C2D Motherboard/RAM help

[JE78]

I'm going to be upgrading my computer in the next few weeks to a Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz

Thats about all I know. I'm stuck on which motherboard and RAM to get. My price range is between $100-$150 for a motherboard, I want something stable, I won't be doing much overclocking with but want some flexability. I was looking at the GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 but i've read that the board is hot and cold, some people like it, some people have had problems with it.

My price range for RAM is $150-$200, I'd like 2GB. I was looking at OCZ Gold 2GB but after reading the reviews, it says it doesn't work with the Gigabyte DS3. So i'm stumped, looking for some help. thanks!

 

[w00t]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130051

This might be what your looking for

 

[pkme2]

Buy what you need now and be happy.

RAM prices too high? Wait, buy 1GB and get more when prices are down

 

[JE78]

I was considering doing that. But i'm still not sure about which board to get. That MSI is above my price range plus the reviews on Newegg are wprse than the DS3.

 

[brainwave]

I have Intel 965WH mb and I am very happy with it. Good price for a mb with RAID and firewire and onboard video (although I am using a PCIexpress Radeon X1300 card).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121052

With latest BIOS it is very stable. Must use 1.8v RAM. I tried Corsair XMS 1.9v RAM but it was not stable. With Kingston 1.8v RAM the board is solid. Not for oc'ing.

 

[acegazda]

Take a looksee at the p5b-e from asus. It's only a small step down from the p5b deluxe and has all of the overclocking features. It works best with corsair RAM, bu you're not going to find 2gb for less than $200 anywhere.

 

[JE78]

Thanks, I'll take a look at that. I've noticed that most of the LGA 775 board only come with one PATA connection. I don't have SATA drives yet and would like to avoid having to buy another HDD. Other than a PATA expansion card, are there any other mobos that have 2 PATA connections that look good? Thanks.

 

[Squeegemiester]

I just threw one of those INTEL boards in the trash. Worst 140.00 I ever spent. RAM prices will not be going down any time soon. Buy an ABIT AW9D and start with a Gig of CRUCIAL Ballistix PC 6400. If you can't afford that right now, wait a few weeks, save up and be happy.

 

[acegazda]

You like the abit? Their AMD offerings about a year ago were subpar, so I didn't even consider them due to a bad experience.
Just a note: Corsair VS is $103 shipped @ zzf for 1gb ddr2-667. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

 

[JE78]

I'm not looking to buy Abit. I bought the AN8 Ultra A64 board and its given me nothing but problems. It started off as fine board but then went down hill. My most recent problem is it won't OC my CPU to what its been OCed at for months. One day it locked up on me, i've done everything short of a format and reinstall to try to get it back up to OC speed but nothing works. I've cleaned out the entire case, move cables around to get the best air flow but nothing works. And it wasn't like I had it OCed to some extreem either. If it wasn't for that board giving me problems I would just buy an X2 chip, another gig of RAM abd be done with it.

 

[JACKHAMMER]

Asus P5b-e Seconded.

 

[JE78]

Thats in my price range so I will probably go with that. Thanks.

 

[fire400]

945 - garbage chipset with nothing unless you are going micro

965 - flaws. don't get a head ache trying to fix the BIOS problems with these boards unless you are willing to be patient with crappy fixes.

 

[JE78]

:roll:

 

[kitkat22]

I liked the MSI 975X. After BIOS updates it worked great! I suspect the bad reviews come from the overclocking crowd, which I suspect will be fixed with new updates.