Help selecting motherboard (E6700)

[Riden12]

Hi,

I'm in the process of building a new system and am having some difficulties combing through all of the motherboard options (ATX). I'll be running a Conroe E6700 chip (not OC'd) with an 8800 GTS video card. Planning to run 2gig DDR2 800 mem but not sure on which brand yet since I want to make sure it's compatible with the MB. The only other item I'm looking to do is run two HD's in Raid 1 mode.

I'm hearing a lot of complaints lately about the nForce 680 chipset so I'm hestitant to go that route but I'm not sure what good motherboards there are on 975, nforce 590, or 965. I'm also probably never planning to go SLI with this system.

Any suggestions are appricated!

Thanks!

 

[Riden12]

Any suggestions? Since I'm not looking to overclock or run SLI with my 8800 GTS video card it seems that the Intel 975XBX2 board is very good. Any opinions on this board before I pick it up? Any memory that works better on this board?

Thanks!

 

[genec57]

Bad ax 2 would be a good choice if a bit of overkill for what you describe. It would permit the option of overclocking in case you change your mind later.

 

[BadThad]

Asus P5B Deluxe. Why waste money on a slower 975 mobo if you're not going to use crossfire?

 

[Riden12]

Ah, 975 is slower? I only chose the 975 XBX2 intitally due to the good reviews. How does the P5B Deluxe compare to the Gigabyte DQ6? Those are the two P965 boards I've seen good reviews on.

Thanks again!

 

[BadThad]

Originally posted by: Riden12
Ah, 975 is slower? I only chose the 975 XBX2 intitally due to the good reviews. How does the P5B Deluxe compare to the Gigabyte DQ6? Those are the two P965 boards I've seen good reviews on.

Thanks again!

Well, based on 20 years experience, I don't much care for Gigabyte. Asus is much, much better and quicker at BIOS updates.