustments. I have a compaq board, so I can't adjust anything. I use the "pin mod" with copper tape to overclock my e4300 from 800 to 1066, a 33% overclock. It works fine without changing any bios settings. The p35 and p45 boards work fine for overclocking; just avoid the cheap brands like pcchips or ecs.

 

[Heidfirst]

you have to realise that when you are talking about millions of boards all with slightly different hardware configs & different levels of user competence there are bound to be some reported problems (& human nature is to post with a complaint much more readily than with praise). Compared to the nos. in use though the complaints are a small % & any genuinely consistent issues should be resolved over time.
To that end you may wish to go with a more mature platform like P35 than P45.

 

[SunnyD]

Huh? Asus won't read over 3GB? News to me - my M2N-SLI Deluxe has 4GB of ram all happily working along...

 

[Cutthroat]

It's doubtful that any manufacturer of any PC components has ever made a product that did not have any bugs.

Your best bet is a Asus or Gigabyte board with an Intel chipset such as a P45 motherboard. Asus and Gigabyte are about the best manufacturers of motherboards and Intel makes the most stable chipsets.

 

[chuckm]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
you have to realise that when you are talking about millions of boards all with slightly different hardware configs & different levels of user competence there are bound to be some reported problems (& human nature is to post with a complaint much more readily than with praise). Compared to the nos. in use though the complaints are a small % & any genuinely consistent issues should be resolved over time.
To that end you may wish to go with a more mature platform like P35 than P45.

I couldn't agree more. Most, but not all problems are operater error and not a hardware problem, but every manufacturer does have them. I would have to add abit to the list to be considered.

 

[Srotten]

Thanks for the input... I was leaning toward the Gigabyte but then saw this Thread.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2182171&enterthread=y

Since I do a LOT with Audio and Video it scared me. How does DFI and MSI compare to Gigabyte?

I have an ASUS, and love the board but support SUCKS and I had one die on me before so I kinda wanna steer clear of them this time around. Can you do ANY overclock with an Intel board?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Jakeisbest]

Originally posted by: Srotten
Can you do ANY overclock with an Intel board?

P35 chip set is an overclocking champion.

 

[o1die]

Intel boards have few if any overclocking options in the bios. I would download the motherboard manual of the model you're interested in. It only takes a few minutes. Scan the bios settings and read the opening pages of the manual. If it's well written and easy for you to understand, then it's a winner. The board chipset determines what cpu and memory you can use. The p45 and x48 are the newest, so I would go with one of them.

 

[piasabird]

It is overclockers that drive up prices for honest people.

 

[Srotten]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
you have to realise that when you are talking about millions of boards all with slightly different hardware configs & different levels of user competence there are bound to be some reported problems (& human nature is to post with a complaint much more readily than with praise). Compared to the nos. in use though the complaints are a small % & any genuinely consistent issues should be resolved over time.
To that end you may wish to go with a more mature platform like P35 than P45.

You mention the P45 as a more mature platform, I thought it was newer than X48? What is the timeline of the chipset releases? Sorry for being such a N00b at this.

 

[toadeater]

Originally posted by: Srotten
Gigabyte has a tendency to lose overclock settings and revert back to original BIOS.

I'm arguing with Gigabyte tech support about that right now. So far they don't want to admit that something like this is possible. It's even mentioned in the Anandtech review of the GA-X48T-DQ6.

2GB memory overclocking is still proving unreliable between reboots on this board. We have found the board can run a CAS latency of 6 or 7 between 1600-1800MHz. However, the BIOS can be prone to resetting itself between reboots. A CAS setting of 8 is still where this board seems happy for 24/7 operation on current BIOS releases.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3190&p=14

In the case of my EP35-DS3R, memory settings haven't fixed the BIOS reset/cold boot/S3 problem. It still refuses to boot at seemingly random times and S3 fails most of the time, so that the board goes into an endless loop until I hold down the power button. Surprisingly, the one thing this board doesn't have is the DPC latency bug.

 

[Eric62]

I like my bargain GA-P35-DS3L. I've overclocked my Q6600 from 2.4 to 3.2GHz. This was my first complete system build, so I'm happy with the results. When I tried to reach a 3.6 overclock the BIOS reset itself to it's default safe setting, but other than that all is great, and relatively easy for a noob like me to figure out.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: piasabird
It is overclockers that drive up prices for honest people.

Not honest overclockers.

I assume that you are speaking about noobs that RMA parts after they fried them?

 

[SolMiester]

I have the abit IP35, only has 1 pcie slot. Have had no issues 9x333 24/7....

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: Srotten

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

To that end you may wish to go with a more mature platform like P35 than P45.

You mention the P45 as a more mature platform

No, I said that P35 was more mature than P45

 

[Isaac MM]

If you want the best ddr2 board out there get the a dfi x48