Good matx mobos for C2D

[perdomot]

Got an E4400 that does 3Ghz with a slight bump in vcore and was thinking of moving it to a smaller case so I wanted some feedback about a good matx mobo, preferably with a newer chipset. Anyone using one of these mobos?

 

[Zap]

I haven't, but plenty of people have been using the Gigabyte and Asus G33 chipset boards with good overclocking success. IIRC the Gigabyte is a bit more popular. They have three boards which all clock around the same, differing just in options. For instance, all boards use solid capacitors for the CPU power, but the most expensive ones have them all around (perhaps not necessary). Also the middle one is geared more for HTPC with HDMI output using the onboard video, plus eSATA. I'd think the cheapest one is good for most people.

Look for the Anandtech G33 chipset motherboard roundup in two days, on 9/26 (unless delayed again).

If you're not in a super hurry for it, then Nvidia's releasing their new IGP chipsets for Intel really soon, which may bring more options.

 

[Skott]

If you want OCing ability you only have two good choices so far. The Gigabyte DS2R and the ASUS P5K-VM. As Zap said the DS2R is the more popular and can get a tad bit higher in fsb numbers. The DS2R has RAID and the P5K-VM does not. If that matters to you. The DS2R doesnt have a 1:1 divider though for the 1066fsb CPUs but has it for the 1333fsb CPUs. A previous BIOS updated included a 1:1 divider but the newest BIOS took it away. The P5K-VM does not have this problem.

I'm thinking since nothing new has come out recently that can match the OCing potential of these two matx mobos we probably wont see a matching or better matx mobo as far as OCing goes till the G35 matx mobos hit the street in November. Thats just a hunch on my part though. The latest MSI matx mobo fails to OC adequately so it kinda reinforces me to believe this little theory of mine. I could be proven wrong though but it doesnt look like any manufacturer has anything schedules as far as G33 mobos go. Right now ASUS and Gigabyte have the best OCing matx mobos. Everything else is blah.

If you want just a good stock performance matx mobo then ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI each have some that'll fit the bill. Prices are just under $100 I think for them. Prices for the P5K-VM and DS2R range from around $115 to $140.

 

[Gary Key]

Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R for the best combination of features and ability to overclock. Hopefully they will correct the memory dividers in the next BIOS as promised. Also, MSI delivered a new BIOS that allows overclocking on the G33M, frantically trying to get it tested tonight for the article on Wednesday.

The Asus P5K-VM is a really nice board also, just slightly favor the Gigabyte board for the RAID and better on-board audio, overclocking is about the same on both boards with an add-in video card (around 400), all three boards are limited to around 335FSB with the on-board graphics.

We just received an update to the Intel G33 Media board, will have to catch up with that one in the review process along with a revised G33 board from Foxconn in a couple of weeks. Neither board overclocks but the feature sets are really nice. ASRock also delivered their G31 board on Friday, so that one will be interesting as they promise really good overclocking for around $85. We will see....

 

[perdomot]

Thanks for the info. I'm a little iffy on Gigabyte as its my current mobo (965P-S3 ATX) and seems to have issues with the sensors(temps and voltages). Asus sounds interesting though.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Gary Key
...frantically trying to get it tested tonight for the article on Wednesday.
...
ASRock also delivered their G31 board on Friday, so that one will be interesting as they promise really good overclocking for around $85. We will see....

Don't let that new BIOS stop the article from coming out! :|

The ASRock board may be interesting. Their boards seem to push old designs, such as a few 945G boards that can OC to 350MHz FSB. However, they need to give the user more voltage options for these boards to become real overclockers. Though the boards are stable at those bus speeds, they are really intended for CPUs which run at those speeds as voltage settings are almost non-existent. Hopefully their new board will be better in that respect.

 

[WoodButcher]

I'm lovin my Asus P5K-VM! :thumbsup: